Why tennis is not the best way to lose weight
Talking to a work colleague the other day and he mentioned that he had started to play tennis to lose weight. I explained that tennis was no good for weight loss – he said “yes but I get out of breath and sweat a lot”. To which I replied, “yes but you won’t lose any weight” and I explained why..
The best way to lose weight is to burn off more calories than your consume. With modern western lifestyles, this can be difficult. To burn fat as a fuel, you need to be exercising in the “zone” of around 60-80% of your maximum heart rate. The best way to do this is to walk briskly, run or cycle slowly or swim.
So why what’s this got to do with tennis?
In tennis, you spend time running quickly in short burst and (if your partner is good) sprinting and diving for points. This will rocket your heart rate over 80% meaning you are not burning fat.
The rest of the time will be spent resting between points, walking to retrieve the ball, changing ends. Your heart rate will drop below the magic figure and you are not burning fat at this end of the scale.
So that’s the reason why tennis is no good for weight loss – too little time spent in the fat burning zone.
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Sorry mate, you’re wrong. I’ve been playing tennis for about a month now and I am down 11 lbs. Tennis is a great way to lose weight if you’re actually playing and not mucking around. If you sprint for points and allow little time between points and change-overs, you’re not giving your heart a chance to get back to resting hr. Plus, if you drink a lot of water during the tennis session, you’re probably getting in more water than you normally would during a regular day. You need to drink 2-3L of water daily for optimal health and to help you lose weight.
Your stats are handy, but not that helpful. Chances are, if you enjoy an activity, you’ll keep at it rather than getting bored. Staying active is key to living a healthy life and losing weight.
AND if you’re overweight, you probably won’t be able to walk for the length of time required to lose weight. Playing tennis will be hard on the joints but because you enjoy it, you’ll keep at it and work harder to get those out of reach shots.
Nice first comment – welcome to road running… (& well done on your weight loss also)
I didn’t say that it was impossible to lose weight – just that its not the best way.
Letting your heart rate drop back to resting isn’t the issue – it is dropping below the 60% of max rate which moves you out of fat burning.
Not sure about an overweight person going straight into Tennis though – strain on the heart & all that
I completely agree about drinking water and being active.
I must admit – I have never played Tennis but there is room in the world for all of us…
PS If you have access to a heart rate monitor, play tennis for an hour or so, download the output & send me the file just out of interest…
Gotcha. I guess I misread. I think the point that I was really just trying to get across is that if an overweight or inactive person enjoys tennis, going out to play a couple times a week will help them lose weight just for the fact that they’re getting out there and moving around and drinking water. It definitely isn’t the best way, but it’s a great way to start. When you’re unable to run down some shots, you’ll be motivated to work harder and get fitter so that getting to those shots is easier.
Weight loss as a motivation is not the best for a heavier person. For example, if you read that you can lose 20 lbs in 2 or 3 months by running and dieting, and you lose maybe 3 or 4 lbs in a month, you’ll probably give up on your goal. You’ll be disappointed that you haven’t gotten off to a good start. With tennis, usually the motivation would just be to play better and better, thus unless you really suck, your motivation won’t really die. What I found was that as I played more and more, I got a lot better, but I still had to work on my fitness. Because of this I work out with weights to gain strength and do cardio as well. But I only do this as it will make me a better tennis player. Losing weight has just been a side benefit and doesn’t really mean that much to me at this point.
I don’t have a heart rate monitor, but I’m pretty certain that I get into the 60-85% range during the points, and it lowers between points. However, we don’t dilly-dally between points, we just try to play on as quickly as possible. If you stroll around between points, then you’re right, it’s not very effective in helping with weight loss.
Tennis is a great way to lose weight, if you are good at it, and playing someone of equal or better ability. In other words, if you are having long competitive rallies where you and your opponent are pushing each other to the max (Think Nadal vs. Federer)there is no way you are not going to lose weight. If on the other hand you are just tapping the ball or every other shot is out or in the net and there is very little running involved, than of course tennis will not help you.
I completely agree with Mark. I use to play tennis in college and stopped for about two years and have gain over 30lbs. I started playing two months ago competitvely and have lost over 14 lbs.
Guys, I never said that it was not possible to lose weight playing tennis. All I have pointed out is that it is not the best way.
As I said, I have never played tennis and am hopeless at most ball sports (so would probably get very out of breath…) but performance and sports should be for everyone.
