With the World Cup 2010 in South Africa almost upon us and already everyone getting hyped up and excited for the world cup opening ceremony, it's a great time to examine the health and weight loss benefits that soccer (or 'football' as the die hard fans prefer to call it) can give to someone looking to lose weight or increase their overall fitness.
Soccer is known as one of the most demanding of all sports, and is often referred to as the 'full body sport', as it works out all the muscle groups and is a great cardio aerobic workout to boot.
Soccer players typically run 8 to 12 kilometres during a match, with a varied mix of walking, jogging sprinting, moving backwards and moving while working dexterity in possession of a ball or tackling other players with the ball.
This variety of cardiovascular workouts in a short period of time is extremely beneficial, and can be likened to a mixed cardio workout, with different rates of aerobic activity preventing the body from becoming accustomed to a single rate of activity and preventing a fitness or weight loss 'plateau'.
A soccer fitness training program also works endurance, speed, muscular strength and agility.
On top of all this, soccer is also lots of fun! Playing soccer is a great way to not only lose weight and get fit, but also socialise, meet people and have fun outdoors.
Get into soccer enough and you'll soon forget you're actually working out, getting strong and burning calories.
A soccer fitness training program can be tailored for almost all levels of fitness, and you'll find most areas will have both a social league where anyone can play, and the emphasis is on fitness and fun, and a more hardcore league where the focus is more on skill and winning matches.
If you're inspired by the World Cup and the exciting matches, why not get into soccer for fitness and weight loss yourself? It's even more fun to play than it is to watch!