Top 10 Most Demanding Sports

As a privateer professional rider I can tell you this is the most physically/mentally demanding sport there is. These pro races are 30min plus with your heart rate ranging from a low of 165 and max of 200 or maybe even more depending on the rider. To be able to sustain that max heart rate you must dedicate everything to your training on and off the track. From diet to riding to training everything must be at a 100 percent and these riders put their life on the line every single time they swing a leg over the bike. There's no time outs, no breaks, nothing just racing.

I have played almost every sport there is. Swimming, football, track, tennis, basketball, hockey, etc... and those are walks in the park compared to motocross. Football is 5 seconds of sprinting followed by 30 seconds of rest. Swimming is a minute or two all out. Motocross is 10-30 minutes of going as hard as you can, and never letting up. There are a thousand and one things to think about when racing, and skipping one of them might end up losing you the race, or putting you in an ambulance. There is no off season. You are running and lifting the day after the season ends in order to be in shape for next season. And the horrible thing is, it is never enough. No matter how good of shape you are in, you are still gasping for air the second the helmet comes off, trying to uncurl your cramped hands that are dripping in blood from blisters popped and skin tore off from just holding on. God help you if you ever go down with any significant speed. The best way to demonstrate crashing on a ...more

100% YES! Most people that don't do it don't understand. They say it has an engine. I say okay try it. Full body everything work out. No other sport pushes the body's limits both body and mind. Absolutely none! The complete body is on the gas for 30 straight minutes no break with a heart rate consistently at or near the highest levels a human can take. the 220+ pound bikes have to be persuaded to change attitude and direction on a constant basis every millisecond of time. Next time try to do a sport with a 220+ pound weight attached to you trying to tell you who is boss every millisecond. Absolutely No sport like it period!

Besides the CONSTANT use of your physical and mental abilities, the injuries clean any other sport out of the water also. And that's a good reference point to determine how brutal it is.

One crash landed me a grade 4 liver laceration, gallon of blood loss due to torn iliac vein, right kidney failure, both collarbones and shoulder blades broken, right lung collapsed, 6 surgeries, and a full thickness skin graft on my arm. Clinically dead for quite a bit.

No sport will get you nearly anything as devastating as this sport, which PROVES it's more demanding than any other sport.

Swimming is most definitely the MOST demanding sport. I have been swimming for just over a year, and have worked my butt off, and am now at the level of swimmers who have been at it for years. Compared to other swimmers, our practices are relatively easy, and they ARE NOT EASY! Swimming uses every single muscle at the same time. Every set, you move your arms like lightning, every race, your legs feel like they are going to snap off. In a set, even if you are the fastest on the team, you swim a 200 sprint with limited breaths, and guess what, once you finish, you get 5 seconds rest and have to go and do it again, faster this time, than the absolute fastest you can go. Swimming is not just going back and forth, just like track is not just running around in circles. Swimming is the most physically taxing sport around because of you feel like you are about to die, go beat your best time in a 100 free. And if you miss the best by one hundredth of a second, you break down in tears because ...more

Most demanding thing ever. You think your sport is hard...try swimming. Many people think, "oh swimming is so easy! I do it every summer! " Want to know why you find it easy, because your not waking up at 4:30 AM to work your body to its limits. And morning practice is just the beginning. Later on there's an hour at least of dry land and weigh training, and then a 2+ hour practice. And not to mention the amount of work we do during training! The amount of times I have thrown up is crazy! I've even had 3 overuse injuries because I am pushing my body too hard! Also, it's not cheap either. A solid pair of goggles is at least $30, and a tech suit is $400 dollars at minimum! Also, to swim for a good club that will train all day everyday, you need to pay $2,000! Next time you think "swimming is easy" think again.

Hardest sport I trained in. Even the football players I knew that had to take a swim class said it was much harder than what they did. Think about it, not only are you swimming aerobically for hours, aerobically in between, using every muscle group, You have to hold your breath while you're at it. To swim at a competitive level you have to have skill and technique. Most people don't have the same type of experience when they swim for leisure. Its not even close to what you do when you swim competitively.

