Walking Netball at Macclesfield Leisure Centre

Give Sport a Go: The Health & Wellbeing Benefits of Being Active

EB Health & Leisure

As a health and leisure charity based in Cheshire East, we seek to make participation in any activity an enduring habit from the earliest years to later life. Our vision is to help people to live well and for longer by providing ‘Leisure for Life’.

Published: January 15th 2024

Category: Sports Performance, Men's Health, Women's Health

Give Sport a Go: The Health & Wellbeing Benefits of Being Active

Is this the year to try sport activities in 2024?

It’s the new year, a time when we all want to prioritise our health and wellbeing, new year’s resolutions and making the best start to 2024 we can. What a great way to get a kick out of your fitness by looking at new sports to take part in, becoming more active and making time for ourselves along the way.

Do you ever find yourself watching big sporting headline events on TV and you get that itching feeling to play tennis with every serve, after watching Wimbledon, have a kick about after watching the European Football Championships or want to try a specific sport from the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games…we all do right? By coincidence, Everybody offer many of these sporting experiences to try. See below for a range of sports classes on offer and how they will support your health and wellbeing, by being active. Remember, being good at sport doesn’t matter, being a good sport matters more!

Top 5 sports we think you should try:

Take Sport and Social for instance, this is a casual low impact class where you can play light sports such as badminton, pickle ball and table tennis, meet like-minded friendly people, making every new friend, in a welcoming atmosphere. Trying a new sport is daunting enough as it is, we all want to start that new class with a warm welcome, helpful instructors and volunteers, easing into giving sport a go.

When we venture into new sports, we embrace fresh experiences and face unique challenges. Our health and wellbeing will benefit during the process, even if we don’t notice it. Take this extract from Sport England, ‘Sport and physical activity can help prevent ill health, as well as lead to improvements in strength, balance, movement and help in maintaining a healthy body weight.’ This demonstrates that the dedication and bravery to embark on new endeavours not only have a positive impact on our physical well-being, but also play a significant role in improving our overall health.

Are you someone that used to play a sport and would love to get back into the swing of things? Gym workouts are great, but if you fancy a more fun, social kind of workout, why not reignite that spark for every sport that you love. From Walking Netball and Football to No Strings Badminton and more, we’re sure to have a sport on offer, as after all, Everybody is for everyone!

Let’s talk the social side…people exercise, take part in sports and keep fit for all different kinds of reasons, one that stands out to be important is socialising with people who share the same love for a sport as you and get the same physically from being active as well as mentally stimulated too. Let’s be honest sport wouldn’t be as fun and enjoyable if we had to play football or table tennis with ourselves, right?

Sport brings us together, nurturing new friendships and connections while engaging in physical activity. This might include Everybody’s off peak racquet sports, which are amazingly included in your fitness membership! We all want the availability of services in our community, supporting us to be physically active and strive to experience a variety of activities, finding what we love, to play our way. In our busy lives, balancing work, socialising and daily chores can make it challenging to find time for exercise. However, sports serve as a catalyst for connecting with loved ones, staying fit and supporting our health and wellbeing.

Maybe you enjoy more of a one to one sport session for example, the new popular upcoming sport, Padel. This sport offers more flexible sessions as it’s not as structured, doesn’t require an instructor or coach and can be booked to play when it suits you. With this in mind, Padel still offers the social side to the sport with the option of playing against your friends, family or work colleagues, whilst staying active. As written by our National Health Service, ‘Exercise is the miracle cure we’ve always had, but for too long we’ve neglected to take our recommended dose. Whatever your age, there’s strong scientific evidence that being physically active can help you lead a healthier and happier life.’ So, is there much more to say…pretty motivating right?

In summary, now is the ideal time to try sports and begin your athletic journey. Whether you prefer team sports or a more individual approach, it’s important to incorporate physical activity into our daily lives for optimal health and well-being. So, let’s get active and enjoy ourselves in 2024!

Check out our sport activities to try in 2024 here, for ideas and inspiration on what sporting activities you might like to try, available in Cheshire East.

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