Explored – What is the Best Sport to Lose Weight?

Let’s start with a basic assertion: losing weight requires a combination of mindful and healthy eating and physical exercise. This is the only way to truly lose weight in a healthy and sustainable manner, while it delivers far better results than fad dieting or various fat removal treatments (such as liposuction).

In order to lose weight in a more fun and enjoyable manner, you could also consider playing a sport. However, this may be easier than done, especially if your only association with disciplines like cycling and basketball comes through online sports betting sites. So, the key is to understand your own physical condition before identifying the best sport to lose weight.

• Understanding Sport and Weight Loss – The Key Considerations
• Revealed – The Leading Sports for Weight Loss
• CrossFit – The Best Sport to Lose Belly Fat
• High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) – Another Great Sport for Burning Body Fat
• Keep on Running – A Timeless Way of Driving Weight Loss and Staying in Shape
• Boxing and Combat Sports – The Elimination of Stored Calories
• Cycling Your Way to Health – Introducing an Incredible Sport for Calorie Burning

Understanding Sport and Weight Loss – The Key Considerations

Ultimately, it’s energy expenditure that holds the key to driving and maintaining healthy weight loss. This is because your body needs to enter a calorie deficit to effectively lose weight, meaning that you’ll need to burn or spend more calories than you consume. It’s also important to target sports and exercises that actively and quickly burn fat.

So, before you identify the best sports for weight loss, it’s important to understand that exercise is one of several lifestyle changes that you’ll need consider when you’re overweight. Your exercise regime must also be combined with significant dietary changes, such as reducing bad and saturated fats and reducing your daily sugar intake.

The good news is that if you’re dedicated and can commit to a healthy eating regime, then practicing the best sport to lose weight will have significant and dramatic effects. Of course, you can play multiple sports if you choose to, depending on your precise weight loss goals and the timeframe in which you want to achieve them.

Revealed – The Leading Sports for Weight Loss

Now, we’re going to drill a little deeper into the best sports for weight loss. Although the vast majority of sporting activities will aid you on your weight loss journey, there’s no doubt that some disciplines are far more effective than others. Here’s our take on the sports that deliver the very best results!

CrossFit – The Best Sport to Lose Belly Fat

Cross fit is definitely one of the best disciplines for weight loss. What’s more, it’s arguably the best sport to lose belly fat, while it’ capable of burning calories at a significant rate. It’s therefore often used to kickstart or accelerate weight loss, either at the beginning of your journey or towards the end.

But what does CrossFit consist of? In short, this comprises various strength and resistance exercises, including weightlifting (using machines and dumbbells), squats, burpees and skipping. This creates greater conditioning and mobilized strength, while it directly burns off calories and reducing your body fat.

The key to CrossFit is its high-intensity. It’s this that drives weight loss and a calorie deficit, as it quickly increases your basal metabolism. Such results are maximized when you practice CrossFit exercises two or three times-a-week, ideally with 24-hour rest and recovery period scheduled after every session.

Two core CrossFit exercise are squats and the bench press. The former should be done with incrementally higher weights as you progress, with the ‘air squat’ strengthening your legs and burning fat mass in the abdomen and glutes. The bench press works to strengthen your pectorals and triceps too. If you combine CrossFit with an increased intake of plant protein too, you’ll add lean muscle mass to your body over time.

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) – Another Great Sport for Burning Body Fat

While CrossFit may be the best sport to lose belly fat, it’s followed closely by high-intensity interval training (HIIT). This is also one of the leading sports for weight loss in general, primarily because it features a split training method which allows you to work on cardio and muscle development over time.

Ultimately, HIIT alternates between 20 seconds of activity and 10 seconds of recovery. Virtually all sports and exercises are compatible with this methodology, whether you run, cycle or prefer to take a dip in your local pool. You just need to time your intervals to enjoy optimal results. This will further promote fat mass reduction and increased muscle mass too.

Like CrossFit, HIIT also leads to a noticeable increase in your basal metabolism or so-called “burn effect”. It therefore equates to arguably the best sport for fat loss across the whole of your body, as you can combine a number of exercises while using short but intense intervals to create manageable workout regimes.

Ultimately, the benefits of HIIT are long-lasting and incredibly advantageous from a fitness perspective. It’s also easier to practice with a busy schedule, as you can perform workouts once every day (or every other day) for periods of around 30 minutes. This will maximize your calorie burn in the most manageable way possible.

Keep on Running – A Timeless Way of Driving Weight Loss and Staying in Shape

For generations, running as been known as the best sport to lose weight, burn fat and maintain a decent level of fitness. It also offers a great entry point into weight loss, whether you’re striving to create a calorie deficit for the first ever time or returning to physical activity after a period of weight gain.

In addition to being manageable, it’s also cheap and easy to start (or return to) running. You simply need to grab your trainers and start moving, especially as you can run for as long as you’re able to when starting out. If you are new to running, you can also alternate between periods of running and brisk walking, increasing the time and distance that you cover at pace each time.

Once you’re able to jog for at least 30 minutes twice a week, you’ll work a number of core muscle groups, burn body fat and even get a flatter stomach over time. Running for an hour or more at a time is known to burn up to 1,000 kcal per hour, which is an incredible amount that can help deliver quick and sustainable results.

Remember, running works your entire body and mind. To this end, it aids your overall physique (through both weight loss and muscle conditioning), while it’s proven to enhance your mental state by lowering stress levels and delivering a dopamine booster). It will also strengthen your heart over time, thanks to its ability to activate blood circulation.

Boxing and Combat Sports – The Elimination of Stored Calories

While some people may be deterred from boxing as a result of its combative nature, the training that underpins the sport is hugely beneficial. This makes boxing a contender as the best sport to lose weight, especially as it’s also highly effective at eliminating stored calories in the human body.

Boxing training is also high-intensity and has a great deal in common with CrossFit and HIIT, with skipping, strength and conditioning key tenants of all disciplines. However, boxing is also unique in the level of intensity and effort required during training sessions, which can dramatically improve your cardiovascular health and burn a huge number of calories.

Interestingly, your entire body can benefit from the slimming effects that are synonymous with boxing. This sport aggressively works your abdominal muscles and burns fat around this area, while triggering muscle gain in core groups and improving the shape and tone of your form.

Even if you don’t want to spar or engage in fights, you should note that learning how to punch also delivers significant fitness benefits. When you strike an opponent or throw a technically correct punch, your entire body needs to be mobilized, as you draw power from your legs and twist your hips when in motion. Ducking or evading punches also helps to work various muscle groups.

Cycling Your Way to Health – Introducing an Incredible Sport for Calorie Burning

We close with cycling, which is another incredible sport for burning calories. Like running, this is also an incredibly accessible sport, as you simply need to grab a bike and a helmet and start pedalling. Fortunately, most of us learn to ride a bike when we’re infants too, so this is something we’re familiar with when we’re older.

In addition to burning calories, this aggressively works your lower body muscle groups, particularly your thighs, carves and glutes. You’ll also tone your abs and arms, although you may not see significant progress in these areas for an extended period of time. Cycling also helps you to build muscle mass.

You can maximize your fitness and weight loss gains by cycling in hilly or mountainous areas (where possible). This, in conjunction with a diet that’s rich in lean protein, will also help you to gradually build muscle mass and tone your physique.

The really good news is that you can cycle effectively in and outdoors. In addition to road and mountain cycling, you can access indoor spinning classes, which are readily available at most gyms. These classes were initially designed for elite athletes to enhance endurance and cardio performance, while they also aid fat burning and weight loss. So, it’s easy to see why cycling is so popular among those of you who want to lose weight!