15 Fun & Awesome Sports for Weight Loss

Summer is just around the corner! This is great news if you can’t wait to take up your favorite outdoors sport again, but it might be bad news if you have put on a little extra weight in the meantime. Weight loss can be a true struggle, especially if you aren’t used to regular exercise or maintaining a healthy diet. In most cases, you’re going to need a lot of patience, determination and discipline in order to shed pounds and regain self-confidence. Why not make the entire process fun, memorable and worthwhile?

How Sports Can Help Your Health

Engaging in sports can help your entire body in a large variety of ways. In fact, weight loss is just one way sports can improve your health. Here are a few other benefits of sports for your body:

  • Stronger Bones – Regularly engaging in a number of sports can help encourage your bones to thicken naturally, reducing the risks of fracture and injury.
  • Better Stamina – Playing for hours trains your body to keep its stamina up throughout the day.
  • Improved Balance – You naturally improve at balancing by moving around in different ways, be it on a court, field or track.

Besides being diet-conscious, one of the most fantastic ways to lose weight in an enjoyable way is to start an active sport. Not only will you be getting rid of kilos without stress, you will also have the chance to develop your social skills and enjoy the presence of fellow team members and friends who join you. Without further ado, here 15 fun and awesome sports for weight loss that you could try out and enjoy!

swimming-for-weight-loss

1. Swimming

Our first fun and awesome sport is basically a no-brainer. Almost everybody knows the fact that swimming is super healthy and super enjoyable. This type of sport puts all of your muscles to work at the same time and burns calories like there’s no tomorrow. In fact, a half hour of swimming can help you burn a whopping 360 calories, just like that! Grab your swimsuit, goggles and towel and hit your local swimming pool!

2. Bicycling

Bicycling is another exceptional way to lose weight. If you’re looking for a wonderful cardio workout, get your bicycle and ride out into nature or in a park in your city. Half an hour of bicycling can aid you in burning 300 to 400 calories, which depends on the speed. Bicycling also helps you achieve great legs and allows you to breathe in the fresh air that your body needs. Many health enthusiasts actually state that cycling is one of the best ways possible to burn calories. What are you waiting for? Pedal your way to your perfect summer body!

3. Baseball / Softball

Hit a home run in your weight loss plan! Baseball is a super fun way to stay in shape and engage in teamwork. Almost every aspect of baseball involves movement, from pitching and catching to backing up infield or outfield. It is an amazing alternative for weight loss, whether you’re an adult or a child. Try engaging in America’s pastime and smack away those extra pounds! Alternatively, you can choose softball and pitch away.

4. Football

Ten hut! Get your adrenaline on and try out football for a super energizing way to lose weight. American football is a great alternative for men to blow off some steam and get into excellent shape in a fantastic way. This sport offers you the determination necessary in order to lose pounds and engage in contact. You might end up loving this sport so much that you will want to continue it competitively, so give it a shot!

5. Tennis

Grab your racquet and hit the tennis court with your best friend or friends? If you want to have the body of Maria Sharapova this summer, you’re going to need to put in some effort, but we guarantee that you will enjoy it. A half-hour session of tennis can help you get moving and getting rid of 250 to 300 calories. This is due to the fact that tennis involves using both your upper and lower strength in order to play well. Moreover, tennis players report that the average length ran during a tennis match can reach two miles! If that’s not amazing, we don’t know what is.

6. Dancing

Step up and express yourself through dance! Dancing is incredible for combining art and sport and offering an all-around memorable experience. There are countless types of dancing available, from street dance, ballet, jazz, contemporary modern or swing, to challenging styles like b-boying (commonly known as breakdancing). You can discover all sorts of dance classes by visiting your local gym, or you can dance at home with tutorials that will get your feet moving and calories burning.

7. Volleyball

Picture this: a gorgeous summer day on the beach; the sun is shining, the waves are crashing in the background, and you and your closest friends are enjoying a game of volleyball on the warm sand. Sounds outstanding, doesn’t it? You can try out volleyball even before summer to get in shape. You will also be sharpening your skills for the summer, so you can get competitive while getting a great tan. Try it out for yourself!

8. Soccer

Soccer is yet another delightful sport you can play in order to lose weight. And when we say weight, we mean a lot of weight. Specialists state that 30 minutes of playing soccer can help you burn around 450 calories!  This is due to the fact that soccer acts as a continuous cardio workout by constant running across the field. Have you ever noticed how soccer players are super fit and lean all the time? Mystery solved. Get on the field and play!

9. Rock Climbing

Although it is generally not a sport that involves direct teamwork, what can be more fun than rock climbing for shedding pounds? Rock climbing is an awesome cardio alternative that will help you get the upper body of a super hero. This type of sport involves putting in your upper body strength and can get you burning up to 380 calories in just one half hour! Be sure to be properly equipped when rock climbing though, and preferably under the supervision of a specialist. Have fun and conquer those mountains!

10. Basketball

Nothing but net! Basketball helps you burn so much calories that it’s almost hard to believe. It is reported that one hour of playing basketball can help you burn around 700 calories! This is because basketball pushes you to reverse, jump and run really fast so you can block, shoot points and win the game in the end. It really is a fun activity and you might create some unforgettable friendships with your team members, as you all need to work closely to achieve success. If it’s sunny outside, grab your friends and play some street ball.

11. Hockey

Both field and ice hockey are absolutely amazing for losing weight and having fun. As in the case of basketball, hockey requires speed and concentration and will definitely get you moving fast. A hockey player needs to use both his lower and upper body, in order to propel and, respectively, pass and shoot. If you play one hour of hockey, you will be enjoying 710 less pounds at the end. It is also a wonderful way to develop team spirit, as you need to constantly communicate with your team members. Get your gear on and hit the field or grab your skates and hit the ice!

12. Boxing

There really is no better way to relieve stress than boxing or kickboxing. It helps you get rid of all tension and builds up your self-confidence at the same time. According to ESPN, boxing is the best sport to lose belly fat, as it involves heavy training that ranges from sparring to jumping rope before each and every match. Hitting the sack for thirty minutes will burn 400 calories and leave you with a super flat stomach if you practice regularly. Just be careful to have all the right equipment so you won’t get hurt.

13. Rollerblading

This is honestly my favorite childhood sport and I love it even to this day. Rollerblading gives you an irreplaceable feeling of freedom and lets you enjoy high speed and an adrenaline rush. Like in the situation of jogging, rollerblading requires using your own weight as resistance, so you will be building up super strong bones at the same time. You will develop balance, precision and speed, while getting rid of calories and pounds like it’s nothing. If you don’t like blading alone, you can get your friends together and race each other in the park. I guarantee that you’ll be having loads of fun while doing it.

14. Running

Running is one of the most obvious ways to lose weight. You are pushing your body to its limits and you can literally feel your muscles working, fat burning and sweat pouring. If you’re running to lose weight, try starting off by jogging and gradually building up speed. If you run at about 6 ½ miles per hour for thirty minutes, you end up burning 370 calories.

15. Skiing

If you’re lucky enough to be close to mountainous regions, you can ski your way to your dream body. You can prevent gaining pounds in the winter, as well, by regularly going on a skiing trip with your family or friends. You can try out downhill skiing for weight loss, where you’ll get rid of around 314 calories in one hour. If you have the possibility and knowledge, go cross-country skiing: it will help you burn approximately 500 calories every hour. What do you say? Let’s hit the slopes!

Photo credits: Florastrongheart.co.za, Britishgas.co.uk.