I am a triathlete. I do swimming, mountain biking, and trail running. I also tried skiing, snowboarding, tennis, and basketball. And in my opinion swimming is the most demanding out of all. Learning how to control your breath and keeping your heart rate down while moving almost every muscle in the body is very difficult to master. The thing is is your racing the clock. many times during practice, sets are based off of time. People who have swam a while know that these sets are not only one time. We do them maybe eight or ten times through, trying to make the set time already given to us. After a while you get really tired and do not get much break left, and only have maybe two or three seconds to catch your breath and go again. Swimming is hard because you can only breath during certain times, and it challenges your while body, mentally and physically.

I have watched boxing for years and not until I stepped in the ring did I understand how tough it was. It is both physically demanding and mentally draining on two levels. Mentally you have to strategies like a chess player planning five moves ahead except with you whole body and mentally on another level you have to be psyched up for taking a punch or two or three or more. Total exhaustion in 30 minutes

I'm a boxer and I'll tell you right now it's not a few punches then you move on; you need serious time and effort to get in the right shape and you need to be motivated and dedicated. Once you get used to the training you just go ahead and make it harder or switch some things and if your doing it right you shouldn't get used to it in the first place. Boxing is not your grandma's sport

Boxing is by far the most physically and mentally demanding sport I have ever taken part in. It takes guts just to go to the gym and deal with the punishment from the workouts, let alone stepping in the gym. It's not like UFC at all. Only striking is allowed, and it'll put a beating on your body and mind both short term and long term.

This is the most demanding sport. You need Speed, Strength, Mentality, Endurance, Stamina, Hard Work etc. As a boxer myself I have to train everyday improving. It demands the most

People don't realize how demanding this sport really is. You work for 30+ hours each week, and never have an "off season". Most people can't walk in a straight line, or even do a single push up. Gymnasts do standing flips on 4-inch wide beams, and flip higher than you can even imagine. You see basketball players sitting out with ice packs all over because they sprained an ankle. When gymnasts get hurt, they put some tape on, and go right on flipping. Also, I don't know if it's just where I'm from, but every time we did any type of physical activity, the gymnasts come off on top. Above the football players, above the soccer players, and above the basketball players. Gymnastics is certainly more demanding, mentally and physically, than any sports most people would think of.

I've been working out 20 hours a week plus since the 6th grade; before that it was 12-16 hours a week since before the 1st grade, and I have buddies at other gyms that workout more than me still. This is a complete year round sport, we don't take breaks and we never stop working out. When the skin rips off your hands from swinging on high bar or rings, you stuff chalk in them to stop the bleeding and keep going. I remember at 1 competition I took a bad landing on floor (first event of the comp.) and shredded most ligaments in my foot (didn't know what I did at the time) and finished the entire competition on what felt like a broken bone in my foot. Point being, most people underestimate this sport, when in reality it's high risk, high impact, and extremely demanding.

My ten year old cousin has done gymnastics for six years, and usually she is busy with gymnastics or working out training. It is insane how demanding this sport is. She worked non stop for one week during the summer until she got her roundoff back handspring full twist. She has blisters on her hands from hours of training on the uneven bars, and even cuts and blisters on her feet from beam. She is one of the most muscular people I have even seen. This sport is very high demand, she has broken many bones and torn so many ligaments. VERY high demand

I am a gymnast myself and let me tell you, it is very challenging. I've been competing in this sport for 6 years. We never get breaks, unlike many sports. This is because even if gymnasts have one day off we could lose a skill. Normally gymnasts compete in the winter and a little bit of spring and work on new skills during the summer. It's not easy, it takes so much strength, focus, and technique. I would agree with others about this sport being demanding, if you get a huge blister on your hand, you keep going, if you fall off the beam, you get back up, if your sore, boohoo. (;

Hockey is the hardest team sport that is played in the world. Not only do you have the speed of the game and the blades on your feet, you also have 6'5 250 lb men that can come at you with incredible speeds. While all this is going on, you have to focus on keeping a little rubber puck under control. If you're a goalie, you have to deal with 90+ mph shots, some reaching nearly 110 mph, as well as sometimes having your vision blocked by opponents. Not to mention all the times someone has caught a skate blade in the neck and nearly bled out.

