MikeM

I'm coming close to the point that I want to add in a sport in my life. I have several options which I will write down here, along with my motivations. What I would love to hear from you guys are additional ideas that I haven't considered yet.

So far I have:

- Hapkido. I love martial arts and practiced karate when I was young. Hapkido is a perfect fit when it comes to that, due the the wide array of techniques. Just like Judo, they also teach you how to fall properly. Which is very valuable. I'm young, but a little while ago I slipped and fell on a hard surface. The way I fell was not good. Had I been older, I would have broken my wrist. Knowing how to fall is a skill that might even save my life when I'm old.

- Strength training. Useful. I used to do it in the past. I like it. But the chance of getting bored with it is fairly high.

- Crossfit. One of the best workouts that are currently being offered. It builds muscle and stamina. It truly makes you fit. Disadvantage: it's relatively far away, which would affect me motivation.

- Boxing. I like boxing. Not the best sport for self-defense, but a whole lot of fun. It's right around the corned. Literally 10 minutes away by foot. Frequent training hours. 2 hours of training on Mo, We and Fr. Excellent for getting some self-defense training. Very focused on physical development, both in strength and stamina.

I'm not sure which one I would choose right now. But my question is: do you have any other ideas? Maybe something in my post gave you an idea?

Thanks.

MidnightBlue

Hi, Mike.

I vote for boxing!

It is one of my sobriety "trophy" I started it being about 7 months sober - about 2,5+ years ago.

Great for overall body workout and endurance, and, above all, superb "mental workout" too.

Weightlifting is essential too - mix it up with other activities and you won't be bored)

Good luck.

doggonecarl

Work on your sobriety muscles.

Bobbieka

I've done cross fit and martial arts. I vote martial arts. Although boxing would be fun.

teatreeoil007

I like interval training and weight lifting... Hiking is a great workout too ... I brisk walk a lot outside... Going for a walk now up in the mtns... I have to watch for Cougars... I'll take Hank the border collie with me and drover the Aussie shepherd ...

thomas11

When is the last time you did any sort of real physical activity? I would base you decision on that. If you've been sedentary for a length of time, I would first try to get in some type of cardio vascular condition before starting something that takes even more physical exertion.

Soberpotamus

Running, weightlifting, and yoga are my favorites.

Martial arts seems like a good choice, too, but I have no experience.

JD

I'm getting back into hiking. Needs good cardio and strength training. I'm preparing for a Mt Everest base camp trek at the beginning of May. There's trekking available all over the world. You need to be in good shape but not super good shape. None of it is technical so you don't need any technical climbing experience. If you can walk you're good to go.

MikeM

I've walked a lot. Still do. But it I want to expand my activities. Recently when I picked up cycling, I found it's a completely different type of endurance. It was having trouble breathing at one point.

I've always been physically active, but in one way. And walking is great. I can go for 8 hours straight without getting tired. Probably longer, but I haven't had the opportunity to.

Also, I just love martial arts. So I'm leaning heavily towards Hapkido at the moment.

loulou1981

I'm bit of a gym bunny & do HIIT training & weights. Once the weather gets better I'll get back into outdoor running. Did u want to do a team sport or something on ur own??

teatreeoil007

I enjoy swimming.

MikeM

Both are fine.

Soberwolf

Karate or Taekwondo

MikeM

I've done Karate. Actually, if you know something about it, I used to get trained by Dave Jonkers. And Sem Schilt. Sem taught some of the classes.

I know about Taekwondo, but it seems too over-focused on kicking techniques. A good friend of mine practices though and she likes it.

But they're both off my list already because of the reasons above.

SirKevin

Boxing was a brilliant thing for me for years when I was a bit younger. It gets you into a team mentality with other guys in the gym with common goals that I think other similar sports sometimes lack.

. Also takes 3-4 nights a week off your hands so you would have plenty to do.

DontRemember

I workout and do some boxing(heavy/speed bag) at home. Been considering joining a MMA gym soon.

Meraviglioso

I vote for martial arts too. You get a great workout but also a mental one and I have found my karate practise has helped strengthen my sobriety.

Just a note, and not to start a debate, but please do you own research on crossfit before you consider it. It is very dangerous in that nearly anyone can get qualified to teach it in just one day if they pay the money. If you are doing olympic lifts with heavy weights (which is what they do) you need someone who can guide you properly on perfect form and execution, otherwise you risk injury. Secondly, olympic lifts (or weight lifting in general) is not to be done in "do as many as you can in this amount of time" No, there are short sets of say 10-12, or 8-10, even 4-6) based on the weight, the lift, your gold, etc.

I know it is a popular sport for the motivation factor and the fun team atmosphere (with that I can't argue) but it is not safe in terms of injury prevention.

mako

I vote for boxing, great combo of cardio and resistance, and great for blowing of steam

MyLittleHorsie

You could always join a softball team. I have always played and our church always has a team that competes in a non church league.
You mentioned cycling, do you have a cycling club nearby? Some have requirements, ours requires you be able to cycle 20km an hour, we also have winter training indoors on spin bikes.
A lot of my friends play ball hockey when the ice is put of our arenas. Pretty competitive and of course while thrre isn't supposed to be, there is some body contact. Which is why I don't play. Falling on concrete hurts

Zebra1275

Do you need to limit yourself to one sport?

If you want an alternative idea, try tennis.

It can be very demanding physically if you want that.

But you can also play it coed which is fun. And you can play it until you are 80.