Tennis is a great indoor and outdoor sport.  But now that spring is here to stay, it is a great activity to play outside.  You can enjoy the beautiful weather while getting a great work out in for your day.  When playing singles or doubles, tennis is a great social activity to get involved in.  You can call a buddy or 3 to hit with, join a team, or find a place/coach to take lessons from.  This is a sport that you can continue playing as an older adult.

Tennis is a great sport for all ages. It is a fun heart pumping cardio activity that involved strength, power, and endurance from the legs, core, arms, and cardio respiratory system.   This sport involves agility and coordination (hand eye coordination) to help you time and get to the ball. 

I decided to write a post about tennis because the weather today was perfect for playing outside.  I met up with a friend today to hit around and play a game.  I was glad I did so.  I got a great work out in, had a fun time, and really enjoyed the perfect weather. 

I worked up a sweat and really worked my muscles while running around the court.  It was great to get back into the game.

I was introduced to the sport when I was about 7 years old and played until college. During high school I started off playing doubles and then moved to singles.  I always had a great time with the girls on my high school team as well as the friends I made in clinics I took.  I don’t play as often, but when I do - it’s always fun.

When playing tennis, the entire body is involved.  Your legs, your core, your shoulders, and your arms.  This sport focuses on the strength, power, and endurance of all your muscles involved.

Legs:  This is where most of your power comes from.  When setting up for a shot, you have to be squatting “sitting” before and as you hit the ball.  The lower you sit, the more power is transferred to the ball.  Also you need to use your legs to shuffle and run around the court.

-       Gastrocnemius and Soleus are the muscles that deal with your explosive 
         movements in your calves.
-       Hamstrings are involved in knee flexion.
-       Quadriceps are involved in knee extension.
-       Gluteus Maximus is involved in hip extension and adduction. (When 
         Shuffling and running)
-       Gluteus Medius is involved with hip abduction. (When shuffling) 

Core: Your back and abdominal muscles are very important in this sport for balance, support, and power as well.  The more you turn for a shot, the more power you can transfer into the ball.

-       Rectus Abdominus is involved in spinal flexion – but acts as a stabilizer 
        as the body remains straight.
-       Obliques deal with flexion and rotation.  There is a lot of rotation involved
         in the sport, so the obliques are worked a lot through out the game.
-       Erector Spinae involved in extension and rotation.

Upper Extremity: You are dealing with muscles that are involved in circumduction of the shoulder and use a lot of push movements.

-       Pecoralis Major  is the chest muscle that allows you to push your arm 
        forward through the action of your forehand and backhand.  The muscle 
        actions that is involved is shoulder extension and internal rotation.
-       Deltoids  There are 3 heads of the deltoids.  The anterior, middle, and 
        posterior deltoid.  All three are involved in this sport.  When setting up for a
        shot, the posterior deltoid helps bring the arm backwards, and when
        extending the arm it is the anterior head that is involved.  The middle
        deltoid is involved in a serve and overhead shot.
-       Triceps are involved in elbow extension.  This happens during a serve, 
        forehand, and backhand shot, because the actions require the arms to be 
        straight.
-       Pronator Teres is involved in forearm pronation, which is important on 
        your forehand and backhand. 

Yoga is a great activity to participate in.  Not only does it benefit you physically (better muscular strength, flexibility, and body balance) It also benefits you mentally (helps to reduce stress, reduce anxiety, teaches you to stay calm and focused, etc.)  Yoga is about balance between the mind and the body.  It is a practice of patients and focus.

Today my mother and I attended a class in Philadelphia at Dhyana Yoga Seva Center to try out my friend's, Liz, Vinyasa yoga class.  This was a great class that focused on breathing and transitioning through each yoga position by flowing through the movements. 

The class was mixed with people of different yoga levels.  There were beginners, like me, who stuck with the basic movements and poses - than there were intermediate and advanced yogis who attended the class, who focused on their practice by challenging themselves and trusting their bodies with more advanced poses, like arm balancing and headstands.

Although there was a mix of levels in the class, it was not a reason to feel intimidated to try it out. Yoga is about you and your practice at the moment. You focus on the things that you need to do in order to get to the next pose.  You challenge your body in a different way.

Yoga is a great activity to get involved in! It will make you stronger, more flexible, and improves your stability and balance.  It will keep you calm, reduce your stress, reduce any anxiety, and more.  

If you are trying yoga for the first time, find a studio around you that gives beginner and basic yoga classes. There are so many different types of yoga to choose from - some fast pace and vigorous while others are slow and gentle.  You have to find a yoga type that best suits you.  You want to enjoy this activity. 

Just to name a few types, there are, Hatha Yoga and Vinyasa Yoga.  I have tried both and find that I really enjoy them.

• Hatha Yoga goes through different postures and movements to help align your body.

• Vinyasa Yoga focuses on your breathing during the flow through all the postures and positions during the practice.

You don't have to have great muscular strength to try yoga
Yoga will make you stronger. (Legs, Arms, Core, and Mind.)
You don't have to be flexible to try yoga
Yoga will improve your flexibility and joint range of motion.
You don't have to have great balance
Yoga will improve your stability.

If you haven't already tried out a yoga class, find one that best suits you and that you will enjoy! It can be a fun and rewarding activity.
#AlwaysKeepActive
#KeepCalmAndYogaOn