Tennis!

Recently, I have began going out to the tennis courts and practicing. I have had so much fun each time in the sun and I began to wonder: what else am I getting out of this besides a lot of vitamin D? Well, I have decided to make this blog to answer my question. To start, playing tennis gets you moving and is good for both your body and mind. It is a sport that you can play at nearly any age and any skill level. Whether you play competitively or just for fun there are health benefits for each!

1. Tennis helps to decrease your risk of heart disease. In a study at the College Alumni Health Study it shows that people who burn 2000 calories per week through exercise have lower death rates from heart disease. An average-sized man burns around 600 calories playing and an average woman burns 420 calories. So just by playing a few hours of weekly tennis you can reduce your risk of heart disease significantly.
2. Tennis enhances your flexibility, coordination and balance. The sport requires the whole body; your feet maneuver you around, your arms and hands position the racket to hit the ball and your torso and legs provide the power to hit the ball over the net. Each of these actions help you build up your flexibility, coordination and balance.
3. Tennis boosts your brain power. Tennis is not only a physical game, but a mental one where you must use your brain to be creative, use tactical thinking and maintain your agility and coordination of your body. The more your play tennis, the stronger the neural connections related to these activities become.
4. Tennis improves your bone health. While playing tennis it allows you to increase your peak bone mass and slow the rate of bone mass loss over time. the National Institutes of Health has named tennis as one of the weight-bearing activities that is well-suited for building strong bones.
5. Tennis helps you to lose weight. Everything about tennis can be a real workout when you are up against the right opponent. It is a full body sport, as it requires running, swinging, reaching and pivoting. You can burn a lot of calories when you are constantly on the move like you are when playing tennis. Playing tennis three to four times a week will help you to lose around half a pound a week. 

So after reading all of these benefits of tennis I hope it has inspired you to go and try it out! I know I will continue to play as I now know it has so many great benefits to it!

For more information on tennis you can visit the website below :)

http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/aging/retirement/5-health-benefits-of-playing-tennis.htm#page=5