How is swimming harder than this? Hockey requires incredible strength. The durability you need along with the finesse to shoot and pass accurately is incredible. I play high school hockey and practice is every day. Before you even think about checking or shooting, you need to skate well. Forwards, backwards, side to side and you need to skate very fast all while trying to control a puck and not get killed.

In NHL can play 100 games per year in a confined area unable to run out of bounds to avoid a collision. Likely has fewer players over age 30 than any of the major sports due to the enormous wear and tear a player endures. Factor in the extreme travel as well. No other professional sport even close.

How could you forget hockey? I'm not even in high school hockey or anything yet and we have hockey at least 5 times a week and dry land training. Not to mention it costs $700 to play it. Then there's gear expenses, and you have to pay for hotels in out of town tournaments.

The amount of times a skater falls before a jump is learned & until it's consistent is too many to count. The average person can barely skate never mind learning a double axel to a quad toe loop!

I am really sad right now why is skating 24th!

Figure skaters see more g force then a f 18 pilot, and hit the ground more often then a rodeo bull rider! and can do 1 legged squats all day long, marines can barely do 10!

Figure skaters are known to out do marines in 1 leg squats, they see more G force then an f18 pilot, they hit the ground more times then a bull rider, and usual;ly train 2 to 3 straight hours a day!

It is a beautiful combination elegance and speed, and brutality and strength. Top level athletes train like olympic sprints, lift like olympic lifters, and are capable of being able to take the force equivalent of being hit by a small car multiple time in a match.

Rugby involves strength, endurance, speed, agility, knowledge, and so much more in order to be successful in the game. Not to mention the extreme amount of injuries and concussions many players end up playing through.

Soccer is not demanding at all! Soccer is full of all these tryhards that think that there so good. Rugby is way better because its more entertaining, physical and more unpredictable. Soccer all you do is pass the ball back and forth for 90 minutes.

Rugby combines strength- speed, cardiovascular endurance and mental toughness/ bravery to create what would surely be in the top 5 behind motocross, boxing, bull riding and rowing.

I want everyone to go look at what's in the two spot. Swimming. I'm a year-round swimmer and water polo player. I used to be terrible at swimming, I played water polo, died the first few practices, then got better. You know why? Because water polo is a lot harder and you need a lot more endurance. Do you have to keep your head up in swimming? No. Is someone constantly scratching, kicking, trying to exploit you weaknesses in swimming? I think not. And while all that is happening, are you trying to score goals? No. Honestly, I don't know much about field because I'm a goalie, so for all the goalies, are you throwing your self in front of a ball going at at least 18 miles per hour (Or 60 if you're against that one guy from Croatia)? No. So don't start saying swimming is harder, it's not.

I have been playing ODP water polo for the past month. It is easily the hardest sport one could possibly imagine playing. For example, I am only 13 and my ODP program requires 3 hour plus practices 3 or 4 times a week. It is exceptionally arduous, and very underrated as water polo players do not receive the credit that they deserve for partaking in such a difficult sport. It is physically and mentally demanding, for one participating in water polo is always swimming or treading water (treading water being the closest thing to a break one could get in a water polo game) and mentally demanding because one must have a strong mentality to be able to do the things required of them. Despite the fact that my overall physique is good, I often struggle to leave the pool when a heated game has come to a close.

Unlike stand-around sports (soccer, football, etc) there is no down-time when you're in the pool. Treading water is your "Standing Around." Even when you're not doing something, you're doing something.
No, I never tore an ACL, or been knocked out, but I did get plenty of bloody noses, chipped teeth, and been kicked/punched in the throat (that event will bring anybody to a full stop). I've been put in an arm-bar hold. I've seen broken fingers, noses, lots of black eyes and a dislocated shoulder (on a 50yr old masters player).
The Naval Special Warfare community (the Navy SEALs) evaluated their most successful trainees and found that water polo experience was the single most common trait.
And, it's a great sport. Really fun and a great workout. I played on a ranked college team and later in my 40's on a masters team.

