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3 Exercise Traps That Prevent You From Getting The Most Out Of Your Workout

If you are working out correctly, you should find yourself physically energized but mentally relaxed after your daily workout. Working out should be a way to relieve stress, rather than a source of additional stress in your life. Unfortunately, not everyone feels this way about exercise. Many people think of exercise as a daily obligation rather than a source of fun and rejuvenation. If you find that working out is not giving you the natural high that your friends are getting, you may have fallen into one of these three traps.

The First Trap: A Failure to Start

There are many reasons why you might skip your workout. You may feel too tired or it may be difficult to fit it into your schedule. If you never get started with your workout, it is obvious that you will not get the mental and physical benefits from it. Furthermore, if you plan to work out and skip it, you may be worse off than you started because you may end up feeling guilt or stress about it.

The Solution: Proper Motivation

Motivation that will make you want to exercise even when you are busy or are having an, "off," day can be difficult to find. Internal motivation works best. Instead of concentrating on how others perceive you or what they expect of you, concentrate on how exercise makes you feel. For this to be successful, you will need to gain some positive experiences working out, so make sure you find an activity that you enjoy doing. Then, try to build memories rather than simply working towards a weight loss or physical achievement goal. To be able to easily access this motivation, create an inspiration board and hang it in your home or keep it on your smartphone.

The Second Trap: Working Out Too Hard, Too Fast

Have you ever experienced a feeling of satisfaction after long hike or enjoyed the feeling of soreness the morning after you spent the day rock climbing? If so, you may think that every time you push yourself you will have similar results. However, these results come after a gradual build up and cannot be achieved on a daily basis without exhausting and potentially injuring yourself. If you push yourself too hard, too often, you will begin to resent exercising rather than look forward to it.

The Solution: Schedule Gentler Options

If you are the type to overdo it, you should schedule a few gentler options into your week. Yoga, swimming, or a dance class can all keep you active without pushing you too hard. If you feel unmotivated one day, you should not feel bad about swapping your 10-mile run for 30 minutes of meditative yoga.

The Third Trap: Not Working Out Hard Enough

Although you cannot push yourself to the limits every day, you will get the most from your exercise if you do so occasionally. Pushing yourself can release endorphins that help clear the clutter from your mind. Many active people claim that when they push themselves, especially while doing aerobic activity, they feel calm and in state similar to meditation. This can be extremely healthy if you are a busy or naturally anxious person. However, if you are new to working out or not confident in your physical ability, you may not push yourself hard enough to achieve these benefits, which will eventually make your workouts feel boring, repetitive and useless.

The Solution: Finish Strong

Your workout should build progressively. Before you begin, you should plan your activity and duration. Towards the final 5-10 minutes of your workout, plan to increase your exertion to a point that has you breathing hard. As you gain more physical ability, you will find that you enjoy pushing harder for a longer period of time. If you do not feel comfortable giving that extra push at the end of your workout, you should consider joining an exercise class. An instructor can let you know when you should give it your all and keep you motivated until you are ready to cool down.

Feeling like you are in the zone during a workout can be one of the best feelings in the world. When you don't achieve that feeling, you may wonder what you are doing wrong and even feel guilty about your workout. However, you must keep in mind that the mental benefits of working out are achieved with planning and dedication, not through luck.

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Inject a Little Fitness in Your Day: 5 Ways to Get Moving Without a Gym Membership

It’s the most popular New Year’s Resolution, nay goal in general, year in and year out: get fit and healthy. Seems easy enough at first, but once the year gets going, you start to notice that dream slipping away as easily as it was once conjured up. For one thing, gym memberships aren’t cheap, and may unintentionally be the biggest roadblock to obtaining the healthy body you’re pining away for. Here’s a secret: you don’t have to have a membership to the most exclusive gym with state of the art equipment to get a little fitness in. In fact, you don’t need a gym membership at all. Here are 5 ways to get your body moving without stepping foot in a gym.

