Weight Loss Sports

By admin on August 6th, 2011.
Filed Under:Weight Loss Sports
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Overview
The only true way to lose weight is by using more calories than you consume daily. Adding sports to your weekly schedule helps you achieve your weight loss goals by burning calories. To lose 1 lb per week, you must have a caloric deficit of 500 calories per day. Some sports burn significantly more calories than others per hour. An athlete who plays sports and then reduces the intensity of his workout will gain weight if he does not adjust his caloric intake accordingly.
Most Calories Per Hour
Playing sports that burn 1,000 calories per hour help you achieve a daily caloric deficit great enough to help you lose at least 1 lb per week. Sports that burn the most calories per hour include running at 8 mph, which burns 986 calories for a 160 lb person; rollerblading, which burns 1,138 calories for a 200 lb person; and tae kwon do, which burns 1,090 calories for a 240 lb person. The more you weigh, the more calories you burn per hour of activity.
Least Calories Per Hour
Playing sports burns more calories than sitting on the couch. However, some sports are less useful for those with a goal of losing 1 lb per week. Sports that burn significantly less than 500 calories per hour include bowling, which burns 219 calories for a 160 lb person; canoeing, which burns 319 calories for a 200 lb person; and weight lifting, which only burns 327 calories for a 240 lb person.
Running
Weight gain among runners who decreased their running distances was significantly greater than the weight loss experienced by those who increased their running distances the same amount, according to a study by Paul Williams, Ph.D. and published in the February 2008 issue of “Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.” This means it’s easier to gain weight than it is to lose it. The eight-year study examined 40,000 runners and found men must run 15.5 miles per week and women must run 29.8 miles per week to achieve substantial weight loss.
Wrestling
Rapid weight loss techniques commonly practiced by amateur wrestlers impairs their ability to compete at a peak level, according to a study by the Department of Health and Sport Sciences at the University of Louisville and published in the August 2010 issue of the “International Journal of Sports Medicine.” Fluid restriction may decrease body weight by 3 to 4 percent rapidly, but it impairs muscle endurance but not power. Reducing body weight by up to 6 percent through a drastic reduction in food results in impaired wrestling performance.