I am have been a competitive swimmer since age 8 and only started water polo this year as a high school freshman. I have to say that water polo is, in fact, more difficult than swimming. I'm not just saying that as a newbie but as an opioninal fact (if that is a thing). Water polo requires more endurance and physical abilities because instead of using the water like you do in swimming you are fighting against the water and you are forced to pass, send and swim rather than just swim a straight 500 free in 6 minutes. By the end of a match you might have just swam an equivalent to a 500.

As a player for my school soccer team, I have had to pull through a lot of tough stuff. When a player receives the ball, they have 0.5 seconds to figure out their best passing option. This forces a ton of mental strain not to mention the fact that one wrong move, and you could screw up the game. Another reason this is, in my opinion, the most demanding sport is the fact that when a player has a breakaway, they must run as fast a they possibly can (an average of about 20 yrds in 4 to 5 seconds on my team). During practices, coaches like to work on their players core and upper body. This includes around 50 push-ups for us, 30 sit-ups, and 2 minute wall-sits after all training. This is also a plays a big factor in the reason that most teams have super tough try-outs and practices.

Soccer extremely physically demanding mentally. Your body needs to be able to explode well, reach high speeds, and maintain those high speeds. 45 minute halves with about a 10 minutes half, time and constant running. My current coach will sub out players if they stop running, because you don't stop. You legs have to be powerful for the distance, sprints, passes, crosses, and shots, so the training and preparation is grueling. Mentally you have to be either all in or out. You can't back down, especially if you're a goalie. You must know when to pass, where to pass, how to set up plays, and get open. Plus you're sprinting while doing this, and when they ball gets stolen, sprint harder.

Soccer requires back and forth movement and constant speed. Especially physically demanding for goalies. They have the hardest job on the field due to speed requirements and reflexes.

People actually die playing soccer. Young guys getting heart attacks on the field, they train all the time, and still, their body just shuts down on them.

You can never master skateboarding because the amount of skills, tricks and spots are endless.. There is so much more to it than standing, pushingaand jumping. People think skateboarding is simple. Its about timing, skill, balance, consistency and skateboarding is so techniqual. You need a big set of balls to skate, big gaps, leaps and just facing fears is huge. Skateboarding should be in such a better place than 25th.

There's so much technicalities and the way you have to have everything perfect or you are going to fall hard. You have to have balance, consistency, board control and a big set of balls.

Half pipe skating use almost every muscle in your body. Airobically equal to boxing. 5 minutes of half pipe skateboarding equal to 2 full games of rugby league.

All big muscles are used to its maximum in skiing competition, and I'm not talking about downhill here..

Nordic skiing is the most physically and mentally demanding sport. There is literally nothing hard

Have you tried? It is hard

Dance isn't just ballet, Dance has aspects of fencing, cheer, and even tumbling. Dance commonly utilized lifts and stunts, as well as tumbling passes, and acrobatic tricks. In ballet alone you can always become better. Ideal turnout is 180 degrees or more, with flagged and pointed feet that can touch the ground. You must use every muscle while making it look like it's effortless. You can always leap higher or turn longer or balance longer, get your leg up higher, hold your core, move faster etc. now those things are some of the main aspects you try to obtain in ballet along with preforming and telling a story. To maintain skills, I am unprofessional competitive dancer only dance about 17-20 hrs a week while other competitors practice 25 hrs a week. I even dance 6+ hrs straight some days with small drink and food breaks lasting about a minute or two. Many dancers, even when they know it might not be the right thing, have to dance through pain, broken feet and ankles, sprained wrists ...more

Imagine the endurance needed to do football. Imagine the strength needed to do wrestling. Imagine the flexibility needed to do gymnastics. Now combine all three, and then try to make them look absolutely effortless. That's dance. Oh, and once you turn 10 or 11, throw a couple pointe shoes into the mix. That's pointe. I dance for 14+ hours a week, and still go to school, and still have enough strength to do other sports. It's an amazing and incredibly hard sport/art. Honestly surprised this isn't higher on the list.

