Looking to add a little activity to your life? Are you feeling like you’re spending more time on the couch or at your desk than being active? Do you constantly feel sluggish and low on energy and focus? If you’ve answered yes to these questions then it may just be time to pick up a new sport, one that gets you up and moving, having a great time, and benefiting not just your physical well-being but also your mental well-being.

Here we’ll take a look at six awesome health benefits of taking part in America’s favorite past-time – recreational baseball. It’s a game that can be played by all ages, is easy to understand, can just as easily be played in a local park as your own yard, and doesn’t require much in terms of equipment.

Burn Off Those Calories
If your main concern is to burn off calories, then baseball can be a great option. When playing you’ll be boosting your metabolism and burning calories. All the running around, catching, swinging, and throwing can really work up a sweat. In general, a person who weighs 160lbs can expect to burn about 365 calories per hour.

An Excellent Form of Cardio
It should also come as no surprise that baseball is an excellent form of cardiovascular training. The facts are there, the more you move around the field, the more intense the training will be. Cardio boosts your heart rate, which in turn will strengthen your heart muscles and better your lung capacity.

Strengthen Your Muscles
Let’s not forget that baseball can also help to tone and strengthen muscles in your body. Sure, people are quick to think about your leg muscles thanks to the running, but if you’re acting as the pitcher, you’ll also be working your arms and shoulders.

Improve Your Hand and Eye Coordination
Baseball is a sport that takes plenty of skill and precision, both of which take practice. Each time you practice or play you will in fact be improving your hand and eye coordination. A great example is the popular baseball pitching machines that will pitch the ball to you. You’re going to need excellent hand and eye coordination to master this drill. Check out the Spinball Wizard as an example of the kind of machine that will really have you working.

Your Daily Dose of Vitamin D
Playing outside on the baseball field also means you’ll be getting your daily does of vitamin D from the sun. Of course, you want to be sure you’re also using appropriate SPF so you don’t get a sunburn from the damaging UV rays.

Excellent Stress Relief
Then there is the fact that playing baseball can be a stress relief activity as well. Just about everyone out there suffers from stress and anxiety at least once in a while. Whether it is work-related or personal issues, stress can build up and affect your health in all kinds of negative ways.

Physical activity has long-since been known for its stress relief benefits as it release endorphins into your body, which are the brain’s feel-good messages. Not only that, it’s a distraction from your everyday responsivities, chores, and tasks which is a welcome relief for most.

Go Ahead and Bask in the Benefits
So, if you’re looking to get active, and enjoy some real health benefits from a sport or activity then baseball may just be the best way to go. As stated, you don’t need much in terms of equipment, which means you can get out there and enjoy the sport as much as you want.