If you ever thought that the sports you play for fun on weekends could be no match for a controlled “exercise-activity” like jogging, then a new Danish study will change your mind. soccer kick aboutResearchers from the University of Copenhagen have concluded what Beckham-adoring soccer fans have probably known intuitively for a long time: soccer playing is great for fitness - infact even better than jogging!

… the study evaluated the effects of three hours per week of soccer, jogging or no exercise, among 37 randomly assigned sedentary males.

After 12 weeks, subjects in the soccer group had lost 7.3 pounds of fat … compared with 4 pounds among joggers (there was no change in the control group). The soccer group also gained 3.7 pounds in muscle, while the joggers did not gain measurably in muscle.

- Via Baltimore Sun

So what could be the reason for this apparent anomaly? The biggest reason is probably intensity. The sudden bursts of movement required during soccer play a big role in increasing the overall effort while also providing a better cardiovascular bang for the buck. This is the same concept on which interval training (bursts of running in-between regular-paced stretches) is based. Researchers found that there were periods during the game when the players’ hearts were pumping at around 90% of their full capacities leading to intensified fat loss. Jogging, on the other hand rarely stretches the heart to its capacity.

Another reason could be the ability to sustain an activity like soccer for longer periods because the players were having fun while doing it. In today’s world of many people considering traditional exercise a chore or punishment to compensate for unhealthy activities, fun is often the most underestimated quality of an activity:

Unlike the soccer players, the joggers consistently thought their runs were exhausting.“The soccer players were having more fun, so they were more focused on scoring goals and helping the team, rather than the feeling of strain and muscle pain”

- Via MSNBC

And if intensity and fun are what really matter, then you have to ask yourself: why stop at soccer? Backyard frisbee games, tree/bush-planting activities, lawn-moving (ok, maybe not so much fun!) or dog-walks/runs in the park can all be the intense, fat-burning workouts that we spend so much at the local gym to obtain.

If workouts are where we find them, we certainly don’t need to look very far!

Technorati Tags: health, fitness, exercise, workout, soccer, intensity

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