1. Treat Your Workplace Like a Gym

It may sound silly, but there are so many ways to maximize everything the office has to offer and utilize it to get yourself moving. If you work at an office a few floors up, take the stairs. Sick of sitting at your desk for hours on end staring at a computer? Take a couple of laps around the building. Walking will loosen up the muscles, help clear your head and get that heart rate up. Stand up every once and awhile and do some squats or lunges or even stretch out the muscles that have been slowly tightening up as you sit at a desk. It can even become a group thing with your co-workers.

2. Outside Is Your New Best Friend

This is a win-win scenario. First of all, you are getting off that couch and out to the fresh air. Win. Plus there are so many free ways to move it and groove it when you’re outside that getting moving will be a cinch. Double win. Take a walk or run around the block. Start up a garden, and pretty soon that sucker will need to be taken care of, and you’ll be there to do the manual labor. You could even find a friend and go on a hike, or long trail. The longer you go, the more there will be to see and you will forget you’re “working out!”

3. Use High Schools to Your Advantage

Now hold on. You don’t have to go back to depths of your teenage years. Well, at least not as a student. However, most high schools have a track the general public also has access to, and some even allow outsiders to use their swimming pool. Ta da! Two things at the same location. One day you can go run a few laps and get in some quick exercises on the track, then another you can suit up for a quick dip in the pool. Plus, there are plenty of like-minded people there and those people may subconsciously motivate you.

4. Ever Thought About Pinterest?

Or social media in general? It’s a powerful tool, and some sites like Pinterest and Tumblr have posts, boards, blogs dedicated to getting fit. Type in almost anything and a flood of information will come pouring back at you. You can even combine it with watching TV or movies. Find a workout sheet about Harry Potter or Star Wars, and you can watch a great movie without sitting still like a bump on a log. So get surfing!

5. Use Other People (In a Positive Way!)

Friends, significant others, kids, you can use them all to help you get moving. Get some friends together for a quick game of soccer or basketball. Take a group out for a jog. Heck, friends can even be the go to when you're by yourself and need an extra boost of motivation. Why not crank up some music and dance with someone you love? Boyfriends, girlfriends and spouses are great candidates for this. Even little ones can help. Their energy knows no boundaries, so chase them around, play some tag or even include them in whatever exercises you're doing. Their enthusiasm will keep you going.

Get Going!

Now there's no excuse for letting that fitness goal fall by the wayside. There are so many ways to move without splurging on a gym membership. It just takes a these ideas and a little creativity. So what are you still looking at this for? Get out there and get moving!

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Fitness Tools For Digital Nomads

There is no question that the Internet has revolutionized the way we work. Indirectly, it has also revolutionized the way that we play. New job opportunities that allow telecommuting have given rise to the digital nomad. And while it is easy enough to pack up your laptop and hit the road, a gym is a little harder to fit into a bag.

Staying in shape on the road provides a whole new set of challenges to the digital nomad who wants to keep fit. A gym membership does not do much good when you are on the other side of the country, or the world. And it is pointless to invest much money in outfitting a home gym if you aren't going to be home to use it.

There are other, less tangible losses to having a gym that you visit regularly as well. The relationships that you develop with other people at the gym can provide some much needed motivation to keep going. Being recognized and part of the gym creates a feeling of comfort and familiarity that simply can't be developed on a short business trip.

Many hotels have a fitness center or gym that is available for all guests to use during their stay. A truly dedicated gym goer will find this to be adequate for their workout needs. Finding the time to visit the gym while travelling can be challenging, but many centers are open 24/7 for the purpose of overcoming this obstacle. Most digital nomads do not stay at hotels so this may not work for everyone.

There are other solutions to working out on the road as well. Even if you find yourself at a hotel without a fitness center, the Internet can help you find one nearby. Apps like Gymsurfing and GymForLess will help you find nearby gyms, no matter where you are. You can also buy passes through the app so that whenever you arrive at the gym you are immediately cleared to start working out. Such tools can save you valuable time when you are travelling.

