Latest / Life and How to Live It with Dr Rocco / “The Healthiest Sport in the World? What 80,000 People Reveal About Racket Sports”

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“The Healthiest Sport in the World? What 80,000 People Reveal About Racket Sports” · Life and How to Live It with Dr Rocco

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Do you sometimes feel like life is passing you by?
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: How would you like to get more out of life?
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: We explore all things life on this podcast.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Life and How to Live It podcast with Dr.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Rocco.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: Life and How to Live It.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Run and Lavin Live.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Live and How to Live It.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Dream, create, connect, just live it.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to another episode of the Life and How to Live It podcast with me, Dr.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: Rocco.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: In today's episode, we will be discussing the health benefits of racket sports and of play in general.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: When I was 13 years old, my younger brother found a tennis racket at a local public court.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: Since he was really too young to play, I started using that racket and quickly fell in love with the game.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Soon I was playing almost every day with my friend Pete.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, that Pete, the co-host of this podcast.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Around that same time, my father got our family a ping pong table.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: My friends and I would play in the basement for hours at a time.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: In college, in addition to tennis and ping pong, I played a lot of racquetball, a sport that has essentially disappeared at this point.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: So for as long as I can remember, I have loved hitting a ball with a racket or a paddle.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: I've been a tennis fan as a spectator for many years, and over the last few years, I started hearing more about the health benefits of tennis and racket sports in general.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: I've heard some things about the health benefits of ping pong or table tennis.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: And recently I've heard the USTA, the United States Tennis Association, started calling tennis the world's healthiest sport.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: So I thought it would be interesting in this episode to investigate to kind of go down this rabbit hole a little bit about the health benefits of racket sports.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: So what does the research actually say?
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: In a large study looking at different recreational activities, researchers followed more than 80,000 adults in England and Scotland.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: The researchers found that people who reported playing racket sports, including tennis, badminton, and squash, had substantially lower rates of all cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality than people who reported never playing those sports.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: The association was about a 47% lower risk of death from any cause and about a 59% risk, a lower risk of death from a cardiovascular cause.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: Now, before we get too excited about this, there's an important qualification.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: This was an observational study.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: So this was not a randomized study.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: This study does not prove that playing tennis or badminton or squash caused those people to live longer.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: People who play racket sports may differ from people who don't in many important ways.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: They may be healthier to begin with, they may have a different socioeconomic circumstance, they may be more socially connected, or they may engage in other healthy behaviors.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't want to say that playing tennis will reduce your risk of death by 47%.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: That's not what the study tells us.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: What it tells us is that there is a very interesting association between racket sport participation and health and longevity.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of the research in about racket sports and the health benefits are actually about tennis.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: Some of them are about table tennis.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: And we need to be careful about taking the results from, say, tennis and automatically applying it to pickleball, badminton, etc.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: etc.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: They're not identical sports.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: The physical demands are different, the amount of running is different, the size of the court is different.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: So we shouldn't pretend that research that has proved that every racket sport produces exactly the same health benefits.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: But there are some things these sports have in common.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: They all require movement, they require coordination, including hand-eye coordination, and they require reaction, and they involve playing with and against other people.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: So there are some good reasons to believe that at least some of the health benefits are shared across all these racket sports.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: And we actually have some research beyond tennis that supports this idea.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: As I've said, there there are some studies that show health benefits of table tennis.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of these studies come from Asia.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: They show health benefits across the board, especially for older people, but also especially in areas of balance.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: But let's talk about pickleball.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Pickleball is particularly interesting because it has exploded in popularity.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: It is currently uh the fastest growing participation sport in the United States.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I think people often dismiss it.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: They don't really think pickleball is exercise.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't say that.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the research is relatively young, but it's becoming increasingly interesting.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: In 2024, a review looked at 27 studies of pickleball and health and well-being, and the authors concluded that the evidence was promising particularly for older adults and showed benefits in physical, psychological, and social realms.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: A really interesting pickleball study in 2026 had 72 adults were randomized.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: So this is a randomized controlled study.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: So that's the kind of the gold standard in science, in medical science.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: So these 72 adults had what's called pre-frailty.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: So frailty is medically defined as having weight loss, uh fatigue or very low energy, weak grip strength, slow walking speed, and a low amount of physical activity.
