During summer, various sports such as tennis, cricket, football, volleyball, cycling and swimming can help you get back into shape and stay fit.

Keeping your body in good shape is the first step towards a healthier life. There are various ways to maintain your physique; playing sports is one of them.

Outdoor sports are arguably the best ways to stay healthy and in good shape during the summer. Today, we cover the top 8 summer sports to get back in shape.

1. Tennis Improves Hand-Eye Coordination

Tennis is a very popular sport, and professional tennis players are one of the highest-earning players in the world. If you wish to stay fit, then tennis can be of great help. While playing tennis, you need to constantly move around at a quick pace.

This helps build your leg muscles. As you swing your racket to hit the tennis ball, you will use your arms as well. This helps strengthen your biceps and triceps. In short, this is a great sport to help improve both your upper and lower body muscles.

The other benefit of tennis is that you need to have keen hand-eye coordination. Since you need to keep your eyes on the ball at all times and hit it with the racket, your hand-eye coordination will improve significantly.

If you are a beginner and want to know more about tennis and become better at the sport, then visit Mind the Racket and read their in-depth guides.

2. Badminton Helps Maintain Body Weight

Think of badminton as a lighter version of tennis, since the basics of these two sports are the same. You need to move fast and hit hard, working both your hand and leg muscles.

But since a badminton court is smaller than a tennis court, it can be effective for elderly people. Like tennis, it will also help you with your hand-eye coordination since you need to focus on the cock and hit it with precision.

3. Cricket Builds Endurance

If you have seen a full-fledged one-day international cricket match, you know how long matches can last. One can go as long as about 6-7 hours. So, if you regularly play cricket, it will help you build your endurance.

Playing cricket requires you to swing a bat, which will impact your arm muscles. If you wish to be a bowler, then you need to have good hand and leg coordination as you run down the field. And, as you start fielding, you will need to run fast to catch the ball which strengthens your leg muscles.

Now, imagine doing all of this for 6 to 7 hours. It definitely increases your stamina and endurance.

4. Football Builds Stamina & Balance

Football is also a very popular sport during summer. To play, you need to run fast – very fast. Otherwise, you will never be an effective player. The faster you run, the better it is for your leg muscles.

While playing football, you need to shift your momentum constantly while running and dodging opponents. This helps you maintain a better balance over your body since you get more accustomed to sudden movement. You also become much more flexible by doing so.

5. Volleyball Improves Balance

When you are out on the beach during summer, you will see many people playing volleyball. Volleyball requires you to move around a lot and use your arms to strike the ball. This works out your leg and arm muscles.

Often, you will be jumping to smash the ball hard. If you jump more often, your body muscles will be used to the upward and downward movement. The more you jump, the more your body will improve its balance. Also, you will maintain a good physique.

6. Cycling Gives a Cardiovascular Workout

Cycling is a passion to some and a sport to others. While some people go out cycling on a leisurely afternoon, others work tirelessly on their rides to improve their speed and stamina. Cycling as a sport requires a lot of time. You need to run multiple laps over a long course.

So as you cycle more and more, you’ll improve your breathing, which helps improve your heart muscles. As they get stronger, it is able to pump more blood into your body which results in receiving more oxygen. This makes it a great cardiovascular workout.

7. Swimming Offers Low-Impact Workout

Since it is summer, you might not want to go out cycling under the hot sun. A much more refreshing alternative is swimming in your backyard pool. Swimming has benefits similar to cycling. You need to have steady breathing, otherwise, it will be difficult to stay afloat.

The added bonus of swimming is that you need to have strong arm and leg muscles so that you can propel yourself forward and backward. Swimming helps improve breathing, which means better blood circulation and increased muscle mass.
This is why swimming is considered to be the best sport for staying in good shape because it gives a full-body workout.

8. Running Improves Cardiovascular Fitness

Running can be a great alternative to swimming or cycling since this is also a great cardiovascular workout. While running, you are working your leg muscles and also controlling your breathing.

Running is a staple exercise for all sorts of sports and it is a sport itself. So if you are a good runner, you can be good at lots of other sports. The longer you run, the more calories you burn, and the fitter you will remain. Try to run at least 60 minutes each day.

Join any running marathon competition and you will be amazed to see how many calories you burn just by training and running.

Final Thoughts

Sports are a great way to burn calories. In reality, no matter which sport you do, if you are dedicated enough they are more than enough to keep you in good shape and keep your mind fresh.

The scorching heat of summer may make it harder to stay fit, but if you maintain a routine, you can overcome that. Try running in the early morning or evening to avoid the sun and play any of the sports before the clock hits 12 PM because that is when the sun shines the most.