If the gym scene isn't really your thing, there is no need to give up on working out. There are plenty of workouts that you can do without any equipment whatsoever. Websites like fightshape.co even offer special workouts that are designed to be done in a hotel room. With no equipment, there are no excuses not to do it.

Resistance bands are another option for those who are looking for workouts that they can take on the road. Resistance bands weigh almost nothing and so are easy to pack into almost any bag. Bands can be used to target any muscle group. There are more resistance band videos on the Internet than any one person could ever get through in one lifetime. Most companies that sell resistance bands include at least a small selection of workouts in your purchase. This is almost as good as having a complete home gym that you can take with you no matter where you are going.

Hotel fitness centers, gym finding apps, equipment free workouts and resistance bands are all viable options for keeping in shape even if you have adopted the life of a digital nomad. But there is one problem with being on the road that none of these solutions address. And that is the fact that everybody stays more motivated and has more fun when they have a workout buddy.

And of course, for those who like to stay in shape with a hard fought tennis match or a quick game of backyard football, a nomadic lifestyle seems to make that impossible. A group sport requires, obviously, a group. But just because you find yourself alone in unfamiliar territory doesn't mean that you are really alone. The PlayWith can really make the difference between keeping in shape on the road and having fun while doing so.

PlayWith is designed to connect people to other like-minded individuals in the surrounding area. Are you looking for someone who wants to play basketball? PlayWith can help you find them. Do you love racquetball, volleyball, rugby, or hockey? PlayWith can hook you up with people who share your passion for sports.

You can make plans with the people you meet on PlayWith to get together for a game later, or you can find people who are available immediately. It takes you back to the days of rounding up all the neighbourhood kids for an informal game and, like those childhood days, it makes exercise fun again. Keeping fit doesn't have to mean pumping iron in a gym. Though it certainly can, if that is what you like to do. You can burn off extra energy and build new muscle with a game of Frisbee on the beach just as effectively as doing an intense ab workout.

In addition to helping you stay in shape while travelling for your job, PlayWith addresses the other problem that often plagues digital nomads: you are cut off from your friends. And while the Internet makes it easy to stay in touch, nobody wants to spend every evening in their hotel room using an instant messenger service. PlayWith will help you get out and meet people, no matter where you are or how long you are staying.

Go make some new friends over a sweaty game of football and then head out for dinner and drinks with them afterwards. Or make plans to play a round of golf with a new acquaintance and then meet for lunch the next day. Whatever your interests are, PlayWith will help you find people who share them. It is the perfect tool for someone who has become a digital nomad.

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Developing and Maintaining a Healthy Relationship With Your Fitness Partner

You may feel alone in a crowded gym. You might need someone else around to keep you company on the daily 5-mile run. Alternatively, you may want to pair up with someone to join in on pickup sports or in a group fitness setting. Knowing someone else shares in your fitness goals can be delightfully motivating. Whatever your workout goals happen to be, having a suitable workout partner will bring a brighter social atmosphere to the workout environment. However, connecting with the right workout partner and maintaining a healthy relationship for years to come is sometimes more difficult than one might imagine. There are a lot of factors that impact such a relationship. This can be especially true in cases where there is a huge gap in performance and ability between you and your workout partner. It is important to recognize early on that not everyone is a good match to become your long-term fitness buddy. That being said, there are things you can do to ensure you will develop a healthy, long-term relationship with the right person.

Know Your Goals

Before attempting to ask someone else to join in your fitness endeavors, it is important to start off with a little self-evaluation. If you are interested in pickup sports, then someone who is into weight lifting may not be a good workout partner. Alternatively, if you are an avid runner, trying to match up with an overweight, unmotivated couch potato is not going to work either. When it comes to fitness, people who work out together should be somewhat interested in achieving the same goals. In fact, it is perhaps a smart idea to attempt to connect with someone who has a little more experience, or to connect with someone who could use a little extra guidance in your own area of fitness expertise. Such individuals already share an interest in the types of fitness routines you are involved in; thus, someone who is motivated by the same things you are will tend to be a more suitable workout partner. If you are not completely clear about what your goals happen to be, then it is a good idea to start writing them down. As you write things down, you start to see the big picture emerge. This also helps you to more concretely cement what actions you need to take to get where you need to be with your fitness endeavors. In addition, as you start to more clearly identify where you want to be with your own fitness, you can use this information to help you screen for the right fitness partner.

