The most effective sports against stress according to your personality

From boxing to yoga to dance, a multitude of sports allow us to free ourselves from the ambient stress of our long days. Keep scrolling for a review of the best sports activities to adopt to relieve your anxiety and cultivate serenity.

Between the stress of organizing the end-of-year celebrations, the waves of the pandemic and the pressure in the office, the worries have become part of our daily lives. Physical activity therefore remains one of the most effective ways to clear your head and boost your serenity. To optimize the effects, it is better to choose a sport that suits your character. 

Find below the sports that suit each personality with coach Lucile Woodward.

Boxing for stress relief

For those who need very quick anti-stress action, the coach recommends heading into sports such as boxing. “Thanks to its striking side, punching will be a real outlet,” notes Lucile Woodward. ", we go there little by little”, warns the coach. “It's not about hurting your shoulders from the first session if you've never done boxing, for example, "she continues.

Dancing to clear your head

"In general, what will make us de-stress is to think of something else, and to forget the details of the daily life," explains Lucile Woodward. The dance will allow us to be more focused on the coordination between the movements performed and the music, which will help us forget the rest. You start with at least 20 minutes to get into it, but you can go up to 1.5 hours a week, one or more times, depending on your level of stress. "With this discipline, we will be able to place ourselves in a dance world, a world apart, thanks to the music," notes Lucile Woodward. It's a time when you will only think about yourself and your body. ”Ballet-type dances, or the barre workout are strongly recommended, "because there is less impact than in boxing” she concludes.

Maximum concentration with Tai Chi

This very gentle ancestral martial art is a discipline during which you imagine a fight, with an imaginary sword in your hands. You will do a series of movements, with very slow repetitions. "It's a sport where you focus as much as possible on the precision of the movements," explains Lucile Woodward. All in the calmest possible atmosphere, the best being in total silence. “At first, you cab practice it with a teacher or an online video, and once you master the choreography, you can start practicing it alone, outdoors or at home”, she explains.

“For calm people, the practice of yoga will be beneficial against stress”, admits the sports coach.

Breathing with yoga ... or outdoor activities

“For calm people, the practice of yoga will be beneficial against stress”, admits the sports coach. “It will allow you to concentrate on your breathing, and therefore not think of anything else." Ideally, this is done with a teacher (or an online video), who will bring you into a sort of hypnotic state. But beware, yoga may not be suitable for everyone. "For some people, staying still is going to become an additional source of anxiety," warns Lucile Woodward.

Finally, for some, being in contact with nature will have a natural calming effect. It is therefore good to focus on running or cycling. “In trail running, for example, we are very focused on where we put our feet, on the path we are following, in mountain biking on braking… This concentration will have an immediate anti-stress effect”, reassures Lucile Woodward. For this relaxation to be optimal, the coach recommends leaving your connected watch or other calorie expenditure counter at home. “For a search for well-being, we cut everything and we focus on how it feels, without timed data, just for fun,” she recommends. Her final advice: "Combine all sports a bit, to multiply the anti-stress effects."