• Question: What sport would you recommend doing to a 13 years old girl that doesn't have a lot of free time due to homework/extracurriculars, that eats quite healthy and that wants this sport to be as complete as possible?

    Asked by Alba? to Andrew, Dan, Emilia, Helen, Katy, LauraAnne, Stephanie on 9 Nov 2016.
    • Photo: LauraAnne Furlong

      LauraAnne Furlong answered on 9 Nov 2016:

      I would have a think about what activities do you like doing, you are interested in, and that you might be able combine doing two things at once e.g. can you do it with your friend so you can chat as you do it. Having a buddy to do something with means you have some company to do it, but also some motivation to actually exercise (it can be very easy to be ‘too busy to exercise’ when its just you on your own!). Walking and running are good for making your heart and lungs strong, get you out in the fresh air so your brain gets some oxygen so you can concentrate in class, and are good activities to do with someone so you can chat as you do them and it’s also safer to go in pairs or threes in case anything happens. They are known to have positive effects on your fitness but be careful not to overdo it, running every day means your body can get injured quite quickly. Team games such as netball or hockey are great fun and very social, and are usually very structured training times which includes several different types of activity. Some schools do yoga and pilates, and these are good for building strength and flexibility, and are also good for de-stressing your brain and helping you to sleep better. I would suggest a combination of a few different things you like is good, because then you get several different benefits, you don’t get bored too easily and you’re less likely to get injured

    • Photo: Katy Griggs

      Katy Griggs answered on 9 Nov 2016:

      I agree with Laura Anne, do activities that you enjoy as you are more than likely to stick to continuing doing the activity. Doing team sports is great fun and means you get to socialise with friends at the same time. Look for sports clubs in your area or see what sports your school offers. Just squeezing 1/2 hr of activity into your day makes a big difference to your health and fitness levels.

    • Photo: Helen Hanstock

      Helen Hanstock answered on 11 Nov 2016:

      When I was 13 I used to do a lot of sport/exercise through clubs/lessons either at school or outside. It’s a great way of being active because it can be sociable too, and if you join a club outside of school you might make some new friends. I found that I made some of my closest friends this way as we all had a common interest. It could be dance lessons, swimming lessons/club, team sports or something a bit more adventurous such as rock climbing.

      When I was around 13 I joined my local athletics club (track & field) which was really great because they let us try out lots of different activities (sprinting, distance running, jumping, throwing) to find out what we enjoyed or were best at. I liked doing a bit of everything so eventually at around aged 15 when we started to specialise I joined the multievents group and started competing in heptathlon – which is a real all round sport!

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