If you think working out in a gym or that early morning walking or running are the only ways to stay fit, you are mistaken. You will be surprised to know the health benefits of some of the activities or sports you probably would have played as kids but never really continued when you grew up. Badminton is one such sport that is not only fun to play but can be a great exercise to stay fit. If you still play this sport on a regular basis, then you sure would be aware of its many benefits and can definitely vouch for how it helps you maintain your fitness.
Badminton is an active sport, which is an easy game to practice with few painless rules. It boosts up your muscles, strengthens the muscles, improves blood flow rate and offers numerous other benefits. Apart from physical health benefits, badminton is good for your mental well-being too.
Badminton sport has been around since the 16th Century and the pinnacle comes from its Olympic events. The sport is very popular in Asian countries such as China and India with these countries leading the way by producing some of the world’s best players. Now this sport is being played worldwide and many enthusiastic fans watch the renowned tournaments.
Playing a sport has a lot of health benefits and two of them are that you increase your endurance and stamina. Badminton is the perfect sport for health enthusiasts and one heading in that direction. You get fitter as you play, and as you need an opponent(s) or a partner there is a high social element, which creates commitment to playing and a feel-good factor afterwards.
Here are some of the major health Benefits of playing badminton regularly:
Enhances Muscle Strength:
Playing badminton boosts the muscle strength making you strong and fit. The continuous movements from here to there build up your muscle mass, as well as tones them into perfect structure. It boosts your core muscles, calves, quads and hamstrings.
Improves Heart Functioning:
Repetitive movements and hits in badminton strengthens your heart muscles. It also improves the blood flow through our veins and pumps the heart up. It decreases the cholesterol level and reduces the risk of heart attacks or strokes. This also helps to increase the blood flow to the heart.
Reduces Stress:
Playing badminton on a regular basis is said to reduce your stress levels and release the happy hormones. So next time you feel stressed, you may want to pick up that racket and engage in a badminton sport.
Promotes Flexibility:
The backhand smashing and forehand smashing needs high flexibility. By making it a habit our muscles become flexible and strong. Flexibility of muscles helps you maintain a healthy and active life.
Boosts Metabolic Rate:
Having a good metabolism with a high metabolic rate is vital for a healthy life. Badminton is an active sport, which sweats you out from tip to toe. The natural sweating of our body burns up the calories and removes toxins inside out and hence helps in weight loss. Increased metabolic rate maintains your physique and keeps you fit and firm.
Strengthens Your Bone:
Having a healthy badminton match everyday reduces the risk of bone fractures. The back and forth movements of hands, legs and arms, develops calcium matrix in your bones strengthening the bones within.
Aids weight loss:
Fed up with starving diets and low calories, put up a healthy habit of burning up your calories by sweating off with a badminton match. It helps you in controlling your weight and maintaining the body balance thereby. Burning up calories thus boosts up the metabolic rate leaving as healthy and fit.
Reduces back pain issues:
Several doctors’ advice patients with back pain issues to start playing badminton as it has proven to be very beneficial to them and reduce back pain to a great extent. Even patients with conditions like ankylosing spondylitis are advised to play badminton by their rheumatologists.
Increases your Reflex Action:
Being a quick sport, it requires lightning reflexes from one end to other end both physically and mentally. Physically you have to switch from one to another within a count of seconds, while mentally you have to reflex back to the shots ideally and accordingly. These quick reflexes enhance the way you think and live a daily life too.
Easy to learn, fun and sociable, badminton is a great way for people of all abilities to remain active. Whether it is a leisurely game with friends or a high-octane competitive match, badminton offers something for everyone. Now that we know the benefits of badminton are enthralling, dust off your shuttlecock and racket, smash it off for a healthy living.