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  SPEAKER_00: In order to be considered pre-frail, you would have to have one or two of these issues.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: So they took these 72 people and they split them into evenly into two groups.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: One group was assigned to play uh eight-week supervised pickleball program, and the other group was the control group, which just lived their normal life.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: After eight weeks, 42% of the pickleball participants were no longer classified as pre-frail, and that's compared with 8% in the control group.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: So this intervention of eight weeks of supervised pickleball play caused a significant improvement in the frailty definition for these folks for 42% of them.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: The pickleball group also improved on measures of um going from sitting to standing in a chair, arm strength, flexibility, and walking distance, and they also reported improvements in physical and mental aspects of quality of life.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: You know, this is a pretty small study.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: It was only an eight-week intervention, so I'm not going to tell you that pickleball has been proven to prevent frailty or extend your life, but it's important evidence.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's randomized evidence, a randomized study.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: And it suggests that pickleball can be more than just a social activity, it can be a legitimate exercise intervention, particularly for older adults.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: So there's something interesting about racket sports.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: You are tracking the flight of a ball and you're trying to hit it with your racket or your paddle.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: So you have a moving object, the ball, and you have yourself who is moving, and you're trying to get your body in position so that your racket can hit that ball accurately.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: So if you go for a walk, you know, that's good exercise.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: If you lift weights in a gym, that's good exercise.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: But when you're playing tennis or pickleball, table tennis, you are constantly processing information.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: Where's the ball?
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  SPEAKER_00: How fast is it coming?
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  SPEAKER_00: Where's it going?
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  SPEAKER_00: How do I respond?
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  SPEAKER_00: Do I move forward, sideways?
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  SPEAKER_00: Do I hit it now?
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: Do I wait?
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: Where's my opponent?
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: You are exercising your body while you're simultaneously asking your brain to perceive, predict, decide, and react.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: So there is a fascinating cognitive component to these racket sports.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: Another thing that's really special about racket sports compared to, say, going to the gym or taking walks is that you're playing a game.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: Play tennis or pickleball.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: You're not thinking, well, it's three o'clock.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: I now need to perform 27 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: No, you know, you're thinking, can I get to that ball?
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: Where's my opponent?
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: Should I go cross court up the line?
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: Can I keep this rally going?
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: You're playing a game.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: And while you're playing that game, your body is doing quite a lot.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: You're walking, you're running, you're stopping, you're changing directions, you're reaching, you're rotating, you're constantly making decisions.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: So there's this physical component, there's a cognitive component.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: If you're playing doubles, you also have to coordinate your movements with that of another person.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: You're you're interacting with other people.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: And this combination is what I find interesting about these racket sports.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: It's not just cardiovascular exercise, it's movement, coordination, balance, strength, reaction time, decision making, and social interaction all wrapped into something that's fun.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's a game.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: And that may be one reason these sports are so compelling from a health perspective.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: Another part, which I've kind of touched on, is this social component.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: You know, think about the difference between saying, I need to exercise today versus I'm meeting Pete to play pickleball at nine.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: These are psychologically very different statements.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: One may feel like a chore, the other is a social commitment.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: And if your friends are there, you're more likely to show up.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: You're you're talking, you're laughing, you're competing, you're sharing an experience.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: And this gets back to one of the things I talk about frequently on this podcast: connection.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: If you've listened to some of my earlier episodes, you know that I think connection is one of the fundamental components of a full life.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: And exercise can actually be a vehicle for connection.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: You don't necessarily have to choose between taking care of your physical health and taking care of your relationships.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: You can do both at the same time.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: That's a pretty good deal.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, it's time for a caution.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want people to hear this episode and think I'm saying everyone should go out and play three hours of tennis tomorrow or an hour and a half of pickleball.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: No, especially if you haven't exercised in a long time.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: Talk to your healthcare provider, make sure you're up to the physical challenge of playing these sports.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: If you get the go-ahead, remember, start slowly, stretch, warm up.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: These sports require a lot of stopping, starting, lunging, and changing directions.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: And injuries do happen.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: The pickleball research is increasingly documenting injuries, particularly among older players.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: So take it slow.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: Any new activity you do has risk of injury.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: And even though people think of pickleball as just a social activity, it's actually quite a bit of exercise, especially if you're older and haven't been exercising regularly.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: So don't confuse enthusiasm with conditioning.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: The goal isn't to prove how tough you are, the goal is to keep playing.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: So what do I think you should do?