Dependability

It makes no sense to verbally commit to another person that you will be at the gym or a meeting place to work out and then not show up on time. Working out and getting fit is a lifestyle choice. If you and your workout partner are not both equally committed to put forth the effort to be punctual to each scheduled workout session, then your relationship as fitness partners is already off on a bad foot. It is inevitable that one of you will eventually realize that the other is not serious about getting fit. This is why you must find out ahead of time how serious your chosen fitness partner is before investing a lot of time in them. It never hurts to test them to make sure they will be dependable. Within reason, everyone runs into problems and faces issues, but a workout partner should be someone you can rely on to keep their word and show up on a regular basis. This is especially important when it comes to group sports. If you or your fitness buddy does not make the effort to show up, your team may end up not having enough players. This can ruin things for everyone involved, and it will likely put a strain on your relationship sooner or later.

Honesty and Ability

If you find that you cannot keep up with your workout partner's intense workout, it is best to let them know what is going on as soon as possible. It is one thing to push yourself or your partner, and it is another thing to recognize legitimate limitations. You and your fitness buddy should be able to be honest about such matters. This way, neither one of you will be pushing the other in ways that could get someone hurt. Getting hurt unnecessarily can dramatically hinder one's fitness goals. Remember, being put out of action with a preventable injury is not the way to achieve true fitness. In like manner, workout partners should have the good sense to speak up if they think their partner is over-exerting themselves in a dangerous way.

Avoid the Ills of Overly Competitive Behavior

If you wanted to get involved in group sports and pickup games, it can be exciting to find a fitness partner who shares in your passion for the sports you are involved in playing. Group sports can be a lot of fun, but they can also be highly competitive sports. Unfortunately, when competition gets out of hand, this can dramatically effect the relationship you are trying to maintain with a fitness buddy. If you find yourself performing better than your partner at certain pickup games, it is best to avoid rubbing it in. Inversely, if you find yourself not winning very often, it is better to view this as motivation to try harder rather than getting visibly upset. Nothing kills a relationship faster between friends than being a bad sport. It is important for properly matched fitness friends to understand that being a good sport is essential to a working relationship.

Healthy Conversation

When involved in group fitness activities, there are often opportunities for people to converse while they workout. If one of your goals is to keep a fitness partner around for the long-term, then it is probably best to talk about things that both of you agree about. Often, intensely controversial subjects do more to create tension than anything else. In addition, anger and related forms of stress are not really all that conducive to a healthy workout session. Consequently, it is in the spirit of being considerate to bring positive, uplifting conversational items to a workout. If you notice that your workout partner is not in the best of moods, it may be a sign that encouraging conversation will help to lighten the mood and get you both focused. Getting people to talk positively about themselves is also a useful way to enhance a workout and a fitness-based relationship.

Appreciation Goes a Long Way

A major key to any type of lasting relationship is when people have the ability to show appreciation to each other. The same holds true between fitness partners. Showing someone that you appreciate them for being there to support your goals and share in your accomplishments is all part of what a positive, healthy fitness relationship is all about. A fitness buddy will more likely stick around for the long-term if they believe you appreciate them for staying committed to the cause.

Now that you know how to find and maintain a healthy relationship with a fitness partner, it is time to get out there and find one of your own. A fitness partner can both enhance your workout and your life. They can help you accomplish your goals, and they will be there to share in your joy when you do. The next step is to take action to begin the screening process and connect with someone who shares in your desire to be fit.

