Myth or fact? Many sports, including swimming and football, give you manly looking muscles. Answer: You guessed it, it’s a MYTH! It’s totally an old wives’ tale. If you exercise for 1-2 hours per day, your body shape will not be greatly altered.

The world of exercise is enormous, and now is the time to explore a variety of sports to know which one best suits your personality and lifestyle. Each activity has a unique flavor and the one that you may be scared to try might just be THE ONE that allows you to fulfill your maximum potential.

We recommend you try one of each of the following groups to help you answer the above questions:

1. Competing with an opponent:

If you’re the competitive type, the one who loves having the chance of “winning”, then this category is for you. It includes sports like football, martial arts, squash and water polo.

2. Choreographed actions:

Sports that require a lot of precision and agility fall into this category. Gymnastics, synchronized swimming and trampolining are examples. They are great for you if you can replicate specific actions accurately and don’t necessarily prefer being part of a team.

3. Expressive movements:

This mainly covers dance activities including ballet, jazz, modern, tap and lyrical dancing. These act as a great form of expression. This category is perfect for you if you are creative and can express emotion, ideas, and phrase through movement.

4. Maximum performance:

If you like pushing your body out of its comfort zone and love the rush of hitting new personal records, then this category is definitely for you. Performing at a maximum level in relation to speed, height, resistance, strength or accuracy is key in this category. You could achieve this by pushing yourself through activities including weightlifting, golf, archery, competitive swimming, calisthenics and sprinting.

5. Defying challenges:

If you love adventures and exploring Lebanon’s beautiful nature then you can consider one of the following great options: hiking, climbing, skiing, and horse-riding. These allow you to discover the outdoors and sometimes force you to make quick decisions under pressure, all while enjoying the rush of adrenaline.

6. Safe and effective exercise:

To improve your health without feeling under pressure or competing. If you love feeling like you are a part of a group and love being led by a professional, then fitness and health activities are the ones for you. Aerobics, yoga, body pump and Pilates are examples of that.

Did you know that famous basketball player Kris Humphries (Kim Kardashian’s ex-husband) held 2 swimming records for the under 10 age group for 18 years? At age 10, he outswam Michael Phelps, who is considered today the most awarded Olympian of all time. After this achievement Humphries switched to Basketball, he mentioned once that he then watched basketball, saw it as a challenge and went for it. Today, he has $36.9 million in career earnings - and that is just from basketball!

This story is to tell you: “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone”. Challenge yourself by trying something new. You might encounter a passion or end up with a fun/silly story to tell.

Find out what your body loves, it will thank you for it sooner AND later.