A Saturday Evening of Fitness with Tennis

The tennis racket that was leaning against the wall for the past few months finally got some use. It seemed to be much useful on the court than as a cheap form of house decoration. Health is becoming important to me and so is the opportunity to meet interesting people. Tennis provides an appropriate balance between fitness and fun so that I can sustain movement toward my fitness goals.

It wasn’t a particularly warm afternoon for Southern California; somewhere near a breezy 60 degrees. A sweatshirt would have been appropriate in most casual outdoor situations. Within a few minutes, you will no longer think about a sweatshirt; or even the outside temperature.

Chasing that green furry ball is all the heat needed to keep warm. Tennis is a fast sport and requires sprinting from one side of the court to the other. The quick dashes, stops, and arm movements  of your muscles, heart and arms.  It is one of those full-body workouts that doesn’t feel like you're doing anything until it is all over.

Accordingly, that is one of the reasons why I like to play tennis. A few competitive games and an hour is up. If there was more time before the sun went down I might have stayed another hour. Because time flew bye we played until the court lights were needed to see anything.

Tennis has its charm as a fun alternative to other workouts that drag on and keep reminding us that we are “working out”. Improving fitness is easy when you engage in activities with enjoyment. Tennis is a social sport that any level player can enjoy. Maintaining an intensive fitness program requires finding alternatives to “traditional” exercises. Tennis seems to fill that gap without all the drudgery of the gym.

Tennis as the New Fitness and Social Sport

Having fun, getting in shape, and meeting interesting people makes for some of the best fitness routines that will keep you on track. Tennis is one sport that helps you stay motivated while expanding your social network.  

Doctors recommend that everyone gets a few hours of high intensity exercise in per week. That won’t be hard to obtain if you find a group that meets a couple of times a week.

Tennis is a highly cardiovascular sport that shreds pounds.  Constant running and stopping will put your heart rate into the target zone improving your blood flow and strengthening your heart.

As a social sport tennis will introduction to lots of new people quickly.  Players rotate to try out new teams and experience new challenges. It won’t take long before you gain some new friends.

There are plenty of places to find tennis activities. You can visit recreation centers and ask about tennis activities, search online for clubs,  or make a call to the city’s recreation department. Tennis groups love new players and helping them gain new skills.

The Multiple Health Benefits of Tennis

Tennis affords an opportunity to augment your fitness routine while bouncing your fitness level upwards. Changing the activities you participate in a few times a week can help in not only improving your health but also your skill level in sports.  Tennis is a well rounded sport that does much of the same thing as sprinting and coordination exercises but is much more fun.

I’m an advocate of using multiple sports and activities to improve health. Engaging exclusively in a single sport will use the same muscles repetitively can cause an injury. When a change in the activity occurs there is also a change in the type of muscles used, the skills learned, and ultimately the fitness level. Change produces healthy stress on the body and requires an adjustment in fitness to master that stress.

Tennis is a greater overall fitness sport that provides multiple benefits to health. According to Doctor Ralph Paffenbarger those who engage in tennis at least 3 times a week reduce their risk of death from nearly any cause by half (based on 10,000 people over 20 years)(1).  Tennis not only improves your health but also generates connections between nerves in the brain and therefore also promotes mental health (2).

If you’re seeking to lose weight tennis is a great sport for doing this with as much as 272 calories being burned in a half hour (3).  This puts tennis on the same level as swimming, sprinting, jogging, mountain climbing, biking, and other heavily involved cardiovascular activities. The greatest aspect of tennis is that it also encourages interest in fitness through healthy social engagement.

Tennis Maps is one way to help you find the type of tennis court you are looking for. They break their map into public/private access, backboard, lighting, center and indoor/outdoor.  This will help you find the right tennis court near your neighborhood for easy access and playing. Each of the locations can be clicked for a satellite map and additional information. 

Tennis Maps for San Diego