Footballers or cyclists? F1 drivers? Who really are the fittest sportsmen on the planet? End those interminable pub debates once and for all with our definitive guide...
Footballer
Strength: There’s a balance to be stuck. Lack of upper body strength means you’ll be shoved off the ball; too much will cut your pace by a couple of yards.
Stamina: Someone like David Beckham covers up to 10 miles in one game. And a lot of that is sprinting. The average top pro plays two games a week from August to May
Aerobic: To be able to sprint 50 yards, jog back, and do it again, time after time, requires top-level aerobic fitness. Try it next Sunday Morning
Calories Burned: Depends on position. But a busy midfielder burns around 1,000 calories a game
1,500-m Runner
Strength: It's not just legs that make a runner. Strong stomach muscles and shoulders and arms are crucial. Sebastian Coe could out-bench press men twice his size
Stamina: A 1,500-m runner's training includes the same drills as a sprinter and the distance work of a 10,000-m man. It's all about pace and stamina
Aerobic: The world's best 1,500-m men will run about 3 mins. 38 sec for the mile so they're lapping at a pace that would be tasty for a top 400-m runner
Calories Burned:The race itself won't burn that many calories—400 tops. Linford never used that many over 100 m either—but who'd call him lazy?
F1 Driver
Strength: Drivers get 3 G's on straights. Since just 1.5 G on the head equates to twice the wright of the head and helmet together, the upper body must be strong
Stamina: The cockpit is so hot a driver can lose up to 12.8 kg (28 lbs.) through dehydration during a race. And the toll of concentrating so hard for so long is huge
Aerobic: Pulses will be at 175 bpm for the race—like you running flat-out for two hours. In corners where G-Forces are strongest, they can go over 200 bpm.
Calories Burned:You lose salts and minerals through sweat. Forget to eat complex carbohydrates and low-fat sources of protein and it's all over
Cyclist
Strength: The emphasis is on lean muscle. Any excess—and muscle weighs more than fat-is more to lug up hills. Result is powerful lower body and wiry top half
Stamina: The Tour de France lasts for three weeks with stages as long as 250 km. Cyclists produce a power output of up to 400 watts for up to eight hours a day
Aerobic: Five-time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain had a resting pulse rate of just 29 beats per minute. Yours, on the other hand, is likely to be 70
Calories Burned:They use up to 8,000 calories on the toughest stage of Le Tour. It's impossible to eat that much in a day, so it's no wonder so much doping goes on....
Golfer
Strength: It's timing and rhythm that count when it comes to distance. You drive for show, putt for dough—and nobody needs muscles on the green.
Stamina: You'll probably walk up to six miles on a championship course-further if your driving is awry. You'll do that four days in a row, if you make the cut.
Aerobic: Sometimes you may well break into a fast walk if you're anxious to see what sort of lie you're in. and climbing out of all those bunkers can be shattering.
Calories Burned:All right. Maybe Tiger's svelte, but he's the exception in every way.
Boxer
Strength: Apart from arms like cables, abs strong enough to absorb hundreds of hammer-like blows during a bout, and a neck like a tree truck, boxers need legs of steel.
Stamina: Each punch you take has the capacity to suck every last drop of strength from your body. Ever wondered where the phrase “punch drunk” came from?
Aerobic: Throw a series of punches and see how it feels. Imagine doing that for 12 rounds of three minutes, and factor in the worst battering of your life.
Calories Burned:Depends on how long the fight lasts. Bear in mind that boxers spend the days before a fight dieting like an obsessed model to make the weight