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Think Outside The Gym For Fitness: Pick-up Sports

Many of us think of the gym when we think of fitness. We imagine ourselves running on a treadmill or hitting the weight machines. There are many different ways to get fit at the gym, but the common result is that after a short period of time we get bored and stop going. This is a waste of time and money and doesn’t improve your fitness.

The simple fact is, the more that fitness is integrated into our lives, the more fit we will be. Fitness should be something we do off and on throughout the day instead of something we force ourselves to do in one big block of time in the gym. Studies have shown that the more time we spend sitting, the worse our fitness, even if we exercise hard after work.

Fitness should be fun. There are many ways to get fit and stay fit. Studies have also shown that people who genuinely enjoy their fitness activities stay with it longer and get more fit than people who are forcing themselves to do the workouts. This is one reason why pickup games are a great choice for fitness.

As children, it is pretty common to spontaneously start a game. Many of us have memories of playground games of kickball or baseball, or neighborhood games of soccer. Go to a playground or field on the weekend and you’re likely to find a group of kids running around playing a pickup game of some sort or another.

Sometimes as adults, starting a game seems a bit harder. But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are many adults that like to play games and would enjoy participating in pickup games. The best thing you can do is ask. Alternatively, you can post messages on community message boards seeking players for regular pickup games of the sport you enjoy most.

Pickup games offer a way to get your activity up without it feeling like work. When you play a pickup game, the focus is on playing well and winning instead of meeting your target heart rate or counting the minutes that you are exercising. When you don’t feel like you’re working, you work out longer and harder.

By making your goal to improve your game, you will find that your fitness level improves as well. For example, if you commit to a regular pickup game of basketball, you might find yourself doing running exercises to improve your cardiovascular fitness and endurance or shooting drills to improve your skills overall.

Pickup games offer an alternative to traditional gym based workouts. When you start playing pickup games, you will find that you’re enjoying yourself more than you did in the gym and your fitness will improve.

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The 11 Unwritten Rules Of Pickup Basketball

Here are the rules of pickup basketball etiquette.

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We have a winner in our Leo Messi signed FCB jersey contest!

It's the moment you've all been waiting for. The winner of our FCB Jersey signed by Leo Messi giveaway was decided some time ago but it took longer than expected for him to receive his prize. And today was finally that day.  

Without further ado, we would like to finally announce the winner!

Meet Axel Gillino, a product designer and interactive art director from Montreal, Canada. Of course, a huge PlayWith, Lionel Messi and pickup soccer fanatic.

Congratulations!

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Pickup Soccer in Brazil Has an Allure All Its Own

Known as pelada, pickup soccer has long been a part of Brazilian culture, attracting players day and night who play for the love of the game.

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The Art of Pickup

By Yael Averbuch

The Cast of a Pickup Game

We call it pickup, but for any of us who play regular small-sided games with a group, let’s be honest–we all know it’s much more serious than that. Good pickup soccer is an art. The proper balance must be met in order for everyone involved to enjoy themselves, get better, and want to come back. Just like in a movie, there are some typical characters in any pickup group. Some are integral to a great game, and some we could all do without. Let’s examine the cast of a typical pickup game…

The Coach: The Youth Soccer Coach is a great addition to any pickup game. He/she is always positive and encouraging, giving just the right amount of verbal instruction without overdoing it or being too intense. Typically The Coach is a good player, but not the best out there, and is fully aware of those limitations. It’s always a bonus to have The Coach on your team because he/she will be reliable and ensure the team is well-organized.

The Trickster: This guy or girl sees pickup as the place to try that Ronaldinho move they saw on Vine. Hey, why not? Because no one wants to put up with that nonsense! It’s annoying whether it’s happening on your team or against you. Yes, pickup is competitive enough environment where you (likely) won’t get two-footed for being a bit cheeky, but it’s not fun when people start trying ridiculous moves and hogging the ball. We all know this player and how annoying it can get when we are trying to win a game and all he/she is thinking of is how to pull off a nifty meg. Pickup IS the place to try things and have the freedom to dribble, but don’t be “that guy” who takes away the competitive element of the game by trying to show off too often.

