About Nathan Washam

Nathan Washam is a Bay Area-based professional working in software sales. Over the course of his career, Nathan has served in a variety of different capacities within the tech industry. Mr. Washam excels at explaining innovative and advanced software solutions to potential customers and has become well known within the industry for his commitment to refined client services.

In Nathan’s free time, he enjoys living the country club lifestyle, participating in activities such as golf, pickle ball, tennis, and squash. Nathan Washam speaks to how these hobbies provide the ability to work towards maintaining physical and mental health while empowering participants to meet likeminded people along the way.

Nathan Washam on the Health Benefits of Playing Tennis

As a person who frequents the country club, Nathan Washam of the Bay Area is no stranger to the tennis courts. Nathan mentions that tennis is one of his favorite sports in part because it can be simple to play yet difficult to master. In addition to this, your investment in the sport is rewarded by a variety of both physical and mental health benefits.

Here, Nathan Washam explores a few of the health benefits that tennis provides its players.

Improved Cardiovascular Health

Cardiovascular health is crucial as we age, especially when we consider that heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial/ethnic groups within the US. A clear benefit of playing tennis at any age is that it is an aerobic activity with all of the running, jumping, swinging, and chasing that the sport entails. The vigorous exercise provided by tennis matches, even casual ones, helps increase one’s heart rate, causing deeper and faster breathing that increases oxygen and blood flow within the body. This promotes a more robust cardiovascular system and empowers tennis players to further improve their health as they practice.

Increased Hand Eye Coordination and Dexterity

There is a lot of timing, ball movement, and precise swinging involved in tennis, all of which can increase hand eye coordination and dexterity. Nathan notes that tennis requires the ability to recognize where the ball is landing, how it will bounce, and adjust accordingly to properly strike the ball to the other side of the court. The hand eye coordination and dexterity that tennis hones are also valuable in other aspects of our lives including everyday tasks such as cooking, writing, grasping objects, etc. Maintaining this coordination for as long as possible naturally promotes better health and more graceful aging as these qualities can decline at earlier ages than we think.

Boosts Brain Activity

Tennis is a quick moving sport, and it requires split-second decision-making as a result of this. Many players attest to the fact that tennis boosts mental abilities because you are constantly strategizing to make the correct moves and anticipate how your opponent will react. The name of the game is returning the ball to areas of the court where your competitor cannot easily reach it, however, this can be much more difficult than it sounds. When you plan your moves, figure out where you can conserve energy, and how to decisively strike to gain the upper hand and control the tempo, tennis sharpens your mental abilities. This is combined with the blood flow increase from the aerobic exercise which moves more oxygen to your brain.

Strength and Enhanced Muscle Tone

The repeated movements in tennis matches can be extremely beneficial for improving strength and enhancing muscle tone. For example, tennis can strengthen one’s core because hip, back, abdomen, and shoulder muscles work together with each swing. Generally, actions such as backhands and forehands go a long way towards toning upper body and core muscles while jumping and bounding across the court tone lower body muscles. A secondary benefit of the improvement of strength and muscle tone is that it can help with balance and coordination as well.

Raises Bone Density

Tennis is great for your bones, and research shows that tennis players may have stronger bones than those who do not play racket sports. One of the reasons for this is because simple facets of the sport such as starting and stopping, jumping/bounding, the impact of hitting the ball, etc. combine to improve bone density. Experts also find that bone strength and density is improved every time that players raise their rackets because they are working against gravity. Raising bone density through exercise can promote better health later in life as it can help prevent osteoporosis.

Promotes Stress Relief

Many health issues and conditions are exacerbated by stress. Luckily, tennis and similar sports can play a role in stress relief. One of the reasons that experts note for this quality is that some forms of exercise leave room for the mind to race. Tennis, on the other hand, requires focusing on the task at hand and can momentarily force players to not focus on their troubles, stresses, and to-do lists while on the court. Games of tennis also cannot be played alone, which makes the sport perfect for social interaction that also plays a role in helping people feel less alone, stressed, or depressed.

Interested in More from Nathan Washam of the Bay Area?

NathanWasham.com was created as a platform for exploring a wide variety of country club sports and activities. Future posts will, therefore, cover topics such as:

• Golf
• Pickle Ball
• Tennis
• Squash

Interested in learning about the country club lifestyle and sports such as golf, tennis, and more from a hobbyist such as Nathan Washam of the Bay Area? Tune in to this website for more informative content inspired by Mr. Washam’s insights.