There are many ways to keep the body in shape, and indulging in sports is a great way to exercise and have fun with your friends. But you need to be careful. Unless you take safety measures, you can get injured. Before you play any game, you should make sure that you know what kinds of physical contact and possible injuries can result from it, and wear protection.

Some sports in which a high degree of contact is involved in are:

• Boxing
• Hockey
• Football
• Lacrosse
• Martial Arts
• Soccer
• Wrestling

Always prepare and protect yourself very carefully before engaging in any of these sports.

Sports with very limited contact are:

• Baseball
• Basketball
• Bicycling
• Running
• Swimming
• Diving
• Skiing
• Skating
• Volleyball

Sports that don't involve much physical contact, though they are physically strenuous, are:

• Tennis
• Running
• Weight Lifting

Exercise Programs

Exercise is a great way for young adults to be fit . Not only will teens who start exercising at a young age benefits later in life, they are also more likely to stay fit as adults. The basic benefits of exercise are increased weight control, lower blood pressure, a stronger immune system (to fight off illnesses), more flexibility for your body, and stronger and more toned muscles and bones.

Starting a exercise programme can be hard, but most teens are already participating in one or the other. Undertaking any sport is great exercise for your body, and certainly qualifies as an exercise program. It's important to find an exercise programme that is fun and one that suits your personality.

Endurance Building

You should take part in cardiovascular activities that put little strain on joints and use the large muscle groups. Some good activities for endurance building are walking, jogging, biking, skating and swimming. You should exercise three to five times a week for 20-30 minutes each, but consider that everybody has different physical levels of exercise abilities. It's important to build up your exercise programme by starting slowly, then gradually working into a more rigorous regimen. Always rest and stretch after you exercise for a couple minutes.

Muscle and Skeleton Fitness

Good activities for muscle and skeleton fitness are push-ups, chin-ups and sit-ups. A weight programme can also be very good at building muscles and bone strength, but it's better for teenagers to use smaller weights with many repetitions rather than big or heavy weights. Make sure to avoid jerky movements; always be smooth and steady to avoid injury when you are doing these kinds of exercises. If you have special health needs, make sure to consult a physician before you take part in any exercise programme.

Playing too much

With all the talk of staying fit and exercising a lot, its hard to believe that some young adults spend too much time playing.

No time to rest? Many teens exercise so much that they don't have time to sit down and take a breather. If you undertake so many sports activities and are so physically active that you never have time to get home, sit down and rest, you should slow down and possibly change your physical exercise habits.

Spending too much time in sports can also result in injuries. If you spend a lot of time on one specific sport, you can possibly incur a stress fracture. A stress fracture occurs when there is a small break in a bone or tissue in your body caused by repeated stress in one specific area. This can happen frequently to those who spend their entire summers involving in a single sport.

Avoid setting goals that are too high. If you set unrealistic goals for your physical activity, and press yourself too hard to meet those goals, you can put too much stress, on your body.

Remember, sports and exercises are for fun, so enjoy the exercise you get out of physical activities. Still, always monitor the time you spend, because you cannot have "too much of a good thing".