Soccer vs Jogging Revisited

A few weeks ago, a press release on Soccer vs Jogging vs TV Watching was
discussed.

A fuller release is below. Muscle mass gain was best for soccer players.

Heart rate was monitored. Soccer players experienced peak heart rates of
90% of max. The joggers never had similar high peak heart rates.

The Soccer players claimed to have much more fun.

Caveats were expressed on taking up high intensity sports.
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http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/0...hea_print.html


Soccer Burns More Fat Than Jogging
Maria Cheng, Associated Press


Sept. 20, 2007 — There's a new slogan for weight-watchers: Burn it like
Beckham. A friendly game of soccer, a new study has found, works off
more fat and builds up more muscle than jogging.

Danish scientists, who conducted their research on 37 men, also found
the soccer players felt less tired after exercising than the joggers
because they were having more fun.

"This is good news for men who prefer to play football with their
mates," said Gary O'Donovan, a sports medicine expert at the University
of Exeter who was not connected to the study.

To measure how hard the men were working out, the researchers strapped
heart monitors to their chests and compared blood samples and muscle
tissue from before and after matches and jogging sessions.

The researchers selected men with similar health profiles aged 31 to 33
and split them into groups of soccer players, joggers, and couch
potatoes — who not surprisingly ended the three month-long study in the
worst shape.

Summer heat means danger for athletes.
Get more Discovery News video here.

Each period of exercise lasted about one hour and took place three times
a week. After 12 weeks, researchers found that the body fat percentage
in the soccer players dropped by 3.7 percent, compared to about 2
percent for the joggers.

The soccer players also increased their muscle mass by almost 2
kilograms (4.5 pounds), whereas the joggers didn't have any significant
change. Those who did no exercise registered little change in body fat
and muscle mass.

"Even though the football (soccer) players were untrained, there were
periods in the game that were so intense that their cardiovascular was
maximally taxed, just like professional football (soccer) players," said
Peter Krustrup, head of Copenhagen University's department of exercise
and sport sciences, who led the study.

The soccer players and the joggers had the same average heart rate, but
the soccer players got a better workout because of intense bursts of
activity.

Krustrup and his colleagues found there were periods during soccer
matches when the players' hearts were pumping at 90 percent their full
capacity. But the joggers' hearts were never pushed as hard.

"The argument as to whether or not vigorous activity is better than
moderate activity is over," O'Donovan said.

He warned, however, that sedentary people shouldn't jump-start their
bodies with a dose of intense exercise but rather ease into their
fitness regime with some moderate 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," Krustrup said.

Health officials were unsure how much impact the study results might
have on the wider population.

Nick Cavill, a research associate at the British Heart Foundation at
Oxford University, said it's hard enough convincing people to exercise
moderately, let alone engage in a high-intensity sport like soccer.

"There might be enormous benefits to telling people to play football
twice a week," he said. "But if they're not going to do it, then that
message may be useless."

I think where this study fits is to let people who are already exercising
know of the importance of mixing in bouts of higher intensity
work....whether that be walking/running up a hill as hard as possible or
doing a similar thing on a dreadmill. Of course, the best thing would be to
find an exercise activity that you really enjoy (ie, cycling, basketball,
etc.) and work in HIIT there. Nonexercisers should never start with
intervals, but should build a base first with flat cardio and work into HIIT
over time.

As someone else pointed out before, the muscle mass gain won't continue
indefinitely...it's more of an adaptation response of the body to the new
activity.

HIIT has long (now) been known to have the benefits (and the risks) pointed
to in this article. IMO, it's good to see more evidence of it because most
people seem to think that only long flat cardio has benefits. Short bouts
of HIIT activity can be more beneifical and actually take less time, too.
There is a risk of injury that should not be taken lightly, however. That
means one should choose the activity wisely. What may be good for person A
may be terrible for person B, even if you are use to exercise.

Jim wrote:
::
:: Caveats were expressed on taking up high intensity sports.
:: ================================================== ===========
::
:: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/0...hea_print.html
::
::
:: Soccer Burns More Fat Than Jogging
:: Maria Cheng, Associated Press

snip

:: Health officials were unsure how much impact the study results might
:: have on the wider population.
::
:: Nick Cavill, a research associate at the British Heart Foundation at
:: Oxford University, said it's hard enough convincing people to
:: exercise moderately, let alone engage in a high-intensity sport like
:: soccer.
::
:: "There might be enormous benefits to telling people to play football
:: twice a week," he said. "But if they're not going to do it, then that
:: message may be useless."