I have been getting a lot of emails from people looking for other sports and activities to use to help them lose weight and build super fitness. It seems that the old treadmill is getting pretty boring. In this post I want to look at the best sports and activities to lose weight and blast your fitness.

The best sports for fast weight loss and super fitness

Here are some of the best sports and activities that you might not have thought of.

1. Kick Boxing
As you might have guessed from the images on this post kick boxing is one of the best things you can do for losing weight and building fitness. I would recommend kick boxing for any sports person or athlete who wants to take their endurance and power to a new level.

There are a few reasons kick boxing is superior:

Full body - Kick boxing uses every muscle in your body. When you throw a kick you have to whip your whole body around and when the kick lands you have to tense your whole body to increase the power. The same goes for the punches, elbows and knees. It is amazing for your abs as well.

Pace - Kick boxing is fast and it is furious. Your heart rate gets up and it stays up for the whole time. This is why it is amazing for weight loss.

Toughness - When you kick box you develop a lot of toughness. This helps you on your weight loss and fitness journey as the other workouts you do will no longer seem as intense.

2. Indoor Soccer
I have played soccer all my life but when I went to the indoor soccer center I was shocked at how hard it was. Indoor soccer is amazing for your fitness and weight loss as it is very high intensity. Some other reasons indoor soccer is a good choice are:

Less people - When you have less people on the pitch you have to do more work yourself. This is a good thing!

No boundaries - When there are no boundaries the ball is never “out” so you never get those little breaks to catch your breath. At the start this is hard but you soon get used to it.

Short bursts - One of the best things for your fitness is doing short bursts of high intensity cardio. When you chase a ball for ten feet one way and then back the other way you are getting a lot of high intensity exercise.

Check out our other post on soccer and the types of training you can do to improve your game.

3. Capoeira
Capoeira is a Brazillian martial art/dance form that will challenge you beyond belief. Like all good high intensity activities it uses your whole body in both aerobic and anaerobic ways. You do handstands, back bend, front flips, kicks, punches and just about everything in between.

The great thing about Capoeira is that it is so full of variety. One minute you can be pumping out 100 high kicks and the next minute you will be doing some amazing deep stretches. To learn more about Capoeira check out a recent article we wrote on Capoeira basics.

4. Squash

photo: Btal

If you have ever played squash you will know how good it is for your fitness. You are stuck in a tiny room with one other person, two rackets and a ball. You chase after that ball for hours on end.

I once went to play squash at my local court with my father and the owner told us that someone had just had a heart attack and been rushed to hospital. We asked if it had happened before and he said “it happens all the time” and continued on with his work. I think the fast paced activity really shocks some people as they don’t realize how hard squash really is.

Added squash bonus - You calf muscles will get an amazing workout when you are playing squash. The constant sprinting, twisting and turning really burns them.

5. Street Ball
Playing a bit of basketball with your friends down at the local park is one of the best ways to burn off some major calories. Like all of the sports in this post it involves a lot of short bursts of sprinting and involves all of your body.

What other sports have you guys used to lose weight and build super fitness?

top photo:anaconda

Lance Armstrong is one of the most famous cancer surviving professional athletes in the world. He has won the Tour de France seven times in a row and has beaten brain, testicular and lung cancer. He is tough. He is not a quitter.

Surely there is something we can learn from Lance.

Lance Armstrong’s Wisdom in Dodgeball

I was watching the movie “Dodgeball” recently when I noticed a scene with Lance in it. The scene is typically hilarious and Lance does a great job at guilt tripping Vince Vaughn into not quitting the team. You have to see the clip to appreciate its significance so here it is below.

Take particular notice of the last line where Lance says:

“I’m sure this decision won’t haunt you forever…”

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We all know that we are supposed to stretch before, during and after sport. We know it helps muscle health as well as recovery. There are no two ways about it. However, are you getting the most from your stretches? Are you doing them correctly?

Or are you wasting your time?

In this article I will show you how to get the most out of your stretching sessions. I will share with you some dos and donts of stretching so that you know you will never be wasting your time.

Stretching Dos and Don’ts

Here is a list of some dos and don’ts that will help you get the most out of your stretching.

Do proceed slowly
People tend to rush into stretches like they are some kung fu expert who can do a full side split. This is not a good idea. Make sure you take time and build up to a deeper stretch over the weeks and months. Do not force anything.

Don’t bounce
It always makes me cringe when I see people at the gym bobbing and bouncing into their stretches. That crap might have been acceptable back in the 70’s but we now know this is not good for the muscles or joints of the body. Each stretch should be done slowly and with caution. Were trying to stretch the muscles, not break them!

Do breathe deeply with each stretch
One of the ways you learn to get more flexible is to breathe out each time you want to go a little bit lower. For example, when I am doing a hamstring stretch I take a deep breath in and the as I breathe out I will slowly push down a little bit more into the stretch. This is an old kung fu exercise which is also used by modern sport.

Don’t rush each stretch
I remember when I used to go play golf with my dad he would always spend about 5 minutes warming up at the start. He would run on the spot, swing his arms around and bounce through about 30 different stretches. The problem was he only held each stretch for about two seconds. As soon as he got into the stretch position he would drop it and move on! Later on he would always wonder why the heck he was so sore and stiff. Gee dad - I wonder?!

Make sure you take your time with each stretch. Try to give it at least 30 seconds of good gentle push with correct breathing and you will see results a lot faster than you thought.

Do stretch regularly
You should start to get into the habit of stretching everyday. You should stretch before, during and after a workout (any workout) and that session should be seen as important; not as something that you can skip if you need to. If you really don’t have the time then a good 15 minute stretch in front of the television before bed is a great habit to get into.

Don’t stretch cold
Many people see stretching as a warm up exercise but it is actually the case that you might want to do a few little warm up before you start stretching!

Anyone else got any stretching tips? I’m sure there are a lot out there as everyone who plays sports stretches.