The Goalkeeper: This player doesn’t actually wear gloves or use his/her hands but might as well. It doesn’t take long to identify The Goalkeeper in a pickup game because no matter where the ball is, he/she will be guarding the net (or cones/shoes/garbage can). It’s always good to have that person who you know will stay back, organize defensively, and be aware of the goal, but it can be taken a bit too far. If you have one Goalkeeper in your pickup group, you might as well have two so at least each team has equal protection.

The Way-Too-Good Old Guy: Any good pickup game features the dude who can barely get out of his car, limps up to the field, hobbles across the line, and then legitimately f***s everyone up out there. It’s like some type of scientific enigma how the body can function so poorly until it’s time to juke a defender or put in a gutsy tackle. These guys are freakishly strong, shockingly nimble, and often have crazy life stories and experiences surrounding the game. No pickup game is complete without The Way-Too-Good Old Guy.

The Wannabe: Pickup is likely the highest level play The Wannabe has ever experienced. An average player all through the ranks, pickup is where he/she gets to play with some elite players and seemingly fit in. You can tell a Wannabe because he/she is usually trying just a bit harder than everyone else and also (although attempting to hide it) getting more excited about success and more angry about failure. For The Wannabe, pickup is not a good training environment or a fun time–it is his/her World Cup.

The Dude Who’s Always Late: No matter what time pickup starts, there’s always that guy or girl who consistently shows up 30 minutes late. There’s an appropriate grace period with pickup–the time when everybody is showing up, tying shoes, stretching a bit, setting up the field. If you show up after that time, it’s not cool! You are disrespecting, and often ruining, the game. Yeah, it is pickup, so it technically is ok to just jump on whenever, but any group that plays often will have a routine. Once play starts, it’s a pain to stop to make changes on teams or add in a latecomer. Everyone has that day now and again when you’re stuck in traffic or a commitment beforehand runs late. But if you are late to pickup every time you play, you’re doing it wrong. Seriously, don’t be The Dude Who’s Always Late.

The One Everyone Likes To Play With: This is the guy/girl who makes everyone happy when they show up. Whether he/she is on your team or not, it doesn’t seem to matter. The One Everyone Likes To Play With just makes the entire game better. Typically this person is one of the best players out there–enjoyable to play with and also fun to play against because they pose a challenge. This player also has a great “pickup attitude.” They take the game seriously enough to make it competitive and fun but never too seriously. They do not get overly upset about anything or want to win so badly that they will cheat or ever hurt anyone to do so, but they try hard to win. The One Everyone Likes To Play With seems to always be in touch with why we play–because soccer is fun when everyone is working as a team for a desired result.

This article was originally published on The Special Ones. Read the original article.

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Can youth sports foster creativity? It depends

By Matthew Bowers, University of Texas at Austin

Youth sports are viewed as a rite of passage in a child’s development. If the clichés that permeate sports broadcasts and locker room speeches are to be believed, sports participation teaches children the value of hard work, builds character, and develops future leaders.

While the validity of these claims are questionable, the fact remains that parents allow millions of children to participate in youth sports each year. At the very least, parents have partial faith in the idea that youth sports are good for their kids.

Yet as a researcher and consultant who studies youth sports, I frequently speak with concerned parents. They’re worried that their child’s experience playing organized sports has diverged from their own.

Youth sports have become a big business in the United States, and have taken on a much more professionalized form over the past decade. In previous generations, children spent a large portion of their leisure time roving and playing throughout their neighborhoods. Today’s children, on average, are spending much less time in unstructured settings and much more time in environments – sport or otherwise – organized by adults.

Childhood sports and adult creativity: a study

In a study published earlier this fall in the Creativity Research Journal, some colleagues and I wrote an article that investigated the relationship between childhood leisure activities and creativity in young adults.

