How Sports Can Help You Lose Weight
Losing weight is a difficult task. Going to the gym and following a strict diet is never a child’s play. However, there is a simple way to make physical activitiesfun by simply engaging in sports. Below are a few ideas on how sports can help you lose weight.
Boxing
Boxing not only burns calories but also sculpts your body. It burns more calories than any other type of workout. A single boxing session burns over 1500 calories. Due to the high-intensity workouts, you lose weight faster and reach weight goals quickly.
With boxing, almost all the workout routines are full body workouts. Punching the speed bag or a regular punching bag, jumping rope and shadow boxing integrate all your body muscles. The various boxing combinations add a variety to the sport. Trying to find the best combinations and the best boxing shoes for you keep you motivated. From simple techniques such as jab and cross to much more complicated ones such as rear uppercut and lead hook, the journey to staying fit is exciting and enjoyable.
Swimming
This is a very fun way of exercising. Swimming exercises all the body muscles. The upper muscles and the lower muscles are required to propel the body forward. The butterfly stroke can burn up to 949 calories in just one hour while the freestyle stroke can burn up to 863 calories in one hour.
In addition to that, holding your breath in between strokes makes your heart and lungs work harder. Therefore, the cardiovascular system is also exercised in the process.
Athletics
Participating in athletics such as track running is a great way to lose weight without requiring special equipment. The pace of the run determines how many calories you burn. Running at a pace of 8 minutes per mile burns around 1,165 calories per hour. On the other hand, running at a pace of 6 minutes per mile burns about 1,400 calories per hour. Be careful, however, as running can be a bit harder on your joints as compared to other sports.
Ice hockey
This fast-paced sport is the ultimate sport to lose weight. It requires a lot of energy. The lower body muscles are used to propel your body forward or backward according to the required need while the upper body muscles are required to shoot or pass the ball. A single hour of playing ice hockey burns about 710 calories.
Basketball
Basketball has a variety of fast movements. You are required to jump, run and change direction in just a short span of time. According to Nutristrategy, you can burn about 700 calories by playing basketball for one hour.
Basketball is a start-and-stop activity in nature. This means that it requires a lot of effort to play. The running on the basketball court is different from the conventional jog. You are constantly alternating between jogging and sprinting. Also, unlike the conventional running, an individual constantly stops and changes direction depending on how the game is progressing. This helps you burn calories as the body is constantly trying to readjust.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are a lot of ways on how sports can help you lose weight. In addition to that, you make new friends in the process, reduce stress levels, and learn the value of teamwork. When approaching your sport of choice to lose weight, do not view it as a different technique to lose weight. View the sports as a new channel to have fun and be active. So forget about going to the gym and spending a lot of time on the treadmill and following it up with that new nutritive diet that is leaving you feeling deprived. Instead, join your favorite local sports team.
