Forget running and swimming — study finds this sport adds 10 years to your life
According to a study published in the Journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings, which looked at 8,577 participants in Denmark, racquet sports, in particular tennis and badminton, are associated with the greatest longevity boost of any physical activity.
Tennis was thought to add up to 9.7 years of life expectancy, and badminton 6.2 years. This is compared to swimming, which added 3.4 years, and jogging, which added 3.2 years.
Recent British research supported these findings. 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.
Racket sports were also shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and heart attack by 56%. This is compared to swimming, which reduced the risk by 41%, and aerobics by 36%.
Racket sports, such as tennis, badminton, squash, and pickleball, are all fantastic ways to build cardiovascular fitness. They involve constant movement, fast sprints, and constant changes of direction as you hit the ball back and forth, all of which elevate your heart rate and strengthen your heart.
If you're looking to lose weight, the fast-paced nature of these racket sports will help you burn calories. The best way to lose weight is to ensure that you are in a calorie deficit — in other words, you're burning more calories than you consume. The easiest way to track this is to wear one of the best fitness trackers, which will help you keep an eye on your daily movement goals.
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Finally, the repetitive, weight-bearing movements in racket sports can help stimulate bone growth and density, two things that are especially important as we age.
The full-body workout can help build and maintain strong muscles, as well as improve your flexibility and mobility. What are you waiting for? Get inspired by Wimbledon and I'll see you on the court!
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27 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka avoids the kind of upset that has happened a lot this year
Aryna Sabalenka was just two points from dropping the opening set of her second-round Wimbledon match three times on Wednesday before asserting herself for a 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory over Marie Bouzkova to avoid the sort of surprise that has sent a group of seeded players home. Four of the top 10 women's seeds failed to make it out of the first round: No. 2 Coco Gauff, No. 3 Jessica Pegula, No. 5 Zheng Qinwen and No. 9 Paula Badosa. In all, a record-tying 23 seeded players — 10 women, 13 men — were gone by the end of Day 2, equaling the most at any Grand Slam event in the past 25 years. 'Of course you're going to know the overall picture. ... I hope it's no upsets anymore in this tournament,' the No. 1-ranked Sabalenka said afterward with a chuckle. 'If you know what I mean.' She is a three-time Grand Slam champion, with all of those titles coming on hard courts at the Australian Open or U.S. Open. She also was the runner-up to Gauff at the clay-court French Open last month — drawing criticism from some over her post-match comments, a flap she and Gauff set aside via social media videos last week — but hasn't been past the semifinals on the grass of the All England Club. A year ago, Sabalenka was forced to miss Wimbledon because of an injured shoulder. On Wednesday, the record-breaking heat of the first two days gave way to rain that delayed the start of play on smaller courts for about two hours, along with temperatures that dropped from above 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) to below 68 F (20 C). At Centre Court, the 48th-ranked Bouzkova went ahead 6-5 in the first set with the match's initial service break thanks to a double-fault by Sabalenka. Bouzkova served for that set, and was two points away from it at 30-15 in that game, again at 30-all, then once more at deuce. But on the last such occasion, Sabalenka came through with a forehand volley winner she punctuated with a yell, followed by a down-the-line backhand winner that was accompanied by another shout. 'That was a tough moment,' said Sabalenka, who will face 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu or 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova next. 'Until that point, (my) return wasn't great enough to break her serve. I'm really glad ... everything clicked together and I was able to break her back. I kind of like felt a little bit better.' That sent them to a tiebreaker, and from 4-all there, Sabalenka took the next three points, ending the set with a powerful forehand return winner off a 67 mph second serve. In the second set, the only break arrived for a 3-2 lead for Sabalenka, and that was basically that. Sabalenka compiled a 41-17 edge in winners while making only 18 unforced errors in a match that lasted a little more than 1 1/2 hours. What else happened Wednesday at Wimbledon? Australian Open champion Madison Keys, who is seeded sixth, joined Sabalenka in the third round, beating Olga Danilovic 6-4, 6-2. Other players in action later included 2024 runner-up Jasmine Paolini among the women and two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe among the men. Who plays Thursday at the All England Club? Novak Djokovic, who has won seven of his 24 major championships at Wimbledon will lead off the Centre Court schedule on Day 4 against Britain's Dan Evans at 1:30 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. ET), followed by Iga Swiatek vs. Caty McNally, and No. 1 Jannik Sinner vs. Aleksandar Vukic.
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28 minutes ago
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Wimbledon: No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka avoids the kind of upset that has happened a lot this year
LONDON (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka was just two points from dropping the opening set of her second-round Wimbledon match three times on Wednesday before asserting herself for a 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory over Marie Bouzkova to avoid the sort of surprise that has sent a group of seeded players home. Four of the top 10 women's seeds failed to make it out of the first round: No. 2 Coco Gauff, No. 3 Jessica Pegula, No. 5 Zheng Qinwen and No. 9 Paula Badosa. In all, a record-tying 23 seeded players — 10 women, 13 men — were gone by the end of Day 2, equaling the most at any Grand Slam event in the past 25 years. 'Of course you're going to know the overall picture. ... I hope it's no upsets anymore in this tournament,' the No. 1-ranked Sabalenka said afterward with a chuckle. "If you know what I mean.' She is a three-time Grand Slam champion, with all of those titles coming on hard courts at the Australian Open or U.S. Open. She also was the runner-up to Gauff at the clay-court French Open last month — drawing criticism from some over her post-match comments, a flap she and Gauff set aside via social media videos last week — but hasn't been past the semifinals on the grass of the All England Club. A year ago, Sabalenka was forced to miss Wimbledon because of an injured shoulder. On Wednesday, the record-breaking heat of the first two days gave way to rain that delayed the start of play on smaller courts for about two hours, along with temperatures that dropped from above 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) to below 68 F (20 C). At Centre Court, the 48th-ranked Bouzkova went ahead 6-5 in the first set with the match's initial service break thanks to a double-fault by Sabalenka. Bouzkova served for that set, and was two points away from it at 30-15 in that game, again at 30-all, then once more at deuce. But on the last such occasion, Sabalenka came through with a forehand volley winner she punctuated with a yell, followed by a down-the-line backhand winner that was accompanied by another shout. 'That was a tough moment," said Sabalenka, who will face 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu or 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova next. 'Until that point, (my) return wasn't great enough to break her serve. I'm really glad ... everything clicked together and I was able to break her back. I kind of like felt a little bit better.' That sent them to a tiebreaker, and from 4-all there, Sabalenka took the next three points, ending the set with a powerful forehand return winner off a 67 mph second serve. In the second set, the only break arrived for a 3-2 lead for Sabalenka, and that was basically that. Sabalenka compiled a 41-17 edge in winners while making only 18 unforced errors in a match that lasted a little more than 1 1/2 hours. What else happened Wednesday at Wimbledon? Australian Open champion Madison Keys, who is seeded sixth, joined Sabalenka in the third round, beating Olga Danilovic 6-4, 6-2. Other players in action later included 2024 runner-up Jasmine Paolini among the women and two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe among the men. Who plays Thursday at the All England Club? Novak Djokovic, who has won seven of his 24 major championships at Wimbledon will lead off the Centre Court schedule on Day 4 against Britain's Dan Evans at 1:30 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. ET), followed by Iga Swiatek vs. Caty McNally, and No. 1 Jannik Sinner vs. Aleksandar Vukic. ___
