Sri Lankan Sports as Fitness: Can Elle, Gunuball or Volleyball replace the Gym?

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Let us be honest. Gyms are quite costly. Colombo is a nightmare in traffic. And when you get home after a hard day’s work, the last thing you are interested in is getting your car and going to a gym and waiting to use equipment and even looking at a wall for an hour.

But what would happen when you could get fit by doing something that you really enjoy? Something you were brought up playing? Something that is more fun than exercise?

Traditional Sri Lankan sports might be the answer. And they are better at their work than most people believe.

The reason why Traditional Sports are being phased out

Enter any gym in Colombo nowadays. You will have treadmills, dumbbells, and protein shakes. You will not hear anybody speak about Elle or Gunuball.

At some point in the journey, we came to the conclusion that fitness equates to Western gym culture. We began to pursue six-pack tutorials by American YouTubers and forget that sports that were physically demanding and that our grandparents did every single day never made them enter a gym.

That was a mistake. These are truly athletic sports. They develop strength, speed, stamina and coordination. They simply do not include a marketing budget or a monthly subscription charge.

The other is the problem of perception. Most Sri Lankans consider conventional sports to be a child or rural activity. They do not regard them as serious fitness tools. That mentality should be altered, since science does not concur with it.

Elle – The most overlooked workout in Sri Lanka

Elle is a conventional bat and ball game, which is played in Sri Lanka, particularly in schools and rural regions. Outwardly, it appears easy. It is not.

One hour of playing Elle is estimated to burn between 400 and 420 calories. It is akin to a moderate workout in the gym. The game implies running between the bases, hitting, throwing a bat, and lateral movement. Your upper body, core and legs are all working simultaneously.

Elle has a huge fitness advantage, which is its explosive quality. You are not running continuously for 30 minutes. You are racing, halting, turning and racing in the other direction. One of the best methods of burning fat and enhancing cardiovascular fitness is this kind of training, which is known as interval training. Research has always indicated that interval-based training is more effective in burning fat compared to steady-state cardio in a shorter period of time.

Elle would be the most similar to gym-wise circuit training with sprints. Personal trainers cost thousands of rupees monthly to develop programmes that will only imitate what Elle players can do on their own. And Elle is free.

Gunuball – Fitness Without the Gym

Not as popular as in Sri Lanka, gunuball is very popular in the Southern and rural communities. It is characterized by sudden directional turns, explosive short bursts and reflexive actions of dodging to get hit.

Gamers consume more than 350 calories/hour. More to the point, Gunuball develops something that is absolutely lacking in most of the gym exercises: real-life agility. The capacity to alter course of action within a short period of time, be stable when in stress and be in a sound state of mind. These are aspects that enhance your daily physical well-being way beyond appearing fit in a mirror.

When your exercise routine in the gym is largely treadmill running, Gunuball puts your body to the test in entirely new ways. It conditions the fast-twitch muscle fibres, which straight-line cardio never approaches. Explosive movement, speed and reaction time are caused by the fast-twitch fibres. Training them will decrease your chances of falling, injury, and aging.

Volleyball – The Most Readily Available

Volleyball is done in nearly all schools, beaches, and community centres in Sri Lanka. A game is readily available on the weekend. And it is a surprisingly good workout.

An hour of volleyball incinerates about 300 calories. It trains your shoulders, legs and core. The hopping develops powerful legs. The overhead hitting and blocking build up the strength of the shoulders and upper back. The leaping and speedy sideways action ensures that your torso is engaged throughout the game.

Volleyball is the easiest of the sports listed on this list. You need not be very quick or very powerful to begin. No equipment of your own is required. All you have to do is turn up and perform. After several weeks, you will see tangible changes in your fitness, coordination and even your posture.

Kabaddi – The Secret Workout

Kabaddi deserves a mention here too. It is a traditional sport that is traditionally one of the most physically demanding in South Asia. A kabaddi player restrains his/her breath, attacks the opponent side, catches as many players as he/she can and runs back, being pursued and tackled.

This is conditioning of the full body at its best. Kabaddi burns up to 380 calories per hour and develops core strength, lung capacity, explosive leg power and mental toughness all at the same time. Get to a local club, in case you have never tried it. In 20 minutes, you would be worn out.

The Bottom Line

Sri Lanka traditionally has a rich tradition of physical sport, which we have gradually ceased to take seriously. We do not have to imitate the Western culture of gyms to remain fit. We have athletic games of our own, which are effective and adapted to our climate and people.

Elle develops explosive fitness. Gunuball develops agility. Volleyball makes your upper body and legs stronger. Kabaddi challenges your body to the maximum. A full-body workout in a wewa or a public pool is as enjoyable as most of the time in a gym.

A gym membership is not necessary to become fit. Sometimes, all you need is a bat, a ball, and some open ground beneath you. So choose what you prefer to train in today.