What Is Better for Exercise: Basketball or Long-Distance Running?

Given the myriad benefits of exercise -- enhancing your mood and assisting in elevating energy levels -- it's clear that no form of exercise is bad for you. But depending upon your particular goals, you may find some types of exercise superior to others. For example, while basketball and long-distance running can help you stay, or get, in shape relatively quickly, they do have differences that may make you favor one over the other. Always ask your doctor before taking up a new form of physical activity.

  1. Weight Loss

    • If you're looking to lose weight, burning calories is key. The more calories an activity burns, the more quickly you'll be able to shed pounds and burn fat. Between long-distance running and basketball, running may be preferable, as running 5 miles per hour -- a 12-minute-mile pace -- burns 606 calories per hour, while running 8 miles per hour -- a 7:30-minute-mile pace -- burns 861 calories per hour. Meanwhile, playing basketball burns 584 calories. These figures assume a weight of 160 pounds; heavier people will burn more calories per hour.

    Muscle Building

    • When it comes to building muscle, your best bet is resistance training. But that doesn't mean you cannot build muscle with other activities. Basketball is the better choice for building muscle, as it works your upper body as well as your lower body, unlike long-distance running. Additionally, the highly repetitive nature of long-distance running makes it better suited to increasing muscular endurance rather than muscular power, which is developed by short, powerful muscle contractions. Additionally, you need to be in a calorie surplus to build muscle, so the higher rate of calorie burning associated with long-distance running would be a disadvantage in this case.

    Agility

    • The term "agility" refers to your ability to maintain balance as you change directions quickly. As you might expect, developing this skill requires practice. Because basketball involves many quick directional changes, it is preferable to long-distance running when it comes to improving agility. With long-distance running, you may wish to avoid directional changes as much as you can, as they may throw off your stride.

    Cardiovascular Endurance

    • Both basketball and long-distance running can help you improve your cardiovascular endurance and fitness. Exercising with these types of activities will enable you to improve your workout capacity, meaning you'll be able to exercise comfortably for longer periods no matter what the activity. Additionally, cardiovascular fitness can help strengthen your heart and decrease your resting heart rate, while reducing your blood pressure.