Would You Rather: Soccer vs. Running

The US Women’s soccer team has been blowwwwwin’ up the internet (and NYC with the first ticker tape parade for a women’s sports team and several guest appearances) after getting the US their first FIFA World Cup. They got me thinking: which is better for fitness, soccer vs running?

Obviously, there’s a lot of running involved in soccer. I was wondering how much of a difference the mental aspect of the game and the kicking really made. Maybe after my years of soccer in school I made the wrong choice to quit? (I mean I loved, and still love, the running).

There have actually been studies done on this and soccer seems to come out on top. There are a few reasons for this.

For one, soccer simply builds muscles, and the sprinting builds endurance (more so than just running). There’s also the social aspect. After those studies, most women actually kept up with soccer; the runners on the other hand… not so much.

Studies have also shown that soccer can be a better workout because it requires a fixed time and place; running on the other hand is super up-to-you. This actually makes it a little easier to stick with. Not to mention a lot of people prefer working out while doing something fun and engaging which admittedly, just running is not always.

While some people might argue that running is easier because it requires less equipment, a pickup game of soccer requires hardly anything more than a ball and some rocks to indicate goals.

Also even though people rave about having a “runner body,” but maybe a soccer body isn’t too bad either; the US women’s soccer team is HOT (Alex Morgan, be my best friend?).

Are you team soccer or team running? Maybe both? (I know I am).