Why diverse, flexible fitness is fun!

There’s no doubt about it: sport and exercise have a positive effect on the whole body and on our brains too. Regular physical activity gets the best out of our bodies, prevents diseases and helps our tissues heal faster. Sport is truly a fountain of youth!

However, there’s another side to the coin: sore muscles, aching limbs, aching  joints and only being able to move at snail’s pace. The phrase “sport is murder” comes to mind after yet another session pushing ourselves to the limit.

It’s usually the dose that makes the poison. In this article we speak with Maik Levie, a “Bewegungsheld“, to find out how to get the most out of sport without breaking our bodies. We asked him how we can get more fun than frustration out of our exercise routine? And how do we maintain a sense of joy when we do sport?

Maik Levie started doing competitive sports early in his youth and realised relatively quickly that doing many sports at the same time is a lot more fun than doing one at a time!

After the multi-disciplined athlete changed his view on sports and exercise, Maik was able to gain a happy, meaningful and healthy understanding of how much fun exercise can be when you listen to your own needs.

Let’s start at the beginning…

What are the differences between sport and movement?

The terms movement and sport are often used synonymously and often confused with each other. They’re actually completely different – and that is all to do with the different effects on our musculoskeletal system.

Maik says “sport” is understood to mean a specific form of movement, play or competition. Certain sequences are emphasized in each case. Movement, on the other hand, is understood to be a physical activity without subordinating to a specific form. By this he means the deliberate activity of the human body independent of any kind of sport.

Movement is therefore what we do in everyday life. Sport differs in its objectives because it’s often the result that counts.

Is sport murder?

Some might say it is – and many sports enthusiasts proclaim it proudly, while others might use it as an excuse not to partake in physical activity. In this context Churchill’s “No sports” quote is often used to support this statement!

Often our fitness ambition is to be better, faster and fitter than the competition. This results-based ethos is what makes sport competitive.

Maik says: “This kind of sport ethos has nothing more to do with normal exercise. What people do to achieve a certain result has little to do with sense or reason – but happiness and health should be the only values we strive for in sport.”

Ambition is therefore a double-edged sword. Although the right amount of ambition can drive us to peak performance, “…excessive pressure to perform – whether from the outside or from the athlete himself can lead to injury, emotional stress, negative evaluations and a stressful experience. That’s why some people distance themselves from the natural urge to move,” Maik states.

Do you remember those long gone childhood days when we’d pursue our natural urge to move? We’d run through meadows and jump in puddles and climb up trees and skip with friends whenever we felt like it.

Enjoy movement again

Maik says: “Movement is something expressionistic, something original, that rises deeply from the soul of the individual. It communicates our personality and brings our unconscious to the surface. 

This promotes the ingenuity of each person – not only of those who are suited to a particular field. Movement is an art, just like poetry or painting.”

Maik says to fully exploit the potential of your movement you should:

• Start something just for fun 
• Immerse yourself in nature and use the surroundings for sporting activities
• Do sports with friends or in a team 
• Benefit from the many different sports cultures 
• Stretch and meditate as a supplement after training if you want to concentrate on one sport only
• Become active instead of consuming sports through digital channels

With our offer you can do more than 50 sports – fitness, yoga, swimming, climbing, team sports, wellness and much more – with over 8,000 partners throughout Europe. So go ahead and have some fun!