Search Results for: sports

August 29, 2020 By GOQii 7 Comments

6 Health Benefits of Playing Sports

Do you remember the days when you were active and indulged in sports. Be it a game of football or cricket in your alley or shooting 3 pointers at your college’s basketball court, running all over the place with your friends created cherished memories. If this was an integral part of your childhood, you are familiar with the health benefits of playing sports!

Sports ensures that you are active both mentally and physically. As you grow older, sometimes due to responsibilities, work, family or other reasons, we tend to give up on our favorite hobby. We have seen so many cases where a person who used to play a sport, gave up and gained weight.

In most cases, once they began playing their favorite sport once again, their body accelerated much faster than the others and they lost all the stubborn fat they couldn’t get rid of otherwise. This happens primarily because your cells have the memory of being active. Remember that it is never too late to start again!

Sports as an extracurricular activity in school and college not only gave you a break from your studies but also helped you get healthier. How you ask? Let’s find out!

6 Health Benefits of Playing Sports

It teaches you to be patient, have a fighting spirit, and never settle for less in life.
Studies show that, children who have been into sports or are blessed with super active genes are quick learners, very social, perform better at any given task, are more attentive in class and their grasping powers are much better than the others.
Sports at an early age helps in life-long fitness habits.
Earlier it was believed that any type of physical exertion can make a person feel more tired and less attentive. This belief was nothing more than a myth. Active people are more intellectual and perform better as compared to sedentary people.
Looking at the growing occurrence of Teenage Obesity, sports can be a great and fun way to help them get back into shape.
Any sport or activity will give you a dash of endorphins, reducing any kind of stress and keeping you happy!

So don’t sit back and think you’re too old for this or too old to get back to the sport you love! Wake up your inner child, grab your equipment, play a sport and encourage those around you to as well!

If you don’t have a favorite sport or activity, you can always start running. Join the Fit India Freedom Run by downloading the GOQii App and run for a healthy India! For tips on sports and running, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to live sessions by experts on GOQii Play.

Happy National Sports Day!

#BeTheForce

February 21, 2017 By Anusha Subramanian Leave a Comment

Sports for Social Inclusion

“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do”—– John Wooden

GOQii supports Social Premier League (SPL)

Sports they say is a great leveller. It can bring the privileged and the underprivileged on the same platform to compete with each other in true spirit. Sports can very well be used as a tool for social inclusion and to bring about a social change. Some anecdotal evidence suggests that when applied correctly, sport can create bridges where boundaries usually exist, giving participants a lesson in teamwork, empathy for their teammates and respect for their opponents. It helps develop a strong sense of morality; and the development of an appreciation of diversity.

Sport is clearly not just about competition and exercise, but also regulates behaviour and creates a feeling of belonging, which in turn leads to the strengthening of democracy.

Singing Footsteps Foundation (SFF), is one such organisation in Patna, Bihar that is trying to bring about a social change through sports. The organisation started by Toni Sharma, a professor at NIFT and currently pursuing PhD (ECONOMICS) at IIT aims at bringing about true equality in human lives as well as balance in the ecology, using sports as the driving force to bring together the youth and achieve the social balance.

Sharma is a strong proponent of an egalitarian society, a philanthropist and a social activist at heart. He also mentors startups and advises various incubation centres. His idea with SFF is to showcase and effectively address the most burning and plaguing issues of our society at a large scale, on a single platform.

He says, “Our vision is to bring about social change by harnessing the power of youth and sports. We are constantly focusing on social changes through innovative strategies. We believe in the intent backed by invention”.

So what does SFF do with sports? It has started a league cricket game called ‘Social Premier League’ (SPL), to bring together the virtues of sports to fight the inequities of the society.SPL is a cricket tournament involving the entire youth and corporate fraternity to effectively spread the message of social integration and awareness. It is an initiative that endeavours to bring together the youth from all backgrounds in a relaxed and natural environment that are ideal for harnessing the power of sports to engage communities and change lives.

