When you think of racquetball, you may envision a fast and athletic game that requires great skill and precision. While this is true, especially at the highest levels, there are so many more facets to the game for all levels of playing. Whether you are playing competitively or casually, racquetball allows all players to gain something valuable!
Racquetball’s benefits touch many areas of our lives. Physical, mental, and emotional health are just a few of the reasons you should try the sport out for yourself.
If you can accomplish well-being in all areas of your life with one activity, what is stopping you?
All sports have incredible benefits for your body and well-being. Racquetball is definitely one of these sports you should try if you haven’t already! By the end of this article, you’ll have an arsenal of reasons to not only try racquetball but make it a major part of your exercise routine!
These benefits will hopefully convince you that racquetball can improve your abilities in all aspects of your life! It will only take a couple of benefits to show you how powerful and enjoyable the sport is.
These are 20 benefits of playing racquetball.
1. Physical Exercise
Although the court might be about half the size of a tennis court, racquetball actually requires a lot of movement and running, especially if you are playing it at a high level. Any form of movement and exercise is beneficial for our health. Playing a game of racquetball is a great way to get some exercising while having a good time.
2. Competitive or Casual
The varying skill levels of players make this game a great option for all levels of competitiveness. If you are looking for a casual match, bring a friend! If you are looking to ramp up the heat, there are, probably, plenty of players at your local racquetball club or gym that could test your skills!
3. Hand-eye Coordination
Because you are using a racquet to make contact with a ball traveling at high speeds and bouncing off the walls, your hand-eye coordination will be continuously tested; and therefore improved. Hand-eye coordination is a combination of gross and fine motor skills, which are essential functions for everyday tasks.
Racquetball employs both of these! Gross motor skills involve larger muscle groups working together, including the hands and eyes. Besides, they impact your ability to play sports, as well as your reaction times and reflexes. In the other hand, fine motor skills are more specific, and usually, include activities related to small muscles in your wrists or hands. Racquetball can help you keep both sets of skills sharp, which tend to deteriorate with age.
4. Excellent Core Builder
With the motion of swinging a racquet, your midsection or core is one of the most activated muscle groups. This is beneficial to your health in many ways.
Firstly, it is an excellent fat burner, especially in this part of your body. If you are looking to shed some pounds in your stomach region, racquet sports are a great option! Additionally, a strong core helps support overall body strength, allowing for better posture and prevention of injuries.
5. Improve Your Awareness
Since the ball is continually bouncing off the floor and walls, and you have to find ways to outsmart your opponent in a relatively small court, racquetball tests your spatial awareness.
Knowing how your body functions in a high-pressure situation and being able to control body movements is essential beyond the sport. Greater body control and awareness improve overall physical strength, balance, and dexterity.
6. Balance and Flexibility
Consistent shifting directions and possible contortion of your body will only improve your balance and flexibility abilities. Balance, as well as flexibility, are essential in everyday life, especially as you age! They allow for increased range of motion and overall coordination, making everyday tasks easier and more efficient.
7. Social Atmosphere
Sports are an excellent opportunity to spend time with friends or make new ones! Racquetball is no exception!
This will only help you to continue to build your social skills and networking abilities. Meeting new players will help you create a friends group with similar interests!
8. Mental Strategy
Racquetball not only requires you to master specific physical skills but also allows you to develop strategy and problem-solving techniques.
With the goal to make your opponent miss a shot and give up points, there are specific strategies one could employ to accomplish this. Ball placement, speed of play, and body positioning are a few of the critical strategic factors to consider while playing.
You can also identify and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses in yourself and your opponent to best develop a strategy that will allow you to succeed. Racquetball is far from a mindless activity, it uses your brain just as much as your other muscles. This makes it a great game for a body and mind workout!
9. Stress Reducing
Physical activity has shown to be a great stress reducer! When you exercise, endorphins are produced, which serve as natural painkillers. By playing sports like racquetball, you’re taking care of your mental health.
