A lot of girls here at Academy play sports, and I have always have personally done everything from flag football to dance. There is no denying that all sports can be physically demanding, but it begs the question, “which sport is physically the best?”  After some research, I think I have found the answer.

To be one of the best physical sports there needs to be a strength component, but even more cardio. Cardiovascular exercise is very aerobic, which means you not only lose calories while doing the activity, but the calories continue to burn the rest of the day. Aerobic exercises also allow for a lot of calories to be burned and muscle to be made in a short period of time. For example, if you ran on the elliptical every day for 30 minutes, you would have to walk for at least an hour to achieve a similar result.

The Top  6 High Cardio Sports , according to fitday, are:

1) Running (Long Distance). A short distance run, like sprinting, utilizes the fast twitch muscles in the legs. However, while long distance utilizes the long muscles in your leg that connect to the hips. When I say long distance, I mean two or more miles. A typical running exercise should be more than 20 minutes to achieve the number one spot in the countdown.

2) Cycling. In a moderate –to-intense speed, up to 500 calories can be burned in 30 minutes. When cycling not only does your speed matter, but so does the resistance. When riding, changing the gear periodically through the work out will help a lot. This point is stressed a lot when taking a spinning class at your local gym.

3) Racquetball. Yes, racquetball. I know, it sounds crazy! However, it takes strength to hit the ball up to 100 miles per hour. This, coupled with the frequent sprints, allows people to burn up to 400 calories in 30 minutes. However, if you feel a little nerdy playing, tennis can be exchanged for it.

4) Rowing. Rowers and cross country runners utilize the same leg muscles, however, rowers also include their arms, core, and back. And just like track, there are short distances, 1500 meters, and long distances, 5,000 meters. In thirty minutes, rowing burns at least 400 calories, and luckily for you, Academy has a great crew team!

5) Hockey. Not only do hockey players have to run, they have to keep their balance to do it on ice, which more than helps their core muscles. When they ‘run on the ice’, they are actually using their glutes to kick back the skate, and their quads to propel themselves forward. Hockey also helps coordination and flexibility, and obviously has a lot of cardio involved. In one hockey period (20 minutes) hockey players can burn around 400 calories!

6) Soccer. Soccer and hockey both help coordination and endurance. The biggest aspect of soccer is the running (both jogging and sprinting), which is almost constant through out the workout.  In 30 minutes you can burn over 250 calories. Academy has a team a great team, too!

These are some of the top aerobic sports, but obviously there are others, like swimming and basketball. When calculating these calories, I set my height and weight, so the results will vary. As always, if you’re looking for a high calorie sport, make sure to choose one that works for you and your schedule.