This year’s SPL that was held at the beginning of this month included Autorickshaw drivers, slum children and, girls and boys of premier colleges.

By way of the cricket tournament, SFF has been able to bring about a behavioural change among the auto drivers such as being more responsible on the road, minimising honking etc. “We have seen a tremendous change in the attitude of the auto drivers since they have been playing this tournament. They have developed empathy and we realised that we can create awareness about lots of issues along with them. If we enable them with the right tools they can help us in disseminating information and creating awareness,” says Sharma.

As participation in the league tournament, each of the auto drivers teams was also asked to pick a social cause that they would like to create awareness about. The two issues that the auto drivers were keen on creating awareness about was Cancer and Malnutrition. They carried messages on these issues in their auto.

SFF is now working towards a financial inclusion of these auto drivers by opening bank accounts for them and after this, they will conduct health check-ups for their children and family as a whole.

According to Sharma, “Sports is the most powerful and the only stimulus in the world that can help build a positive attitude, instil fearlessness and leads to significant overall development.”

“We believe that to make a significant contribution we need to employ the best of youth to uplift those at the lowest rung of the society. We believe in concentrating on the weakest. We believe in mutually beneficial relations that help us raise resources in a way that others can’t. And yes, we don’t settle for the second spot, in order to give the best to those who need our help the most,” Sharma concludes.

As a company, GOQii has been supporting several causes through its Karma Platform. As part of our ongoing efforts to do good karma in the society and get our players to do the same. Supporting SPL and SFF is one such initiative in this direction. GOQii believes that giving to others gives an inner happiness to one while also improving one’s own health.

October 15, 2014 By Parwage Alam 13 Comments

THE BEST WAYS TO TREAT A MINOR SPORTS INJURY

In my childhood I have often had minor injuries while playing sometime or the other. And, getting hurt was just natural while playing a sport or otherwise with friends. My mother used to come up with home remedies in some cases where the injury was not too big. Mother’s remedies also helped my injuries to heal and recover quickly.

Now, I am a professional physical trainer and have studied and gained professional knowledge about how to treat minor sport injuries. Treatments for a sports injury depends on how severe the injury is and which part of the body is affected.

If your injury does not require medical treatment /Minor Sports injuries – for example, a mild sprain or strain – you can treat it at home using PRICE therapy.

PRICE stands for protection, rest, ice, compression, and elevation.

Protection – protect the affected area from further injury – for example, by using a support.

Rest: Rest is vital to protect the injured muscle, tendon, ligament or other tissue from further injury. If injured, stop playing and protect the injured part from further damage. Avoid putting weight on the injured part, get help moving to a safe area off the field. Resting the injured part is important to promote effective healing.

Ice – Cold will reduce pain and swelling. Apply an ice or cold pack right away to provide short-term pain relief and also limits swelling by reducing blood flow to the injured area. When icing injuries, never apply ice directly to the skin (unless it is moving as in ice massage) and apply the ice or cold pack for 10 to 20 minutes, 3 or more times a day. After 48 to 72 hours, longer exposure can damage your skin and even result in frostbite.

Compression – Compression refers to the application of pressure to keep the swelling down. Compression helps limit and reduce swelling, which may delay healing. Some people also experience pain relief from compression. An easy way to compress the area of the injury is to wrap an ACE bandage around the swollen part. If you feel throbbing, or if the wrap just feels too tight, remove the bandage and re-wrap the area so the bandage is a little looser.

Elevation – Elevating an injury help control swelling. For example, if you injure an ankle, try lying on your bed with your foot propped on one or two pillows.

After 48 hours of PRICE therapy, stop compression and try moving the injured area. If, after this time, your symptoms are worse, visit your doctor. PRICE therapy can be useful for any sports injury, but some injuries may require additional treatment.

Once the healing process has begun, light massage may reduce the formation of scar tissue, and improve tissue healing.

