European Union Forums

[Kiki]

I've been playing a bit of tennis lately and reckon that is right up there is terms of mentally demanding. And I've also been doing some sprint cycling and reckon that's fairly physically demanding.

What sports have other people played? What do think is the most physically demanding sport? And what is the most mentally demanding sport?

[Dixie678]

Boxing or football would be most physically demanding because of all the chance of harsh physical injury. For mentally demanding, I'd say really any major sport.

[Tillie9]

Football for both - easily.
Tennis you've got tactics and the opponent to think about. Sprint cycling plural opponents. Football, multiple teammates and myriad possibilities to consider in tactics and what you, your mates and the opposition are going to do -more so than any other game because of the fewer rules. Cycling probably carries more risk than boxing in crashes and so do many other sports - its just not the sole aim of the game. Risk is not a consideration.

[AbbyF]

apparently according to research, most physically demainding would be tae kwon do, closely followed by windsurfing (a type of sailing)

mentally demanding, yup, tennis would b sumwhere up there. but probably table tennis or chess. just look at the concentration levels that the competitors have to maintain!!!

[Lou]

mentally demanding is definitely cricket. standing out in the sun for 6 hours and to still have lightning reflexes requires serious concentration.

[Pippa]

Hurling (a Irish Galic Game) out does football for physical, and Cricket would need to be there for mental

[Katie3]

Mentally Demanding - I would say CHESS.

[Tessie4]

It Must be Rugby, the game is rough and played with no protection like some other contact sports<?

[Pru]

id say football for physically
and id say tennis for mentally or caram which is an indian sport but it involves like angles and stuff

[Fritzie]

gymnastics is one of the most mentally demanding sports,
all the activities are 10 percent physical 90 percent mental, but if not done right the results can be baaad

[Dixie678]

I think the most physically demanding sport is boxing because unlike american football or rugby you can't do substitutions. You do on hurt until you collapse or make your opponent fall many times or collapses.

Boxing is also the most mentally demanding because its not about anger but technique and you just have to block everything out and stay determined and are forced to be tough. Besides even when you train, everything you do, is on your own...you set your own schedule and goals yet you are in completely in the dark like if are doing enough jogging, punching, etc or need to work harder.

So mentally and physically, boxing is very hard because you have to motivate and train yourself which is hard mentally and you have to perform hurt (bruised, bleeding, can't see, can't hear) physically at your best not letting your guard down even for a second. Lots of boxers die early in life or after a match or live in debilitating conditions because of head/ brain injuries. All things considered I would not recommend boxing to anyone faint of heart.

[Sadie]

I've found wrestling to be more demanding than boxing. mentally: chess and go

[Cleo67]

The most physically demanding is Rugby Union....the most mentally demanding.....is understanding its politics

[Livia]

MOTORCYCLE ROAD RACING.Lots of strenght required, add a ton of cardiovascular training,heaps of upper body strenght ,stamina, and for me at least the most mentally demanding and satisfying sport i have ever participated in.Plus your life is on the line at every corner

[Aggie65]

well i would have to say sheep shearing has got to be the most physically demanding sport and mentaly. where else in any other sport do you carry a sweat towel with you to work at 5am in the morning. you are trying to take the wool off a live animal that wont sit and the sharp gear you have to cut the wool off with has to be at its sharpest. you get up at 4am and stretch then drap up to one 45kg of live animal out from a pen to shear the wool off this you do till 5 pm at night, with 2 smoko breaks and a lunch continuously drinking fluid to replace what is dripping off all day. the mental strain of running two marathons a day is what is worked in one 9 hour day shearing wool off sheep.shearers will work everyday till it rains. the largest amount of days i have worked is 63 days without a day off. the number of sheep shorn on an average day is 300 fat pregnant female ewes. no sport i know of is as phiscially and mentally demanding as shearing shearing sheep.

[Katie3]

a desert marathon its about 3 days an you have limited water some people have been known to die , it was on the discovery channel

[Tay]

Physically- Wrestling or some other type of fighting/martial arts sport.

Mentally- They say Nascar Driver. I don't know about that but its what they say

[Pippa]

I think gymnastcs

[Sam]

Rugby
Motor Car racing

[Franny]

The most physically demanding sport would probably be soccer, in my opinion. Running back and forth across a field is pretty tough and requires a ton of stamina and endurance.

As for mentally demanding, this might be a bit "out there", but I'll say baseball. There is a ton of thinking in this game. For example if you're the batter, it takes a lot of work to try and figure out what kind of pitch you're going to get. Same goes for the pitcher, who tries to throw you a pitch that you haven't predicted.

[Franny]

i would say something like ultimate fighting for both answers. its very physical and you have to be able to have the discipline and drive to actually keep with it. its hard and exhausting. but it also has a major mental impact on you. you have to know how far you can push yourself or how long you can go until you must tap out. it can mess some people up, making them angry and stressed lots of the time.

[Pippa]

Ever tried underwater hockey?

I reckon it takes the gold medal for both mental and physically demanding. It has all the strategy and mind games of basketball and ice hockey (which are really just other forms of chess), and you need to be in top physical condition because you have to do with out the luxury of the innate physical response which comes naturally when exerting energy in most other sports: breathing !

The fact that you can not breath adds a whole new mental dimension to the equation that is only really matched by extreme sporting codes involving sever risk management like BASE jumping and motor sport.

And as for the dude the mentioned sheep sharing: nice.

[Johnnie]

decathlon,formula 1driving,and ski long run