We hoped to explore the extent to which youth sport participation could influence creative development. In particular, we wanted to take a first step toward understanding whether participation in informal sports played in unstructured settings (for example, neighborhood or “pickup” sports) had a different impact on creativity than participation in traditional, organized youth sports.

In the study, we asked 100 undergraduate and graduate students to complete a very detailed “childhood leisure activities questionnaire,” which asked them to reflect on hours spent in various leisure activities during their school-age years. These ranged from creating art, to reading, to playing video games, along with participating in organized and informal sports. We also asked these same participants to complete the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults (ATTA), a widely-used creativity test that required them to draw and write in four creative activities.

We then analyzed the relationship between the participants' self-reported childhood leisure activities and their performance on the ATTA.

The study design contained a number of inherent limitations (for example, asking participants to remember and estimate hours spent per week participating in numerous leisure activities throughout their childhood). For this reason, we used a very conservative interpretation in our analysis of any relationships that emerged.

Particularly interesting is that, in spite of an overtly conservative analysis, the results were stark: time spent playing informal sports was significantly and positively related to overall creativity, while time spent playing organized sports was significantly and negatively related to overall creativity.

Perhaps even more interestingly, the difference between those participants whose scores placed them into “above-average” creativity bracket was only about two hours per week of unstructured sport participation throughout their school-age years.

What could account for such distal results? On a theoretical (and, frankly, intuitive) level, informal sports played in unstructured, unsupervised environments capture many of the elements that are linked with the developmental benefits of play for children. These environments offer children the freedom to self-govern, create rules, problem-solve and resolve social conflicts on their own terms.

The Land is a documentary that tells the story of a play space in Wales where kids can freely roam, build structures using scraps, and experiment with fire. The film highlights the benefits of unstructured play.

Organized sports, on the other hand, tend to replicate hierarchical and militaristic models aimed at obedience, replication, adherence to authority, and a number of other qualities that, on a theoretical level, would be unlikely to be conducive to creative development.

When I’m out in the field researching or consulting, parents often ask, “How does this research impact how I should approach my child’s youth sports experience?”

I tend to respond by pointing out two key takeaways.

1. How we play sports matters

As the youth sports experience (at least in the United States) becomes increasingly competitive and more intensely structured, children’s leisure time has been viewed as a zero-sum productivity enterprise. Children’s play, particularly in the form of pickup and neighborhood sports, has all but vanished in many communities.

What the results of our study indicate is that these unstructured settings that permit informal sports are not without merit. Rather, they may contribute to fostering positive outcomes like creativity. Under the right conditions, organized sports can do many beneficial things for a child’s development, but they cannot do everything (and, under the wrong conditions, they can be equally damaging). The long-term benefits of a less-structured environment may be harder for an adult to see, but they are well-established and validated over decades of research about children’s play.

Playing sports in an informal, unstructured setting may foster the development of positive traits like creativity. www.hooknladder.com

2. Balance is key

Perhaps the single-most intriguing finding from our analysis was the fact that those individuals whose scores on the creativity assessment identified them as “above-average” were not children who eschewed organized sports in favor of the activities we traditionally associate with creativity (art, music, theater, etc.). Instead, the respondents with “above-average” creativity simply appeared to strike more balance between their time spent in organized and unstructured sport settings.

In fact, those scoring in the “above-average” creativity bracket reported spending 15% of their total childhood leisure time playing informal sports versus 13% playing organized sports. The participants with “below-average” creativity, on the other hand, spent only 10% of their childhood leisure time playing informal sports versus 22% in organized sports.

As someone who researches youth sports, I find this distinction to be particularly encouraging. It suggests, at least to me, that parents interested in fostering more creative development for their children don’t have to necessarily forgo traditional organized sports. They simply need to be aware of the importance of a balanced distribution of their children’s time between organized and unstructured settings.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

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PlayWith College Ambassador Program

Calling all college students! Do you have what it takes to be a PlayWith Ambassador?

What is PlayWith?