My daughter is only 6 and trains 10-15 hours a week. All while in school. She also stretches daily on top of that. Dancers train and work all year for 4 dance comps per year. Dance comps full of quick changes, performing in front of others, relying on and being in a team, and being judged. It's a fun but stressful thing. Full of excitement and also disappointment.

Those that dance professionally are honing their skills on daily basis for hours. They need total control over muscle groups and this requires strength. Then add pointe shoes!

Tennis is the most demanding sport. I am only 14 and take all AP classes. While doing this I train up to 40 hours a week including mental and physical training. The gym and running is a must and my diet is completely revolved around tennis. Every weekend I am shoved into a sectional or national tournament with 5AM warm ups and up to 5 matches a day. I have been doing this for 10 years and am still only on the level to play college. Tennis takes movement, endurance, coordination, and extreme strategic skill.

Tennis may not be the most demanding sport, but it certainly deserves to be top 5 on this list. Let's look at the physical, psychological, technical, and strategic demands.

Physical: Tennis is a sport that combines anaerobic and aerobic exercise to a extremely difficult level. In any match where opponents are at similar skill level (and singles players are at minimum low intermediate or doubles players are high intermediate) pacing yourself during and between points is crucial. Two hour matches are not uncommon in these situation, and in the pros, this often can expand out to 4-5 hours. But despite it being crucial to have endurance, tennis is a sport where fast sprints and constant direction change are required in almost every point. It's one thing to be able to run for an hour or two. Its another to be be sprinting half the time. And if you think that the breaks between points allow you to 'recover', think again. Sprints are anaerobic, which means breathing is limited. ...more

Tennis has a high learning curve before real enjoyment of the sport. Once at the level of a pro, mental toughness becomes the significant factor of winning. Being able to focus and play with aggression for hours sometimes five hours with wee little breaks makes this the most demanding sport.

Why is even football in the top 20. I've been playing both football and tennis my whole life and I don't get why people think football is more demanding than tennis when some football games some players only sit on the bench. No one except the top players play the whole 90 minutes.

Try being a midfield player in lacrosse and run about 20 fast breaks total. You'll realize when cradling a ball and carrying a helmet and pads with you things are gonna get real tiring. It fully works your upper body and at the same time you need to run like a horse. Should easily make the top 10 in this list, beating basketball and soccer by far.

Midfielders run all game long and are also carrying up to 7 pounds of equipment, and have to control the ball, dodge, shoot, all the time being hacked at by metal poles.

Oh my gosh, how is golf more demanding than this.

Similar to football

I would love for some of you people to play football. It's a hell of a lot harder than people think. It hurts. It's tough. Its hard. Its demanding you have to loft to help you. You have to know all the plays. If your a linemen you have to know all the plays and like 4 different positions and ways for each play. Running backs wide receivers and quarterbacks get hit all the time. Just because they have pads on doesn't mean it doesn't hurt

This is an extremely demanding sport because of the Mental and Physical toughness required to play it. As a player, I can tell you this. A) Its extremely hot. Under all of the pads (especially upper body) and on a hot day, the Oxygen you intake seems to turn to pure heat. B) Its rough. Football is not a sport for the weak and faint hearted. C) Its Exhausting. Though in between plays is a break, when the ball is actually in play, it is Physically and Mentally agonizing.

You know this is biased when the first comment is try biking instead and see how hard it is. Football is a game of seconds. You give everything in your body and every ounce of toughness that you call your own for 6 second seconds at a time. Those 6 seconds add up real fast. I wouldn't say football isn't a sport I'm sure you've never stepped on the gridiron of a high level football team

I played Varsity my Freshman year. I worked hard. But I can't say that it is as hard as Motocross or Endurocross, I race both now, and I have to say that I never worked as hard my Freshman football year then 30 minutes on a motocross track. Football deserves to be in the top 10 though.