Life is too short to not want to try every recreational activity under the sun. From eating exotic food to engaging in thrilling sports, you should be filled with new experiences and perspectives to share with your loved ones. Sports, in particular, may be a common hobby for anyone but add a bit of danger to the formula and you get more fun and excitement enough to make your bones tingle. Of course, extreme sports are not for everyone. There is nothing wrong with putting your safety first. Bruises, scratches, broken bones, and concussions may be enough to put you off from trying new things. But if you look at sports closer, pain and suffering make the game more exhilarating, especially when an athlete gets to finish and win a game despite having sustained a bad injury.
In the same sense, you may find yourself seeking more thrill and the healthiest way to do it is through extreme sports. A certain level of risk is involved in these activities, but they might be just what you are looking for. So here are some thrilling sports activities to experience at least once in your life.
Skydiving
No extreme sports list is complete without skydiving. Skydiving is the sport where you leap off from a certain height up in the atmosphere back down towards the earth with only a parachute to slow your arrival in the ground. This sport is extreme not just because of the falling part but because of the intense mental preparation required before jumping down to temporarily conquer the innate fear of heights in the back of your mind.
Snowboarding and skiing
Snowboarding and skiing may not be that extreme but the cold weather paired with speed and icy slopes can excite most thrill-seekers. These sports are some of the best activities to keep you active during the winter, instead of staying cooped up inside at home. As you know, the main difference between these two is the equipment, where skiing involves a pair of skis while snowboarding uses a single solid board. But they are similar clothing-wise, using jackets that aim to keep you warm while breaking the cold wind and bottoms like Obermeyer snow pants that are flexible enough for the usual movements in sports.
Mountain biking
Mountain biking may be suited for you if you love cycling and nature. This activity poses the risk of slips and falls from your MTB due to the challenging mountain routes filled with rocks, tree roots, and slopes, especially when going downhill as you are fighting the pull of gravity.
Parkour
The normal parkour activities you see are those where people climb structures like stairs and buildings using only their hands and feet with a few tricks and flips in the process. But taken to the extremes, parkour is done over skyscrapers where broken bones are the least of your worries.
Abseiling
Abseiling or rappelling is a sport where you slowly descend vertically from a cliff or slope with the assistance of a rope. This sport is usually done as part of a climbing activity, either to get back down to the base of the structure or to explore areas that are not easily accessible without traversing down an anchored rope. But this is also done alongside mountaineering activities, cave explorations, military training, and rescue missions near a cliff. The thrill in this sport comes from the fact that only a rope is keeping you from falling to the rocks below, along with your ability to manage this rope with your hands for a steady descent.
Whitewater kayaking
Another activity that can be fun for you is kayaking through turbulent flowing water. Whitewater kayaking is done with different kayak designs to more efficiently and safely navigate your chosen body of running water. Some of the most popular forms of whitewater kayaking are primary river running, the competitive slalom, and advanced creeking.
These are all fun activities if you are driven by the thrill and are constantly called into danger. But part of the fun in these sports is the assurance that you will live another day to try another activity. Pain may be part of it but death is a completely different conversation. Safety in extreme sports is a must to keep you away from said injuries as much as possible. For one, these sports have to be done with a professional by your side if you ever do engage in them as a beginner. The proper attire and safety gear must be worn at all times to prevent bodily harm. And taking the sports in gradual progression should keep you well and breathing at the end of the day.
