How Playing Tennis Can Help Increase Your Overall Fitness: Sports and Fitness 101

Introduction

Tennis is one of the most popular sports in the world. Professional events like the US Open average 1.28 million viewers – a 23 percent increase from previous years. While it is a professional sport and career for many, others as young as six play tennis as a hobby and a way to keep fit.

For many people who want to start working out and improving their fitness, their minds automatically go to gym workout routines and aerobic activities like running. However, it turns out that taking up a hobby like playing tennis could be the perfect way to start building your overall fitness – and enjoy it along the way.

Tennis Helps To Build Up Your Stamina

Increased stamina can lead to better focus and more energy throughout the day. As a result, endurance exercises and some stamina-building exercises like cycling, running and swimming are quite popular for those that are looking to increase their stamina, energy levels, and overall health.

When playing tennis, you are alternating between several aerobic and endurance movements like backhands and constant running. Over time, this slowly builds your muscle’s ability to last longer in an intense exercise session.

If you are a beginner, using a softball launcher can help you practice your form and build up your stamina before stepping out on a court. Playing tennis also helps to lower your resting heart rate over time, which leads to better heart health and the ability to handle increased intensity exercise routines.

However, if you are using tennis to build your fitness, you mustn’t rely on tennis as the only way to build your stamina. Crosstraining can help you build your stamina for tennis and avoid injuries.

Try incorporating aerobic exercises such as swimming or running into your fitness routine at least twice a week. This way you can enjoy the benefits of both forms of exercise and the crossover effect.

Tennis Strengthens and Tones Your Core Muscles

Adding tennis into your exercise routine can also help you tone your muscles. The constant movements in a tennis match involve running, squatting, and jumping at various speeds – some of the best exercises recommended for toning muscles.

Stability and balance are also important for tennis players, which means your core gets a full workout every time you play.

Constant changing of direction and cross swings all work together to develop your core muscles, and in the end, give you better balance and a stronger core.

Tennis Boosts Your Cardiovascular Fitness

Lastly, playing tennis can improve heart health. Since it is both an aerobic and an anaerobic workout, it helps you to burn fat, which reduces your chances of becoming obese. Obesity continues to drive cardiovascular disease by increasing your likelihood of diabetes and leading to higher cholesterol or blood pressure levels.

The use of aerobic exercises can reduce your chances of cardiovascular disease by 36 percent. However, tennis reduces cardiovascular rates by 56 percent, according to a recent study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. So, next time you pick up a racket you may just be making the best move for your heart health.

Tennis Improves Your Mental and Emotional Health

Lastly, the benefits of tennis can also extend to your emotional and mental health. As a strategic and coordinated game, tennis requires you to constantly think and plan to outwit your opponent.

Psychologically, tennis also helps to alleviate stress and improve your self-confidence. As you begin to see positive changes in your fitness levels, you begin to feel more confident and good about yourself. After all, fitness levels are about more than physical fitness.

Tennis and Its Benefits Last a Lifetime

One of the best benefits of tennis is that the game can last a lifetime. See, you can play tennis at just about any age, as long as you are in reasonably good health of course. There’s a reason why you see retirees in their 60’s, 70’s and even 80’s still playing the game.

And if you take up the sport when you’re younger, you will condition your body to the demands of the sport. This will keep your overall body healthy and fit for the game and for many years to come. Tennis is especially beneficial for bone health, something crucial as we age, especially with women.

Conclusion

Tennis is a super versatile sport that can be enjoyed by people off just about any age. The game is not only great for the body and mind either, it’s about as fun is it comes.

There’s nothing quite like playing a solid game of tennis with your friends or family in the fresh open air and sunshine. Even the social component is going to be enough to draw you back to the court time and time again.

If you’re new to tennis, I highly recommend you Google your local area for tennis lessons. There’s bound to be some classes in your area to help you get accustomed to the game and teach you the ropes. You won’t regret it.

And at the end of the day, these five benefits are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to tennis. So go ahead and give it a try, I guarantee you’ll love it and will feel great too.

Do you currently play tennis? What do you enjoy most about the sport? Let us know in the comments below…

About Theresa Duncan

Originally from Detroit, MI, Theresa has been offering health and fitness advice for the last 30 years while working as an engineer. She decided to turn her passion into a profession, and finds nothing more satisfying than helping others reach their health and fitness goals.