The new year is already well on its way and our well-intentioned resolutions may have already been abandoned or not yet put into place. February is here – it’s time to revisit one’s objectives and start moving!

But where should we begin? Clients often ask us what kind of activities they should embark on. Dance class? Yoga? Pilates? Swimming? Or is it time to start training for that half-marathon? We often get asked if a particular activity is “good” or “bad”. Our answer to these questions is perennially disappointing, as we respond “it depends”. There are many factors that influence how beneficial an activity will be on a person, but only a couple that can make an activity detrimental. Essentially, an activity or sport can only be “bad” if routinely causes or worsens injury or pain, or if it is simply unpleasant/boring to perform. Therefore, if what you’re doing isn’t hurting you, and there’s some enjoyment in it, it’s inherently a good activity to do.

That being said, there are pros and cons to every activity that should be taken into consideration, to make sure you’re making educated choices. We’ll cover just a few of the metrics that can be used to evaluate the benefits of any given activity.

That being said, there are pros and cons to every activity that should be taken into consideration, to make sure you’re making educated choices. We’ll cover just a few of the metrics that can be used to evaluate the benefits of any given activity.

Bone health

Any weight-bearing activity helps increase bone density. For the legs, those are ones like walking, running or running sports, weight training, dance and aerobics. For the arms, it would be weight training, pilates, yoga, and gymnastics.

Cardiovascular health

Almost any activity is beneficial for cardiovascular health, especially those that cause an increase in heart rate and breathing rate (make you short of breath). Good choices are fast walking, weight training, running, running sports, swimming, dance, and aerobics, among many others.

Strength

Muscle mass and strength are very important to overall physical health and metabolism. This is even more true as we age. What is a good strengthening activity? Anything that makes your muscles sore!

Social value

Some sports are practiced as a team, and some in pairs or solitarily. The social value of activity cannot be overemphasized: historically, people practiced “sport” entirely for the social aspects it provided. Only in more recent history has sport become a medium for gaining health (due to the progressively more sedentary nature of daily life). So there is much to be said for the mental health benefits of being part of a class, or a team, and having that external expectation to show up and play hard. For some there is even a cultural aspect to their activity, for example traditional dancing. This can help strengthen a sense of cultural identity, or can help to broaden one.

Neuroplasticity

This term is defined as “the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life” (MedicineNet.com). We encourage neuroplasticity every time we perform a new movement or task. Can you brush your teeth with your non-dominant hand? Probably yes, but with difficulty. Doing so will promote neuroplasticity as the brain has to make new motor pathways to improve that tooth brushing. The same is true for starting any new type of movement practice — the brain has to develop new connections, and doing so promotes a healthy brain and decreases the risk of dementia.

Cognitive functioning

Every sport or activity has a mix of cognitive demands as well as physical demands. A sport like badminton or fencing has many cognitive demands, as one must constantly be assessing one’s opponent and be making thousands of decisions based on internal and external factors. Weight training or spinning, in contrast, have fewer cognitive demands, as the nature of those activities is repetitive movements that are not influenced by any external factors whatsoever. Nonetheless, these repetitive activities can have a meditative quality about them, which some enjoy deeply.

Indoor vs. Outdoor

This one is obvious, but if you’re used to always doing indoor sports, maybe it’s time to switch it up? There are powerful beneficial effects of being outdoors that should be not be forgotten. Conversely, if you hibernate during the winter, maybe it’s time to consider starting an indoor activity that will get you moving during those snowy months?

Hopefully this gives a bit of a taste of some of the aspects to keep in mind when choosing which activity(ies) to explore. The most important factor, aside from being able to fit it into your schedule, is that it is fun and makes you want to do more of it.

Are there other factors that are important to you when choosing an activity? Let us know by commenting.

In health and motion,
Michael Dyck, pht
Team member at Expertise Physio