Exercise Ratings
Doing any exercise – from gentle Pilates to grueling wakeboarding – is great for weight loss. But how beneficial is your preferred workout really?
Each form of exercise is effective in its own way, and is at least better than vegetating in front of the television.
We assess the strengths and shortcomings of four sports – tennis, Pilates, Muay Thai and wakeboarding – on the following criteria: weight loss, toning, flexibility, muscular endurance, cardiovascular fitness.
The rating system is 1 – no effect; 2 – fairly effective; and 3 – very effective.
Ideally, you should engage in more than one exercise to address different aspects of fitness. A good balance is to incorporate aerobic, low-impact exercises like brisk walking, swimming and cycling with strength training in the gym to maintain muscle mass. Adding a regular stretching programme like Pilates, is important to maintain flexibility.
To achieve faster weight loss, do a sustained regular exercise like jogging and swimming, coupled with a reduced calorie intake.
Tennis
Rating
Weight loss: 3
Toning: 2
Flexibility: 2
Muscular endurance: 2
Cardiovascular fitness: 3
Tennis is a great social exercise to do with friends and is very accessible at most places. However, in order to burn more calories, you will need to be active on court to maintain the energy deficit rather than stand around waiting to play. Apart from a good body workout, tennis also hones your sense of coordination and stamina. It can have a relatively high impact on the joints and a correct technique is important to avoid injuries.
Muay Thai
Rating
Weight loss: 3
Toning: 2
Flexibility: 2
Muscular endurance: 2
Cardiovascular fitness: 3
Muay Thai is different from the more aerobic, non-sparring kickboxing as it is a competitive contact sport and trains the cardiovascular system for short bouts of high intensity activity. It sharpens your reflexes and is a good self defence skill to have. The stretches done before and after the exercise helps keep the body flexible and helps to increase the range of movement and decrease risk of injury. As it is a contact sport, you have to watch out for injuries and falls and may not be able to do this sport when you are older.
Wake boarding
Rating
Weight loss: 2
Toning: 2
Flexibility: 2
Muscular endurance: 3
Cardiovascular fitness: 2
Wakeboarding gives the upper body and lower limbs a great strength training workout. It also enhances your balancing skills and dexterity when you attempt stunts. For it to be an effective sport, you will have to stay on the board for at least 30 minutes each time. This sport puts a lot of strain on the knees and there is also a chance of sprains and other injuries if you fall while performing tricks.
Pilates
Rating
Weight loss: 1
Toning: 2
Flexibility: 3
Muscular endurance: 3
Cardiovascular fitness: 1
Pilates is good for building muscular endurance for power packed muscles, as well as for posture and flexibility. As it is a low impact exercise, it is great for rehabilitative and older people. It is however not so effective for weight loss and cardiovascular training, so you will have to add an exercise like cycling or running for a well-rounded regime.
