Why would I play polo? What do I have to gain by spending time playing with a ball in the water? Why is this little known sport that is water polo so interesting to practice? If you are asking yourself these questions then what follows should interest you. Come and discover the benefits of water polo!
We all have asked ourselves these questions, at least before starting to play. Today, I wanted to share with you all the good reasons to get into water polo. Whether it's the pleasure of playing, the increase of your lung and heart capacity, the work on your muscles or the benefits from all the unexpected advantages linked to water, there are plenty of good reasons to play water polo.
The first good reason to play water polo is the pleasure of playing. Personally, this is what I take from water polo as the main attraction. When other water sports are often individual, playing together is a real added value.
After a swim session, essential to warm up, we are constantly in contact with the members of our team and our club. A team sport is a good way to make friends, to meet alter egos from all over the world. It is the pleasure of conversing, of chatting, of sharing a common passion. And the advantage of water polo is that these shared moments don’t only happen on the edge of the pool or in the locker room, but also in the water.
This collective spirit is a form of socialization, which is even more relevant when you are young. We know that contact with a new sphere is important in the social and psychological construction of the individual. When this sphere is based on fair play, game, self-transcendence and respect for the rules’ standards, then collective sport becomes a vector of integration and even a vector of insertion into any group.
And then, there is this recurring proverb which has a kernel of truth: “Alone we go faster, together we go further”. It's almost a sentence that could define waterpolo as it responds to the essence of the game. If I can make a splash during an incredible counter-attack, it is the group that allows me to do it. During all phases of the game, I know that I can rely on my teammates. In my apprenticeship as a young human being, I trust other than myself and my first circle, and I show that I can be trusted. I discover the strength of the collective and how far it can take me when I play the game.
In fact, between the variety of exercises and the ever-present group, you never get bored with water polo.
What's also nice about water polo is that you'll get the same heart and lung benefits as those you get swimming. Whether you practice it in leisure or in the first division, whether you do one or nine training sessions per week, you will work on all of this. Because it is a healthy sport that we are talking about when we talk about water polo.
The aquatic environment is the major ally in the practice of waterpolo. Firstly, because the water puts pressure on your body and forces it to adapt its functioning. It will allow your blood to circulate much more easily than on earth and above all, without disparities related to gravity. On the heart, this means that with an equivalent effort, it will be solicited between 10 and 15% less compared to an activity out of the water.
Water sports are also very beneficial for people with high blood pressure. Swimming regularly, and a fortiori playing in the water, ultimately allows a reduction in resting heart rate and blood pressure. We will never say it enough but sport reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.
For the lungs, it is the work of apnea that will be a big benefit. The pressure of the water on your body will force your respiratory muscles to enlarge during inspirations, and the breathing techniques linked to the alternation between submerged and emerged head will, without you noticing it, make you less out of breath on effort. In water polo, we add to these advantages an even more important work on apnea. Indeed, in the field phases and including during training, part of the game requires moments of apnea. And working on your apnea is, to put it simple, teaching your body to work with as little oxygen as possible.
You will see, with practice and time, water polo will transform your sports practice and your everyday life.
For the same reasons as heart and lung strengthening, the rest of the body benefits from all the advantages associated with water and weightlessness.
Water polo is a sport that allows you to work all the muscles, both upper and lower body. First, for the swimming phases where the deep muscles are solicited and where the synchronization of the movements makes the body building harmonious. Then, because water polo mobilizes the upper body and the lower body in a desynchronized way during the game phases and will therefore allow a complete work of all areas.
With the eggbeater the legs and particularly the thighs and abductors will be tested. As the eggbeater is the movement that let you use your arms to throw and receive the balls, so the upper body also works. The “strong” hand is used for the ball and the other one to stabilize and gain power when throwing.
As the back and the abdominal muscles serve as a junction between upper and lower body, all the parts of the polo player's muscular work. Without realizing it, playing draws you a 6-pack that will make all the other athletes green-eyed.
This is the effect you weren't expecting but that everyone will notice: water is the best ally for a healthy skin and an unfailing morale.
Water has thermo-massage properties. While playing, during each of your movements, the water that you move will act as a massage on your skin. It's a bit like spending your entire session being massaged, without realizing it. Not bad isn't it? The tissues of your skin are thus drained, reducing water retention and at the same time, cellulite. A little bonus if you play in the sea: salt water doubles its beneficial properties for your skin! It is an excellent exfoliant and purifier that will do you the greatest good.
The other great unsuspected benefit of playing in the water is its antidepressant virtue. We know the contributions of the game on this point, but being in the water multiplies this aspect. Thanks to the feeling of well-being that sport generates, falling asleep is easier, internal and external tensions are appeased. Sport is in fact an antidepressant, of which the effect sometimes exceeds the ones of medication. It is also the best way to fight against anxiety. Homeostasis, caused physically by the practice, has beneficial consequences on morale with a feeling of general calm.
I was talking at the very beginning of this article about the virtues of the group in the practice of water polo and this is obviously one of the factors of good mental health. Team sports promote exchanges and socialization. Through them, the risk of feeling alone is reduced and I can always find someone with whom to share my passions, including those that are not related to polo ;)
Moreover, whether it's a very good pass, a successful shot or a phase of play in which I placed myself well, I will always find something to be happy during my water polo session. And that's always good for self-esteem ;)
You also have to imagine that water polo is not just a pool or indoor sport. Outdoor polo, practiced at sea, in a lake or in any outdoor space where it is possible to set a goal, is the equivalent of swimming in open water. It therefore allows you to benefit from contact with nature, soothing and de-stressing.
Sport, in the water, and in a group: with waterpolo, you have the sport that brings together the most optimal conditions for high morale!
Here are at least four good reasons for you or your children to join a team! So, when do you register?
Swimmer and waterpolo player from an early age, I was at a French national level in both sports. Ma specialty today : swim and play outdoor, with a higher interest if the water is cold. My prefered spot in France : a natural hidden pool on Oléron’s island where we can put our inflatable fieldplay :)