PlayWith is the simplest way for friends and strangers to get together to play the sports and games they love. Using PlayWith people can find a game to play, right now or later. Anything from a game of soccer to a tennis match, on the pitch or on the couch.

PlayWith is the ultimate way to find friends and new buddies through sports.

PlayWith is for people who may not be able to commit to a league or a varsity program but still want to participate in group activities, stay fit and make new friends.

Our mission is to bring the world a little closer, one game at a time.

What is PlayWith Ambassador Program?

We want you to be a leader in the fitness movement on your campus! PlayWith Ambassador Program empowers you and your friends to get and stay fit, meet new friends and play more spots.

You will be directly involved in creating and executing an action plan that evangelises PlayWith on your campus. This includes social media and viral marketing campaigns, promoting PlayWith contests and events, conducting campus market research, and of course, creating your own events using PlayWith!

There is no single characteristic that makes up an ideal PlayWith Ambassador. We look for enthusiasm, drive, and, of course, plenty of creativity. We look for leaders—the students who are connected and make things happen on their campuses; leaders who inspire their peers, collaborate with administrators and campus organisations, and produce results.

Requirements

Students from all countries are encouraged to join PlayWith College Ambassador Program.

You must be a current, full-time university student.

Download PlayWith app, if you haven’t already.

Fill out the following form to let us know that you want to be a PlayWith Ambassador.

Perks

Have your photos and stories featured on our blog, Facebook and Twitter.

Be on the early release of new features and have an opportunity to influence app development.

Implement your own marketing campaign and action plan for your campus.

Letter of recommendation when needed for future jobs.

School credit (as allowed by your campus).

Start Up experience.

Access to a network of student Ambassadors around the world.

Prizes and incentives to top performers may include gift certificates, GoPros and more.

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'Tis the Season

Happy! Happy! Holidays!

We want to thank you for a wonderful year. From all of us at PlayWith, thank you!

We will be hitting the slopes and using PlayWith to meet new friends to explore off piste trails!

Never fear, you can still email us at [email protected] or tweet @PlayWithApp if you need any help from December 24-January 5.

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Most Popular Activities on PlayWith in 2014

Admittedly it is too early to draw any conclusions. PlayWith has only been around for a month in the entire 2014 and there are still a couple of weeks left in the year.

However, it is that time of the year, a time to draw some conclusions and reflect.

A couple of fun observations:

- There were more Product Hunt (#5) and Beta List (#9) events than many sports.

- PC (#6) master race can rejoice as they clearly beat PlayStation (#8) and Xbox (#13).

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PlayWith 1.0.1 is now available

PlayWith 1.0.1 is now available. This update introduces some much needed bug fixes and minor improvements.

If you experience any issues or have a suggestion please contact us using our support center or via email.

Reviews really help. If you like PlayWith please leave us a review on the App Store.

Thank you for using PlayWith.

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Win FC Barcelona soccer jersey signed by Lionel Messi!

Help us spread the word about PlayWith and win a FC Barcelona soccer jersey signed by Lionel Messi!

Enter Lionel Messi Signed 2014/15 FC Barcelona Soccer Jersey Giveaway

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Hooray! PlayWith is now available!

Dear friends, Today is a big day for PlayWith: we’re pleased to announce the public availability of our PlayWith app. Download now and create your first event! We hope PlayWIth makes it easier to get together with friends and strangers for sports and games you love. Let's bring the world a little closer, one game at a time! Should you encounter any issues or bugs, or just want to suggest a feature please use this form to send us feedback or shoot an email to [email protected] Thanks!

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Awwwards Honourable Mention

We are happy to find out that our website has received an Honorable Mention from Awwwards!

This special honor is given to websites that achieve a high score in Awwwards user vote, and will bring us greater visibility and prestige with an entry in Honorable Mentions section.

If awarded a high enough score, PlayWith site will be placed in a queue to appear as “Site of the Day”. It will also be included in Awwards book "The 365 Best Css Websites Around The World" in 2014.

Keep voting for us here and help us move to the top!