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: I think you should look at exercise as a something that you can enjoy.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: You know, try to find an activity that you actually enjoy that gets you moving every day.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's tennis, maybe it's pickleball, maybe it's not any of these racket sports, maybe it's dancing or hiking or swimming, maybe it's gardening.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: The specific activity does matter.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: You know, as I said, there are things that are particular about tennis, let's say, that are not the same as taking a walk.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: But the bigger thing is whether you can find something you enjoy enough to keep you doing it.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: Because the best exercise program isn't necessarily the one with the perfect physiological profile, it's the one you actually do.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: You do today, you do it next week, you do it next month, and eventually, before you know it, it's not an exercise program anymore.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's just a part of your life.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'd like to end this segment of the show today by talking about a bigger lesson.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we're often taught to think about health and exercise as something that's really serious.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you gotta like focus on it, you have to log how much exercise you're doing, you need to log what you're eating, you need to keep track of how many hours you're sleeping, what supplements you're taking, how many steps per day, count your calories, count your macros.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: You know, all of this can be helpful.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: But maybe another way of thinking of it is to say, what kind of life do I want?
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: You know, if the answer includes being active, having friends, learning new things, challenging yourself, spending time outdoors, and remaining physically active as you get older, then maybe the answer isn't to create the perfect exercise program.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's to find activities that naturally contain those things.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: A game can do that.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: Racket sports can do that.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: You move your body, you challenge your mind, you spend time with people, you learn things, you fail, you win, you lose, you improve, you laugh, you have fun.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: And that's a pretty good prescription for life.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're telling yourself you should exercise more, here's my suggestion.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: Don't really don't necessarily go out and buy a treadmill, but think about, you know, think about one of these sports.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: It could be anything as low impact as table tennis that has significant health benefits and it's a lot of fun.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: So find a court, find a friend, pick up a paddle, pick up a racket, and play.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe one of the secrets of living a healthier life is remembering that we're allowed to enjoy it.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: Now it's time for Dr.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: Rocco's Rix, Dr.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: Rocco's.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: Now it's time for Dr.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: Rocko's Rex.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: My recommendation this week is to take stock frequently.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: What do I mean by that?
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: Taking stock frequently.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: So a lot of us have goals and aspirations, but we get caught up in the day-to-day.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we live life, we get there's there's so many stresses, there's so many demands on our time and attention that we don't really take stock of how we're doing.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: And we find ourselves being kind of swept up, swept down this river of our lives without really thinking about what we're doing.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: So set goals for yourself and take stock frequently.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: How am I doing?
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: Is this the life I want to be living?
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: Is this what I want?
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: How can I change things?
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: How can I make my relationships better, my professional life better, my mental health, my spiritual health better?
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: Take stock frequently.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: I have had the pleasure of playing real tennis on two occasions in Boston, and it was a lot of fun, and it was really interesting as a person who's played tennis for most of their life to see the roots of this game.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: These courts are hard to find, they're few and far between, but see if you can find one.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: At least look it up online.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's a really interesting thing to see.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's it for today's show.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for listening and spending a little time with me today.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: I hope I taught you something, gave you something to think about.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, so long.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening to the Life and How to Live It podcast with Dr.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: Rocco.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: If you'd like to book a coaching session with me, simply visit the show notes and schedule a discovery call.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: And if today's episode encouraged you or added value to your life, please subscribe and leave a review.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, life is not a dress rehearsal.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, so long.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: Just live it live and how to live it.