Gentle stretching can be begun after all swelling has subsided. Try to work the entire range of motion of the injured joint or muscle, but be extremely careful not to force a stretch, or you risk re-injury to the area. Keep in mind that a stretch should never cause pain.

April 12, 2021 By Farhat Khan 2 Comments

How Does Omega 3 Help Muscle Building and Recovery

As we all know Omega 3 fatty acids are essential fats required by our body & we must get it from diet because our body cannot produce them on its own. There are 3 most important types of fatty acids which are:

Alpha Linolenic Acid (ALA)
Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA)
Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA)

Among this ALA is mostly found in plant oil like Flaxseeds oil, Soya bean and canola oils. While DHA & EPA are found in Animal food, mostly in fish and other sea foods. Our body can convert a small amount of ALA into DHA & EPA but it’s still not the optimum amount requirement by the body.

We all connect Omega 3’s with heart & brain health but we neglect the fact that it is essential for athletes and for people to lead an active lifestyle. Yes, from protecting our heart and brain, it plays a vital role in blood vessels, lungs, immune system, endocrine system and easing recovery after a workout.

As we know, protein is the main nutrient for athletes or sports persons, regardless of the workout whether it is weight lifting, cycling, running, swimming or muscle building. But do we know that Omega 3 fatty acids are equally involved in muscle protein synthesis? It is the process our body goes through to convert the protein we take, into fuel which is required by the muscles to grow, repair and stay strong after a workout. Having a good level of these fatty acids in your muscles during exercise seems to help muscle growth and recovery.

Food Sources for Omega 3

We can get adequate amount of Omega 3 fatty acids by eating variety of foods such as

Fish & other sea foods: Especially cold water fish such as Salmon, Tuna, Mackerel, Herring and Sardines
Plant oils: Flaxseeds oil, soya bean oil & canola oil
Nuts & seeds: Chia seeds, walnuts & flaxseeds
Some fortified foods also contain Omega 3’s. These include yogurt, milk, soy beverages, eggs and juices.

Why Do We Need Omega 3 Fatty Acids Before a Workout?

It Improves endurance
Helps one perform better
Builds muscle
Helps increase lean body mass and decrease fat mass
Improves recovery time by reducing Inflammation

It’s common to feel sore post a workout. In fact, some people start to feel sore and stiff 2 days after a heavy workout. This is referred to as Delayed Onset Muscles Soreness (DOMS). It can affect workout motivation and performance and is caused by inflammation in muscle cells. Omega 3 helps inhibit the onset of DOMS and additionally helps in temporary muscle strength loss as well, improving workout performance.

Omega 3s increase muscles building response to amino acid (protein) & insulin too – both of which are normally released by the body during exercise. It means the more Omega 3 we have, the better the chances are in maintaining muscles and rebuilding them.

With increase in age, we can see progressive loss of muscle mass. It becomes more difficult to maintain and build muscles. The main cause can be a decreased response to both resistance training and protein intake. The Anti inflammatory properties of Omega 3 plays a role here by enhancing muscle sensitivity to protein and resistance training that will allow for greater gains in muscle size and strength with increasing age.

Omega 3 fatty acids can also help in decreasing the need for oxygen during exercise, which means that the body will work more efficiently and require less energy for the workout. This will directly help in improving recovery time.

Omega 3 fatty acids also play a great role for the person whose goal is to lose weight. Omega 3 fatty acids can help you burn fat by using it as energy. Here, the thumb rule is the more omega 3s you have, the better your body will function as it burns more fat for energy as you exercise.

Requirement

Requirement of Omega 3 fatty acids changes from person to person. Athletes and people who live an active lifestyle tend to have higher omega 3 needs than the average person. The required range varies from 1g to 8g per day of EPA & DHA. It is also advised to take it before an exercise session for better results.

We hope this article helps you! Do leave your thoughts and queries in the comments below! For more on fitness and nutrition, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to LIVE sessions by experts on GOQii Play.

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