Playing soccer is considered a complete exercise, because the intense and varied movements through running, kicking and turning, help to keep the body always healthy, being a great option also for women, because it helps in the prevention of osteoporosis and PMS symptoms.
This sport is an excellent way to lose weight and keep in good shape, it also combats stress and anxiety, in addition to improving social interaction, avoiding cases of childhood obesity and depression. To achieve all the benefits, it is recommended to practice soccer for at least 30 minutes, two or three times a week.
1. Helps to lose weight
During the football game, the whole body needs to work together, and this leads to a large expenditure of calories. The need for constant movement causes a great fat burning to occur, being possible to lose, on average, 250 calories every 30 minutes.
In addition, due to the body’s intense work, soccer accelerates the metabolism, which makes the burning of calories last for many hours after the game.
2. Increases muscle mass
During the practice of soccer, several groups of muscles both in the upper limbs, lower limbs and abdomen are constantly used, which causes the growth and multiplication of their muscle fibers. In this way, over time, practitioners develop bigger and stronger muscles.
The association of sport with bodybuilding, two or three times a week, makes strengthening and gaining muscle mass even more efficient.
3. Helps lower high blood pressure
Playing soccer regularly is an excellent way to help control blood pressure because, like other sports that require body movement, it improves heart function, circulation and blood flow. In this way, this sport prevents diseases caused by high blood pressure, such as stroke or heart attack.
In addition to the cardiovascular system, playing football stimulates various body systems and activates their functioning, improving digestion, immunity, breathing, and preventing serious diseases such as diabetes, high cholesterol and even cancer.
4. Strengthens the bones
The amount of calcium in the bones of those who play soccer is greater than those who do not do physical activity. The great stimulus to the body decreases the loss of calcium from the bones, and the bones become stronger.
In this way, this sport helps to prevent osteoporosis, a disease that is very common in the elderly and women after menopause.
5. Reduces the risk of falls and fractures
Dribbling and steps make people who practice soccer have better flexibility, agility and reflexes. In this way, balance improves significantly, resulting in a lower risk of falls and bone fractures.
6. Decreases the chances of stress and depression
In addition to the release of hormones that bring well-being, such as endorphins and serotonin, playing soccer brings benefits by stimulating team spirit and group work, since there always needs to be contact with other people and friends. For these reasons, in addition to being easy and fun, the practice of this sport reduces the feeling of stress or sadness, being an excellent ally for the prevention and treatment of anxiety and depression.
For these reasons, for women, playing soccer is a great remedy against PMS symptoms.
7. Prevents the onset of Alzheimer’s
The practice of football makes people have faster reactions, and develop brain functions such as concentration, attention and reasoning. In this way, the brain becomes more active and avoids the chances of developing brain diseases and dementia, such as Alzheimer’s.
Understand the risks of playing football
Before starting to practice soccer, it is important to have a medical evaluation, especially of cardiac function, to check for problems such as cardiac arrhythmias that, if not identified, can be life-threatening.
In addition, to practice football, some care is needed to avoid harm, such as:
- Injuries to muscles and bones: This can happen in cases of sudden movements without adequate prior stretching;
- Trauma: As it is a sport with a lot of physical contact with other people, great care must be taken with injuries caused by impact with other people or objects, which can be bruises, fractures or even bleeding;
- Wear and tear on the joints: Exaggerated practice without the guidance of a professional can cause the body to be overexerted, and wear out the cartilage that forms the joints.
It can be seen that the benefits far outweigh the harms of playing football, but it is advisable to stretch before or after training and, preferably, with the supervision of a professional, make playing football an excellent remedy for health and well-being.
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