Bowling can be considered the world’s favorite pastime.
Reliable reports indicate that over 25% of Americans bowl annually. This statistic would make bowling the country’s largest participation sport.
It isn’t a form of exercise that you hate. If you’re like most people, you jump at the opportunity to bowl.
Bowling, of course, isn’t exactly a HIIT or weight loss exercise designed to increase the number of calories burned.
So, can bowling serve as a light workout and help in weight loss? The answer is yes!
Bowling comes with health benefits and can burn many calories per game, thus helping a person maintain his/her ideal body weight and keep the pounds off.
Since bowling is a no-impact sport with a negligible injury record, even the elderly can work out to bowling. It’s also one of the few sports a person can play while snacking or sipping his/her favorite drink.
The self-scoring system tallies the score and the pins are automatically placed at the bowling lane end. There are also user-friendly bowling score apps you can use to record your scores and track your performance if you’re serious about the game.
Now, how does bowling help in weight loss? How many calories you burn while enjoying a game?
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How Many Calories You Burn Bowling?
Research reports indicate that one bowling session can do wonders to increase your metabolism and, in turn, help in weight loss. A bowler can burn as many calories as 150 to 300 calories per hour through bowling.
Many factors come into play when detecting the calories burned bowling. How many calories you burn depends on the time period of the exercise, intensity, your height and weight, and even the calorie counter you’re using to track calories burned bowling.
Therefore, it would only be possible to provide a general estimate of how many calories you burn while bowling.
According to the reliable calorie counter of MyFitnessPal, below is the number of calories burned bowling:
- around 75 calories burned per half an hour if you weigh 50 kg
- around 90 calories burned per half an hour if you weigh 60 kg
- around 105 calories burned per half an hour if you weigh 70 kg
- around 120 calories burned half an hour if you weigh 80 kg
- around 135 calories burned per half an hour if you weigh 90 kg
- around 150 calories burned per half an hour if you weigh 100 kg
Remember these amounts of burned calories per hour are only rough estimates. You’d need a more personalized calorie counter if you want to know exactly how many calories you burn.
How Do You Burn Calories When Bowling?
Lifting
A bowling ball weighs around 14 pounds. Every time you get up to bowl, you lift a 14-pound ball.
Then, you exert enough pressure to get the bowl to strike the pins. Per game, you bowl for as many as 22 times.
Now, consider lifting a 14-pound weight 22 times and using enough force to get the 14-pound ball to strike the pins. Each movement adds to the calories you burn in one game.
You could imagine the calories burned with all that lifting. Plus, you’d definitely improve your strength and muscle tone, all the more if you’re into league bowling.
Walking
According to Purdue University‘s Convert Activities into Steps web page, on an average, a person walks around 71 steps in 60 seconds while bowling.
If you multiply the steps to the time it takes to complete one bowling game, which is around 16 minutes, the steps can accumulate to a whopping 1,136 steps!
Now, consider all the walking around at the bowling alley for a couple of bowling games and also factor in the lifting of the ball and the use of force to hit the pins. No wonder you burn as many calories an hour.
Other Bowling Benefits
Social Interaction
Aside from the considerable burned calories per hour, bowling can also provide social benefits and serve as a stress buster.
For instance, you can easily form new social relations with other people during long bowling sessions. In fact, many even use the sport to market businesses and strike new partnership deals.
Hand-to Eye Coordination
Like all sports that use a ball, bowling is known to improve hand-to-eye coordination too.
Since the game requires a high level of concentration, tactics, and alertness, one can substantially improve his/her cognitive skills through bowling.
Lower Health Risks
Because of the many calories you burn, regular bowling can help decrease the risk of several medical conditions such as diabetes, stroke, and heart attacks as well.
Conclusion
Getting some calories burned doesn’t have to mean spending hours at the gym or skipping your favorite food. Bowling is a fun and more engaging way to burn calories and stay fit and healthy.
Aside from the calories burned, bowling also comes with lots of other health benefits including better heart health, improved immunity, stress relief, and toned muscles to name some.