With an increased awareness about physical health, most of us have adapted to a healthy lifestyle by incorporating a balanced diet and exercise. But at times, you may get bored with regularly performing the same moves in the gym. In that case, involving yourself in an outdoor sport could be the best option ever.
Tennis is the most accessible and loved sport, allowing you to play anywhere, even if you cannot afford to visit a tennis court. All you need is the necessary equipment. Therefore, this will enable you to burn calories while having fun at the same time. But do you know that apart from weight loss, there are several health benefits of playing tennis? So, do you want to know more? Let's scroll through the blog here.
Health Benefits of Playing Tennis
The following are some amazing health benefits of playing tennis.
Social Exposure
No matter if you play tennis as an individual sport or a team sport, in both cases, you need someone to play with. Hence, this helps you to engage with people who share a common interest with you, which is indeed a physiologically interesting activity. It is a great sport to connect with people and make friends.
Increases Brain Power
Tennis serves as a zero-calorie meal to your brain, which helps it stay charged and improves critical thinking skills, mental alertness, and tactical thinking by making connections in the brain. Tennis also helps regulate serotonin, a brain chemical linked to activities such as the sleep cycle, appetite, and emotional state, which can be improved to a certain extent with regular participation in the sport.
Reduces Cholesterol
Tennis is indeed an amazing sport that helps reduce your cholesterol levels and also the diseases associated with it. Certainly, the diseases caused by higher cholesterol levels in your body include stroke, hypertension, and cardiovascular issues.
Improves Flexibility, Agility, and Balance
Tennis is a sport that helps increase your flexibility, due to its constant moving, changing direction, and other attributes like stretching the body. If you play tennis regularly, you can see a vast improvement in your agility and flexibility.
Weight Loss
Indeed, any physically demanding activity is good for your physical health and aids in weight loss, and tennis is one of them. If you love playing tennis, you can lose weight while having fun. Hence, tennis is a great cardio workout, especially if you are playing singles, where you are constantly running, pivoting, stretching, and moving every inch of your body. According to the ADA (American Dietetic Association), a recreational player can burn up to 600 to 1,320 calories, while competitive players can burn 768 to 1,728 calories per two-hour singles session.
Stress Relief
Tennis is a great sport to relieve you from your daily stress. An hour or two with your buddies, and you forget the entire stressful day you had at work. Tennis helps rejuvenate your brain cells, enabling you to restart your work with a fresh mind.
For Everyone
Tennis is a sport for people of all ages. So whether you are a kid who likes to spend some time after school playing tennis, or a 9-5 employee who just wants to be relaxed after a hectic day out at work, tennis can serve all needs very smoothly.
Improved Stamina
Tennis is a fast-paced sport; the average rally of which should last for 5-7 seconds, and you have to sprint to the ball. And working on it at a higher intensity for short periods helps improve your anaerobic capacity. This allows you to make explosive movements with extreme ease without even getting tired.
Teamwork and Sportsmanship
In tennis, especially as a team, you learn coordination and sportsmanship. You learn valuable life lessons in the sports community from other players available, and also share your positive attributes with them. Thus, spending time in such activities offers a source of pleasure and fulfilment.
Strengthens Bones
Physical activity like tennis helps in improving your bone health by increasing the bone volume and density. Here, the impact of hitting the ball, stopping, and bounding improves your health and also helps prevent conditions such as osteoporosis in life.
Mental Health
Another pleasing health benefit of playing tennis is that it is extremely good for your mental health. By reducing stress and preventing conditions such as depression, it keeps all sorts of mental illnesses at bay. So now, with a stronger body, welcome a stronger mind as well.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Health Benefits of Playing Tennis
How Does Playing Tennis Improve Your Heart Health?
During tennis, you constantly move either by running or by making quick movements, which ultimately results in improving your blood circulation.
What Muscles Does Tennis Strengthen in a Sportsperson's Body?
It works on core muscles, legs, arms, and shoulders, and improves overall body coordination. And this quality of a sportsperson is the same for most outdoor sports.
Does Playing Tennis Help Improve Your Agility and Flexibility?
Playing 2–3 times a week is usually enough to notice significant improvements in fitness and well-being.
From boosting heart health, strengthening muscles, and improving stamina to reducing stress and sharpening focus, there are countless health benefits of playing tennis for a lifetime. So whether you are playing casually or competitively, tennis keeps you healthy and mentally fit.
Turf Town is a platform to discover the best playing grounds near you. You can also join a group of people who share your interest in the game. The app is available for both Android and iOS users.
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