Did you know that a 155-lb man can burn 298 calories playing basketball in only 30 minutes?
Harvard Health Publications did indeed make this remarkable discovery. It was also revealed that a person who weighs more than 250 pounds would burn 355 calories a minute.
Do you know what this means?
People with a greater body mass usually expel more energy than those with lower body weight. Thus, calorie expenditure is correlated with body weight.
That’s where it gets interesting.
It may be a little inefficient, but playing basketball can be an EFFECTIVE tool to lose some weight. With a regular play on the court, at least twice a week, you can shed body fat and keep a trim figure.
Besides that, you have to take care to watch your quantity and eat right. This will be like fetching water while playing basketball with a basket. Here’s why.
Weight Loss By Calorie Deficit Balancing
You need to burn more calories in order to lose weight than you take in, which creates a calorie deficit. The kinds of diet you consume also play a huge role in how much weight you lose. It is important that you consume a reasonable amount of calories daily.
In this regard, it is always crucial to ensure you are consuming healthy, quality calories. A diet containing more fiber and whole foods—which are accessible and easy to digest—is more likely to lower your appetite.
Formula for calculating the number of calories
There are a ton of factors that affect calories expenditure, such as genetics, the intensity of the workout, gender, and age. But, you can use a formula to get an accurate calculation of your calorie expenditure.
3.6 times your weight (in pounds) is the simple formula.
In the above calculation, it can be seen that you can burn up to 750 calories in one hour of basketball. If that number is exceeded or lowered, you should increase or decrease the number accordingly.
Sports that compare basketball to basketball
There are several sports activities that are generally “start and stop” in nature, like basketball. Because of this, they can be demanding to play, but don’t burn as many calories as activities requiring continuous activity such as running.
As an example, a runner weighing 155lbs can burn up to 465 calories in 30 minutes compared to someone who plays basketball, which is not a continuous activity.
Small forwards or power guards burn more calories on the court than the other players.
The Best Basketball Plays for Calorie Burning
There are six categories of calorie-burning calculations defined by the American Council on Exercise.
Six types of calorie burn will be listed in descending order of intensity for a 170 lb male basketball player.
1. Playing full-court basketball: Sportsman burns about 694 calories per hour.
We all know even the greatest NBA players can’t play 48 minutes on a full-court, without taking a time out.
Also, a full-court game of basketball at a local YMCA is sufficient to burn 677 calories.
2. Running brings 171 calories per game to the player when they run on the court
From Basketball-reference.com statistics, Quincy Pondexter ran an average of 1.3 miles per game in 2014. Pondexter is tall, so given the 18 minutes he ran, that’s a total time of 18.6 minutes.
During basketball games, basketball players are said to run 5 miles on average. Also, NBA players can burn about 200 calories running around the court just by themselves.
3. The act of shooting baskets consumes 127 calories per game.
Shooting baskets and retrieving balls for a casual 21.9 minute period in the park will burn one-fifth of your daily calorie target.
A simple way to increase your weight loss even higher is to take a 45-minute walk in your backyard on a sunny weekend.
4. An intense dribbler loses 124 calories per game from dribbling.
Typically, for every 90 seconds a player spends dribbling the ball, he burns about 15 calories.
As such, the player who gains possession of the ball for 5 minutes in a game will burn 75 calories. However, if you take bench time out of the equation, you will get a different number of calories burned.
To lose about 124 calories, you will have to dribble about 12.4 minutes on the court.
5. A player who makes passes per game loses 3 Calories
In order to burn three calories in a game, you need to make at least 19.7 passes. Even though it’s not as calorie-burning as other types of activities, it still contributes to the activity.
It is best to find a passing partner that is willing to participate for at least fifteen minutes in passing drills.
6. The player loses 2.5 Calories each time he or she takes a jump shot
Playing basketball involves the least number of jump shots in each game. Jump movements don’t have much effect on burning calories on the court.
However, you can still burn more calories when you throw jump shots. You will burn approximately 2.5 extra calories for every 10 minutes you throw jump shots.
Conclusion
It is important for a basketball player to know that calorie burn is heavily dependent on four things;
- The mass of your body
- It’s the energy you expend for each and every move.
- It is time for you to play.
- There are a total number of moves in a game.
You will not burn calories, but instead, lose your energy by sitting still. You will burn out instead of burning calories.
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