Again, if anyone has a heart rate graph of a tennis match, please send it. I can clean it up and post it (anonymously) for reference.
I play a lot of tennis and I’m with you on the weight loss issue. I tend to pile on the pounds very easily and I’m not much of a tennis player. I keep the weight off with by running a couple miles before work and If I’m up to it an other couple in the evening. Maybe one day my tennis will be good enought to actually burn up some calories. Keeping active is certainly the keyand many people just don’t realise the right exersive is important. Great sound advice, glad I dropped by.
I am curious to know this also. I am trying to lose weight. I love to play tennis, but I do realize that you don’t spend the effort you do running. I run also, and let me tell you there is nothing I find more exhausting than running a mile, walking a lap or two and then running another mile. I can run a mile in under seven mintues, so i am in decent shape. But I feel like I get a better workout running because it is just more difficult. Would love to know how many calories a person burns an hour playing tennis and the heartrate like mentioned above.
John, I read somewhere that you lose between 200 and 400 calories by playing an hour of tennis.
I can attest and confirm that playing tennis can help us loss weight and be in a better shape. I have been playing tennis since childhood and I think this sport is what makes my fit and in good shape.
Yeah you could lose a lot of weight if you try tennis. Tennis you have to move around a lot. You have to use mostly your entire body from wrist to toes. The reason tennis is a good sport to lose weight is because you are not running around, but side stepping using your feet. Try Tennis it is really fun and good luck with the weight
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Tennis is definitely a good way to lose weight but I would agree that it is not the best way if that is your only goal. I play tennis because it is not only a great way to stay in shape, but it is a lot of fun. I would get bored just running.If you become quite good at tennis and play people of equal or better ability than you, there is no way you will not get a good work-out and lose weight, provided you also eat properly, play often and long enough and take it seriously. There are very few good fat tennis players like there are in certain other sports.
All exercise is good for you so long as it is done in moderation especially if you haven’t done any for a while. I used to play tennis with friends and to be honest didn’t really look at it as being exercise. Just considered it as a great way to spend an afternoon. For a much more civilised approach to exercise check out my website http://www.squidoo.com/fat-stripper
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The premise of this article is incorrect. I’m not saying tennis is the best way to lose weight but the whole concept of the “fat burning” zone is BS. Look at current research and you will find that activities which get your hear rate soaring for short peroids of time, followed by recovery are very effective for weight loss. It does not matter if you are burning fat or carbohydrates during the workout, total calories expended is the most important factor.
Hi Matt, Do you have links to said “research”?
Here are a few links to some recent studies supporting the effectiveness of interval training, which is what tennis is if both players are skilled
http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/abstract/102/4/1439
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8028502
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/584083
I know it has been awhile since someone has posted on this thread but increasing muscle mass and improving your basal metabolic rate is typically the most efficient way to lose weight.
The amount of time it takes for your body to actually start using a more than negligible amount of fat for energy for untrained athletes is often more than an hour even when keeping the body at a so called fat burning heart rate.
Over the last decade there has been numerous research studies that proved HIIT(High Intensity Interval Training)has the most significant impact on increasing the resting metabolic rate.
From my own experience what gave me the best results for weight loss was a mixture of HIIT and weight lifting. However, I’m a tennis player and against popular opinion, I believe if you play tennis with good form, lifting weights more than 2-3 times a year for 4-6 week sessions hurts your game more than it helps. I personally lost more than 40 pounds the first year I played tennis, I was 17 years old went from 5’7″ 234 to 5’11″ 190.
I currently am 13% body fat and my weight fluctuates between about 183-193 once you find that ideal weight range focus more on strength than weight. The lowest I dropped to was 176, at 176 I was a higher percentage body fat about 16%. The method I use for body fat testing is whatever is built into my scale… you stand on it and it gives you an estimate. (Don’t know how accurate it is but what I can say is my belly appears to have very little fat on it now)
I personally feel however a diet not based on a caloric limit but on how often you consume carbohydrates has the greatest impact on an individuals weight. From what I’ve read my understanding is an individual wants to consume enough carbohydrates to keep their blood sugar level and glycogen stores at an optimal level while not eating enough at once to cause your liver to convert them to triglycerides. Finding that right balance however can be quite a challenge but yes tennis does help a person lose weight, like almost any active sport would, DUH!
