5 Sports That Will Help With Weight Management

You want to lose weight and would like to keep your body in a healthy shape, but workouts feel like, well, work. As a result, your brain negatively associates physical exercise with grueling, sweaty, constant time checking slogs in the gym. What if you could change that? What if exercise can be fun, engaging and help you lose weight? We previously recommended on Sound Health Doctor doing exercises which engage multiple muscle groups and engage your cardiovascular system.

So, check out our list of 5 activities that will forever change your brain to associate exercise with fun.

Swimming

The definitive total body workout, with exercises for all your muscle groups, is excellent for those looking to trim their bodies with a low impact aerobic workout. U.S. News Health explains that swimming, works your arms, legs, glutes and core, and is easy on your joints as there is no contact with hard surfaces. Low-cost and effective, all you need is access to a pool year-round and whether outdoors or indoors you’ll enjoy yourself at the same time. The butterfly stroke burns the most calories with breaststroke and freestyle a close second.

CrossFit

The sport combines bodyweight exercises, Olympic weightlifting, gymnastics and cardio all in one. A recent development in the High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) program, CrossFit workouts are universally accessible and people of all fitness levels, technical ability and strength can do the workout of the day. Women’s Health posted before and after photos of those who had taken up CrossFit and shed pounds. The exercises use free-weights and your body weight for an effective workout. It can help you burn fat and lose weight in a shorter period of time as it often combines aerobic and anaerobic exercises performed at maximum effort for a given interval, followed by short recovery periods.

Rock Climbing

A weight intensive sport, rock climbing makes you accountable for every ounce in your body as you’ll have to drag it up a wall. Fighting against gravity will encourage you to be as light as possible. Jordan Shakeshaft writing for the Daily Burn explains that rock climbing can burn anywhere from 500 to 900 calories per hour, build strength, power and challenge you both aerobically and anaerobically. The easiest way to get into climbing is bouldering, which is moving laterally across routes, close to the ground, and without ropes. While you’re not climbing as high as you would with a rope harness, the individual moves are much more intense, burn more fat and better tone your body.

Soccer

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world and is played in almost every corner of the globe. The sport is not just a game of fun, it can help fight obesity if played regularly. Soccer players are some of the fittest athletes on the planet due to the intensity and pace of the sport. The English Premier League is the world’s most famous soccer league, and many of the world’s best players compete every week. The players need to be in top condition as Coral reports that the typical game lasts around 96:38 minutes. Just one hour of practice 2 to 3 times a week produces massive health benefits, so imagine what a full 90 minutes or more per game can achieve. The fun of the game also takes the focus away from the pain of exercising and before you know it you’ll be losing weight and getting fitter.

Basketball

Playing basketball can help burn excess calories, as running up and down a basketball court shooting hoops offers plenty of full body exercise. It will not only burn fat, but also strengthen your muscles and improve your hand-eye and foot coordination as well. The sport works out all your major muscle groups through running, shooting, dribbling and passing. It is also a recommended cardiovascular workout as the high intensity portions involve quick and sudden movements. Only 30 minutes per day will help you tone your arms, strengthen your core and shed those excess pounds while having a good time.

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