10. You Can Practice on Your Own
While two players are needed to play a match, you can improve your skills by yourself. Practicing your serves, returns, and specific strokes by yourself can be really helpful in your development, which is quite convenient if you don’t have a partner to play with. Just because you can’t play by the official rules, doesn’t mean you can’t complete a great workout and enjoy yourself!
11. All year-round
A majority of racquetball courts are indoor, making it a great activity for any time of the year. Don’t let rain get you down, go play!
12. Straightforward Rules
Understanding the lines on the court and the boundaries by which you are allowed to play are the major rules you will have to abide by. Once you have these down, racquetball is simple and a fun game!
13. Little Commitment
Unlike other team sports, racquetball takes very little coordination with others or commitment to a practice/game routine! If you can find one person to join you, you’re set! This can be on your own time and not dependent on a large group to get started!
14. You Can Learn It By Yourself
Racquetball is a relatively easy sport to teach yourself and practice your technique! Especially nowadays, with so many great resources online. Hitting good shots is achievable on your own, and you can then test out your skills on others!
15. Fairly Inexpensive Equipment
You can get a racquet and ball for less than $100. This is fairly inexpensive compared to other sports which can run even higher in price. The only expense that may be more difficult without a membership somewhere is court time.
16. Confidence Building
Whether or not you win, you will hit some shots in a match that will make you proud! As you continue to play, your self-confidence will only build.
Mastering new techniques and developing more complex strategies will only enable you to improve your self-esteem. This is important for your overall health and mental well-being! It’s fun to be good at something and continue to improve every time you play!
17. Great Cross-Training
Racquetball is a great activity for all types of athletes. Improving the skills mentioned above, such as coordination, balance, agility, strength, core, and mental toughness will only benefit you in your primary sport.
Using different muscle groups and engaging in new movements will allow you to strengthen your body in areas you typically do not target.
18. Improves Concentration
Because of the high-speed nature of the sport, racquetball requires very detailed concentration on the ball and the players around you. Practicing concentration in racquetball will only improve your abilities off the court!
19. Low Injury Risk
While racquetball may seem scary with a small ball speeding around the court and people swinging with racquets, it is actually a low injury sport.
Compared to others, being non-contact is a considerable advantage in preventing injury. The higher your coordination and agility abilities, the less likely one will be to experience injury!
20. Great Cardio-workout
Racquetball is also a great way to improve your fitness levels. With the quick movements required, getting your heart rate up should not be a problem! This cardiovascular activity will only improve your fitness abilities with repetition.
21. Can Be Played By Most Ages and Fitness Levels
Racquetball is a great exercise option for many groups of people! It can be played by most fitness levels and most ages, as there are different balls for speed as well as a range in the caliber of players to play against.
22. It’s a Fun Way to Pass the Time!
Beyond all the physical, mental, and emotional benefits, it is fun to play if you are looking for an extracurricular activity or something to do on the weekends! We all grow up enjoying games, and this shouldn’t end as we get older. So, grab a racquet and a friend, and get on the court
So, if you are looking to lose weight but hopping on a treadmill or elliptical sounds dreadful, opt for a round of racquetball. Making a game of it will make the weight loss journey less painful and more enjoyable!
Things to Keep in Mind About Racquetball
While fitness levels should not deter you from the sport, racquetball will be more challenging for individuals with certain constraints, especially when it comes to movement. If this applies to you, you should still try it!
Some of these constraints include:
- Limited running mobility
- Lack of side to side movements
- Shoulder/back injuries
- Visual impairments
If vision is a challenge for you, racquetball may become a little more complicated. The ball is not only small but fast-moving. It is often hard to keep track of the ball when it is flying around the court.
Regardless of vision levels, it is essential to remember to wear protective eyewear. This will prevent potential injuries in that the ball is hard when moving quickly. Most injuries in racquetball are indeed head and eye injuries.
Despite any challenges you may have, racquetball is a great activity at any pace. With your constraints in mind, pick a partner with a similar skill level as you to begin.
Easing yourself into the sport is the best way to become comfortable. The ball does not need to fly 100 MPH to be a fun activity or played “the right way.” As long as you are out getting physical activity and enjoying yourself, racquetball can serve as a great addition to your life!