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
March 26th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Beach Volleyball. Works your legs like crazy!
March 26th, 2008 at 9:23 am
I think another great sport for losing weight would be rowing. Rowing is a full body workout that absolutely works every muscle in your body and gets your heart rate up and makes you sweat and burn those calories.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Thanks guys! Awesome. I do a bit of rowing in the gym but have never done volleyball.
Keep em coming!
RT
April 12th, 2008 at 12:34 am
I’d have to cross country. It’s really tough, you run for a long time in very rough terrain. Doing 6 miles everyday cross country style will burn fat very fast.
April 12th, 2008 at 1:06 am
Nice one Hec. I like it.
RT