Image source: http://www.goldenocala.com/wp-content/themes/Golden-Ocala/_/inc/images/sports-pg_tennis.jpg
If lifting weights, working the elliptical or doing yoga aren't quite up your alley, you may hope to feel hitting the tennis courts to drop a few pounds. Not only is it a fun alternative to the gym, it's also an triumphant way to get into great shape.
According to estimates from the American Dietetic Association, recreational tennis players can burn anywhere from 600 to just over 1300 calories during a two-hour session. For serious, competitive players, that range jumps to between 768 and more than 1700 calories. Just how much you burn depends on a number of factors, including your weight and activity level.
Meanwhile, serving and returning balls goes to work your arms, neck and back, all the way down through the waist and abdominals. It's a total body workout without the need to hyper-focus on specific body parts.
As a general rule, the more you weigh, the more you burn. According to Harvard Health Publications, a 155-pound user could burn as much as 520 calories in a single hour. Add 30 pounds and that number jumps by a hundred. A heavier user could burn even more by getting in a game or two.
In addition to working your muscles, burning calories and losing weight, it's worthwhile to see increased flexibility, footwork and improved hand-eye coordination as well. Not to mention the increased stamina that comes with regular cardio work.
For me, it's as uncomplicated as grabbing one of my racquets, some balls and heading to the local park for an hour or two of tennis. If the gym, or lawn care, is rarely your scene, a little bit of tennis might be something it's worthwhile to get into as well. Even if you're a beginner, it's a fun way to get out and about, enjoy some competition and get into tip-top shape while you're at it.
And if you can improve your body and have fun doing it, you're probably doing pretty well for yourself.
NBA All-Star Gordon Hayward was a star tennis player in high school; that experience has helped his lateral movement skills on the hardwood. He's also one of the more active players in the league. Last season, he traveled a combined 202 miles on the court over the course of 80 video games.
His historical past as a tennis player helped him become one of basketball's elite athletes. If hitting the gym is rarely your thing, you might feel following in his footsteps to lose that weight. Tennis is rarely just an triumphant way to shed unwanted pounds and improve your cardiovascular health it's also fun.
You hope to shed that spare tire, but you've remembered the truth of what doing so truly entails. i.e. you have got to keep exercising. A lot.
And while you probably got a sweet deal on your gym membership, truly going to the place and working out several days each week is only slightly more fun then getting your teeth fixed or doing your taxes.
So it's February already and, if you're like me, you've now reached a pivotal point in the execution of your optimum current New Year's resolution. That moment where it's been a few weeks and the novelty of the whole thing has begun to wear off.
It ought to come as no surprise, however, given the number of complex muscular and cardiovascular operations that are happening when you play tennis. The running and sharp movements work everything from your feet and legs to your core and even your upper body.
That is some serious burnage.
Coincidence? I think now not.
