Routine and city life somewhat limit the likelihood of experiencing very strong emotions. Normally, our brain looks for escape routes to achieve a feeling of well-being and general relaxation, but many times, due to whatever circumstances, we do not come to the conclusion that practicing sport can be exactly what our body needs, and much less do we stop to think about practicing an extreme sport.
In today's post we are going to break some of the myths generated about extreme sports and we are going to show you the almost endless list of benefits that come from exposing the body to the power of adrenaline.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT EXTREME SPORTS THAT WE LIKE SO MUCH?
Extreme sports are no longer just a thing for “adrenaline junkies” or athletes addicted to putting their lives at risk. They have become very popular practices in society, and have even come to outnumber traditional sports in number of practitioners. The risk factor always accompanies them, but with the evolution and widespread practice of these sports, countless security measures have been implemented that make the risk more relative than that experienced a few years ago.
Nowadays, people who practice extreme sports are not considered irresponsible, but quite the opposite. The new extreme athlete is a person who seeks to connect with nature at its highest level, who is fully aware of himself, knows his limits and his needs, and loves the sport he practices, not doing it solely and exclusively for the adrenaline that his body generates.
Extreme sports are, in fact, very addictive, and there are scientific laws that demonstrate and corroborate this:
Adrenalin: When you go skydiving, canoeing or jumping off a bridge, your airways dilate and more oxygenated blood flows to your arteries. A hormone called adrenaline is secreted, and it has been proven that humans need and enjoy it. It tells us to run away from danger. It helps us move faster, feel stronger and more tolerant of pain.
Endorphin: On the other hand, extreme sports release a hormone called endorphin in our body, commonly referred to as the happiness hormone. It is the well-being that is felt after releasing adrenaline. When we release endorphins we find ourselves in an environment of relaxation and happiness, there is no tension or stress.
Although there is a high percentage of adherence to these practices, our brain gets used to this sensation and begins to normalize it, which is why most athletes vary the sport they practice and constantly seek new challenges.
On the other hand, another characteristic that makes this type of sport addictive is that it reconnects you with nature and offers you points of view about it that you had not previously considered and makes you live in it in a different way.
Extreme sports help you to set new experiences and challenges. Falling into a routine is very easy. Being amazed by seeing stories of overcoming and seeing how others add achievements in their lives, much more. Practicing extreme sports starts an endless chain of ambitions and goals. They help you increase your self-esteem.
WE LISTEN TO THE EXPERTS TALK ABOUT EXTREME SPORTS
Eric Brymer, Associate Professor at Queensland University of Technology and his colleague Professor Robert Schweitzer conducted a study on the addiction that develops in athletes towards extreme sports such as climbing, rafting, skydiving or bungee jumping.
For Brymer, “extreme sports have become a global phenomenon and we are witnessing an unprecedented interest.” He added that participation in sports such as basketball or golf had declined exponentially in relation to the increase in the practice of sports considered risky. Companies organizing extreme sports events are becoming a “multi-billion dollar industry.”
Schweitzer, for his part, stated in the study that “Far from traditional assumptions that focus on risk, participation in extreme sports helps to have more positive psychological experiences and expresses human values such as humility, harmony, creativity, spirituality and a vital sense of self that enriches everyday life.”
The research concludes by stating that people who practice this type of sport are not at all irresponsible athletes who want to put their lives in the hands of chance. They are people who are perfectly trained to practice their sport and want to live experiences that absorb their body and mind and change their lives.
LISTENING TO TESTIMONIES
We have spoken to rock climbers and athletes who tend to practice skydiving and bungee jumping and we asked them about their feelings during the practice. We want to know if what scholars of the subject say is true: is it really such a complete feeling of happiness? Is the connection and harmony with nature real and tangible?
We accompany Guillermo Munoz, an experienced rock climber at one of his frequent climbing sessions in the Tena Valley, in Aragon. After several hours observing his precise, conscious and thoughtful movements, Guillermo came down with a different look than the one he had left us before starting to climb, and we began to ask him. He assured us, still with his breath short from the effort, that what he feels when he climbs is that time stops, condenses, there is only him and the rock before him. He does not care about anything else, he feels how nature and himself merge becoming one. He can appreciate the tones of the rock, the grit it releases and every nook, every crevice and every space that the mountain offers him to be able to climb a little higher.
A few days later we met with Santiago Grimaldi, an athlete who is fond of outdoor sports and bungee jumping. He told us that, even when falling at high speed, vertically and upside down, he was much more aware of the space he was in, of the beauty of nature, its colours and the forms in which it appears.
TRAVIS PASTRANA: THE KING OF EXTREME SPORTS AND ADRENALINE.
If we want to refer to a symbol of extreme sports, known internationally, we must refer to Travis Pastrana, an American car and motorcycle racer who is addicted to adrenaline and all kinds of sports that involve risk.He has taken extreme sports to another level by jumping out of planes without a parachute, jumping from the roof of one building to another, separated from each other by a distance of 20 meters, and at a height of 6, riding a motorcycle, crossing a lake on a motor tricycle, or doing double back flip at the X Games, or jumping out of a plane, again without a parachute, over the cliffs of the Grand Canyon.
For many, Travis is a reference, for others a madman. What is clear is that he has no perception of fear and carries with him an infinite self-confidence.
His adventures have resulted in around 60 fractures to bones throughout his body; he has had a dislocated spine, lost ligaments in his knees and has had surgeries on his tibia, fibula, and elbow in his back…
You don't have to become the next Travis Pastrana or jump into the depths of the Grand Canyon, but we do encourage you to try this extreme sport so that you too can get excited describing the feeling afterwards. We'd love to hear your story!
