Sports as a whole are one of the most physically and mentally demanding things that you can do as a job. Although the rewards of playing sports as a career even out the demanding things they need to put themselves through, the strength, mental strength, endurance, skill and agility are all key things athletes need to have no matter the sport they play.
Overall, there are a lot of sports that are very tough to play at a professional level but below we will go through the ones that we think don’t get the attention that they deserve.
MMA
One of the most obvious answers to this question is boxing but we feel that MMA as a whole, gets overlooked considering how demanding the sport is. Not only do these fighters need great cardiovascular endurance but they also need to be strong and well trained enough in many different fighting styles to win.
They need to be able to dodge punches, throw their own that do damage, watch and defend takeovers, among other things that all combine to make MMA a hugely challenging sport for its participants. There is also a huge aspect of mental strength in these fights, they need to make sure that they keep pushing and come up with on-the-fly strategies that can keep them the win over their opponent.
Horse Racing
Although on the surface, you may look at horse racing and not think that the sport is demanding for its participants, you would be wrong to think this. Jockeys need a load of strength, balance and endurance to control their horse and make sure they steer themselves to victory for the people who bet on them using horse betting odds today, but they also need to be a specific weight which requires very strict and unhealthy diets.
So, they are strong and firm, while also being light and having a full minimal diet. This diet adds to the physical demands the sport already has.
Swimming
Although swimming is one of the more graceful sports in the world, the athletes themselves are going through nearly every muscle in their body to get themselves in first place. The water resistance means that these athletes need to propel themselves through the water at a high speed so that they can have a chance of winning, something that is more challenging than you may know.
Swimming as a whole is one of the best activities that people can do to stay healthy, so doing it for a living speaks for itself.
Wrestling
This can go both ways, whether you mean Olympic wrestling or WWE pro wrestling, both are just as demanding as the other. We will start with WWE-style wrestling as people overlook the physical demands this sport requires.
Not only do these wrestlers need to be quick, agile, smart and technically gifted, but they also need to be safe as the hands of their fellow wrestlers are in their hands. We have seen over the last few years that some wrestlers have nearly passed away during wrestling matches, with Big E breaking his neck during a show being a prominent example recently. This just adds to the demand, each week these wrestlers are risking injury, or sometimes their life, for the entertainment of fans.
However, Olympic wrestling is the same as this. Although these wrestlers aren’t flipping around and jumping off things, they are using mental strategies and overall strength to try to beat their opponent in a sport that is wildly difficult and you won’t be aware unless you have tried.