Are you thinking of or currently playing American Football? Here are 4 benefits of the sport.

Are you thinking of playing American Football? Or do you currently play it and are interested in the benefits of the sport? Either way, American Football can benefit you both mentally and physically. It’s not only great for your muscular strength and your cardiovascular system, but it also helps you make friends, meet new people and be outside. 

By playing once or twice a week, you can expect to burn plenty of calories and increase your overall fitness. Professional or ex-professional players like Joe Tumpkin can burn around 544 calories in one game. If you are new to the sport, you will most likely burn less, but that doesn’t mean you are not going to get a great workout. 

So what are the benefits of taking up American Football? Below we look into four of them. 

Meet new people 

Joining a sports team like an American Football club can be a great way to meet new people and make new friends. Most clubs will have sessions for different ability levels, meaning no matter your standard, you can join and meet like-minded people. A lot of the time, clubs will have social nights where you can go out and have a drink with your teammates – a good way to bond and get to know more about each other. You’ll find the knock-on effect of exercising a lot more is that you will improve your sleep quality. 

Improve your fitness levels 

One of the key areas that you will benefit most from when taking part in American football is an increase in your fitness levels. Long-distance running will help your cardiovascular system and will hugely improve your stamina. You’ll find your leg strength will also improve as well as your core strength and arm muscles. A lot of training sessions will involve working on your overall strength as this is a big part of being a good American Football player. 

Improve your mental health 

Your mental health is extremely important, just as important as your physical health. Regular exercise has been proven to help your mental health and make it easier to control. Sports help relieve tension in your body, your endorphins get released and you will feel more confident in yourself due to your overall fitness increasing. You will also find exercise helps reduce your stress levels which can affect your mental health in a big way. 

Improve your overall wellbeing 

You hear a lot about physical health and mental well-being which we have also mentioned above, however, an area that also improves is your overall wellbeing. Regular exercise helps improve your self-confidence, maintain a healthy weight, improve your overall mood, help your communication skills and much more. Whether you want to play American Football or start a different sport, exercise is key to a healthy lifestyle. 

Do you play American football or are you looking to play it? Do you agree with the benefits we have included above? Are there any benefits you would like to add that you think our reader would benefit from? Let us know in the comment box below.