We all know that being active is important for both mental and physical health, but it can often be difficult to find the exercise that’s right for you. A lot of us aren’t interested in spending hours inside a gym lifting weights or walking on the spot on a treadmill.
Those of us who loved team sports growing up sadly give them up when we reach adulthood and have new responsibilities. Fortunately, you now have an excuse to get back into sport! If you want to stay in shape and keep healthy while having fun outdoors, tennis is the perfect sport for you.
Tennis is a very accessible sport to play, as most cities and towns have public courts. All you need is one friend or family member who’d be interested in playing with you! You also need a racquet and a tennis ball, of course, which can be affordably purchased or even borrowed from tennis clubs.
Keep reading for five of the best reasons why tennis is the ultimate sport for staying fit and healthy.
Full Body Exercise
While there are a lot of sports that focus on specific areas of the body, tennis gives you a full-body workout. Every limb and area of your body are utilized in a game of tennis. Your legs are always moving while running around the court, and your upper body and arms are strengthened while serving the ball and swinging the racquet.
If you look closely at professional tennis players, you’ll notice that they’re rarely flat-footed and always with their weight on the balls of their feet. Your core will get a workout too from twisting your body around, and will only improve once you develop more advanced movements. Even your breathing muscles and lung function will become stronger.
Improved Aerobic and Anaerobic Capacity
Aerobic exercises are those that require a lot of regular oxygen, such as jogging or dancing. We are able to exert energy during these activities for longer periods of time without becoming fatigued. They teach us to breathe deeply and maximize our oxygen intake. On the other hand, an aerobic exercises are high intensity and involve short exertion, where you run out of breath very quickly. They are a test of endurance and are typically activities like heavy weight training or sprinting.
The great thing about tennis is that it will improve both aerobic and anaerobic capacity, both of which are very important for maintaining overall health and fitness.
Tennis requires consistent jogging and constant movement, meaning you’re always getting your heart rate up. Regularly playing tennis increases your oxygen intake and improves your endurance. Thus, your body is being trained to deliver oxygen more effectively. You often see professional matches lasting three hours long, so players need to have a strong aerobic foundation.
Tennis will also improve your anaerobic capacity. Quick movements such as sprinting to catch a ball, for example, will help train your muscles to use oxygen more efficiently. Tennis builds up your an aerobic fitness levels by challenging the intensity of your performance, as well as how quickly you can recover from these quick bursts of movement.
High-Calorie Burn
Thanks to all this running around the court, tennis is a fun cardio exercise. You will burn a ton of calories each time you play.
If you can only practice on your own, a spinning or oscillating tennis ball machine is perfect to keep you moving. They replicate the movement of a proper match and will definitely keep you on your toes! If you’re interested in getting your own tennis ball machine head to lift your game. Lift Your Game can tell you which ones of 2018 give you the most bang for your buck. They’re a great blog for sports players, by sports players. Their experts can provide information on the latest news, guides and tutorials for you to learn even more about tennis.
Helps Bones Maintain their Strength
Tennis is the perfect sport no matter how old you are. Keeping active by regularly playing can help to offset many health changes associated with aging and inactivity. It can reduce and even prevent the risk of osteoporosis, the decrease in bone strength and mass. Though this affects everyone, women in particular are at a higher risk of lower bone mass due to changing hormonal levels. From as young as 30, your bone bass can start to decrease. Although it’s never too late to start exercising, it’s best to begin and keep it up from as young as possible.
Fortunately, regular tennis games are proven to slow down the rate of bone mass loss. It’s comforting to know that you can take some control over this aging process, right? What’s great is that you only need to play once a week to reap these benefits! In fact, at least three hours a week of tennis can result in bone gain in the arms, hips and vertebral column. To keep your bones strong and decrease your risk of fractures in the wrist, hip and spine, make tennis a part of your weekly schedule.
Enhanced Balance, Flexibility and Coordination
A lot of tennis is about reacting quickly. Therefore, balance and hand-eye coordination are both needed. Playing fast-paced matches will quickly help you with both of these skills. As you play more tennis, your control of your body’s position and footwork will grow. Even if you miss a lot of balls served your way in the beginning, your speed and reaction times will increase as you learn to react more rapidly.
It might not seem obvious, but flexibility also impacts your tennis performance. It indirectly affects your speed and power, including how well you move on the court. Becoming more flexible will also help you recover quicker after a match. Tennis can help seniors maintain their balance, strength and independence, again making it a perfect sport for all ages to enjoy.
There are many other additional benefits to tennis that we haven’t touched on yet. If you’re ever feeling tense, hitting a few balls can be a fantastic stress-reliever! Exercise like tennis helps to ease stress and fatigue, making you more relaxed yet alert, and better at concentrating. Your mental health and overall mood will benefit greatly from getting moving outdoors, particularly since tennis is such a fun sport. Your self-esteem and confidence will boost as your ability develops, Tennis is a social game too, so it’s also a nice way to meet new people and feel a part of a community. If you can find yourself a tennis partner, you can support one another not only emotionally but in reaching your physical health goals too.
You have nothing to lose and everything to gain from starting tennis as soon as possible! This enjoyable sport will keep you healthy, fit and engaged in your local community.