Have fun enjoy the sport!
I’m overweight and just recently started playing tennis with my husband. We had been brisk walking and sprint jogging, but it got so darn boring. At least with tennis i can go longer, and i’m having fun. Sweating is not a problem with tennis!
The great part is, i’m getting better, the ball doesn’t go out of the court and into the pond anymore.
The bad part is, because i’m overweight, my knees and arms are very sore and not healing quickly. My knees are feeling like they are out of alignment. I’m considering switching to biking instead or maybe do both and hope my knees strengthen up from both activities.
Wish me luck in losing weight before i go on trip to meet my in-laws.
I’m reasonably skilled and the coach that I hit with is very skilled. I’m probably a 4.0 and the coach might be a 5.5 to 6.0 level player, if you know the rating.
We don’t have many breaks and we do a lot of hitting, although 5 minutes of that is just in the box. At the end of it, I figure it might be like 200 to 250 calories, or maybe 300. If we just hit, we can sometimes have 10-20 shot rallies, and even when we’re not, there’s ball after ball being thrown at me. So an hour of singles at a pretty intense level is maybe like 30 minutes of running at 10 minutes per mile or a bit slower.
Or so it feels to me.
Against this, I think that simple calories burned or miles run is an insufficient metric by which to assess the worth of tennis as an exercise. At my tennis club, many of the older players are not particularly svelte, but they tend to have good constitutions and good health for people in their 60s and 70s. Many of the 40s and 50s crowd who play regularly look at least 5 years younger than they are. This is possibly because of a strong correlation between tennis players and general awareness of fitness, but I do believe that the sport itself contributes to better muscle tones, stronger joints, and healthy-looking skin!
i have to say this is SO wrong. if your heart rates going up to the highest then down to the lowest, this is ‘interval training’ which is just about the best way to lose weight as it tricks the body into thinking its working to the ultimate maximum and has time and time been proven to help you shed the fat. anyone just thinking about a game of tennis – sprinting, jumping, twisting your body all angles, and hitting with force against resistance – an ace workout
. just mix it up and do it intensely.
Please Please Please Stop spreading this misinformation!
Stop in Go anaerobic exercise is one of the BEST ways to lose weight fast! Are you keeping current on the research on anaerobic exercise vs steady state exercise for weight loss? If you were then you would NEVER write something like this.
Your rebuttal of I didn’t say it wasn’t possible, just not the best way is silly, and a cop out.
Tennis becomes one of the best ways to lose weight when you make it an intense activity, that means chasing every ball down, and pushing the pace.
Why do you think tabata training is so awesome for weight loss or basically any short duration high intensity activity. This form of exercise raises your metabolism all day, and gives you so much energy. This is the same difference between sprinters and distance runners. Who has the sexier body? The distance runner or the sprinter? Who is more athletic.
Go hard, rest, Go hard! That’s how I loss weight without any injuries. I got super toned, and in great shape. The kind of great shape that allows you to chop down a tree, sprint 50m, and tackle someone to the ground.
LOL Admin stopped responding once people started posting links to research on interval training. How about editing your article since you now know the truth????
Man up!
Hi,I am 100+ lbs overweight and fighting through alot of health issues.I started seeing a dietician to control my carbs due to diabetes.I Also try to walk and do some aerobic to help lose weight.I started playing tennis with my daughter about a month ago and I am convinced it helps to burn weight.Whether it be fat or water,it is weight loss that helps relieve my joint pain.But the most positive thing I have noticed is tennis gives me alot more tone in my leg muscles,which I have not seen in years and my abs are always sore for days after.I am sure it is a sport that is not good for my disk disease,but it motivates me,makes me sweat,loosens my tension in my muscles,relieves stress (which is a weight sabotager),and the longer I can play,the more self esteem it gives me that I am getting healthy,losing weight,and getting toned.No matter the scientifics of the fat burn as long as it gives you a mental or emotional feeling of success and boosts your self esteem and motivation,it is a good thing.So keep hitting that ball,it is exercise no matter how intense or leisurely you play.In the 3 months I have been on the hospitals diet plan,I lost more weight in the month I have been playing tennis than in the first 2 months combined of dieting and other exercises.Good luck to you all!
An unfit person going straight into any high intensity exercise like sprinting or chopping down a tree is waiting to get a bad injury.
Noticed how long it is since the post was posted? Link to your site would be handy also