Exercise is about far more than just getting in shape; it’s about looking after your heart, brain and lungs, and adding years to your life. Yet while there is a lot of noise about strength training, walking and swimming, a recent 25-year study found that racquet sports, in particular tennis and badminton, are associated with the greatest longevity boost of any physical activity.
The 25-year-long Copenhagen City Heart Study was published in the Journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings, and followed 8,577 participants. Compared to those who did no exercise, participants who took part in racket sports added up to a decade to their life expectancy.
Tennis added 9.7 years, with badminton adding 6.2 years. This compares to cycling, which added 3.7 years, swimming, which added 3.4 years, and running, which added 3.2 years.
A separate study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, tracked over 80,000 participants for nine years, comparing the impact of various sports on their overall health. The researchers concluded that people who regularly played racket sports had a 47% lower chance of all-cause mortality than those who were not physically active.
This was almost 20% higher than swimming, which came second with a 28% reduction of all-cause mortality.
What are the benefits of tennis?
When it comes to longevity, there are several reasons why tennis is considered the ideal sport. It’s naturally a form of HIIT training, as when you’re playing a game, you’ll have short bursts of intense movement, followed by brief periods of rest.
This keeps your heart rate elevated throughout the workout, strengthening your heart and improving oxygen uptake. You’re also more likely to burn a higher number of calories playing a game of tennis than you would walking at a steady pace for the same amount of time.
Tennis is a weight-bearing exercise, putting a healthy stress on your bones and joints. This is critical for maintaining bone density and preventing the onset of osteoporosis and fractures as you get older.
What’s more, unlike running or cycling, tennis requires you to move in multiple directions. You’ll be strengthening the stabilizer muscles in your ankles, knees and hips, and reducing your risk of falls.
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