Tennis for Weight Loss

[Nanshiki]

Playing singles is obviously a great way to lose weight, so long as you aren't so severely overweight that your knees blow out in half an hour.

When you factor out the water weight loss, at one point I was losing a pound every day from 2-3 hours of play. Then I stopped playing every day for a month or so and I gained about eight pounds. Ouch.

Now I started playing every day for about 3 hours (today was four), and my weight loss has started again. Today, including slight weight wait loss (it was cold so I did not sweat much), I lost about 3.5 pounds. Neat. I'm not going to be playing for the next 3-4 days, and it's Thanksgiving, so unfortunately that is probably all moot now.

What's the most weight (including water weight) that anyone has lost in one day playing tennis?

 

[Mick]

for me, tennis does not help me losing weight beside water loss.
After the French Open, Pam Shriver asked Dinara Safina how she had managed to lose weight. Safina told Shriver she did it through running.
Thus, playing tennis alone did not help a top wta player like Safina to lose weight either.

 

[kungfusmkim]

Agreed. even if i run back and forth im just about to get tired than my opponent misses or i miss. Then the whole getting a ball, bouncing it, ready stance thing happens. During the time that it does happen it recover from the last point.

 

[Rickson]

I'll never know because I find daily weighing to be pointless, but probably 5 lbs. in water weight. If you think you're losing a couple of lbs. a day in bodyfat, you're delusional.

 

[Nanshiki]

I weighed myself right before and right after. There was a 3.5 pound difference. But I would say at least 2.5 of it was water loss. An hour later I had gone back up a little less than two pounds.

Also, losing pound of fat in a day isn't completely impossible since an hour of singles burns about 700 calories (at the club level I would asume), and a pound of fat is 3500 calories or so. So 4 X 700 = 2800 calories burned.

I've had a maximum of about six pounds (might have been more actually...), although obviously it's almost all water weight... that's from daytime summer tennis though.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Way back in the early '80s, I remember losing 8 lbs in a single days, playing a number of matches in a badminton tournament in a fairly warm gym. This was primarily water loss = a very serious/dangerous dehydration. Apparently, I was only drinking enough liquids to satisfy my thirst. The dehydration was so severe. it felt like the nastiest of hangovers -- one that took me several days to overcome. Since that time, I've done a much better job at keeping myself hydrated when playing badminton & tennis.

The most I've lost playing tennis in a single day is a few lbs, mostly water. But then I play primarily in the evening/night these days. It has been a lot of years since I've played for any extended period of time in the hot sun.

 

[downdaline]

When i went at tennis full time, i actually put on weight instead of losing it. I dunno, im guessing maybe it has something to do with your style of play?

It would seem logical that someone who retrieves a lot like a Hewitt would lose weight faster than someone who stays back and blasts away.

 

[Andres]

Also, losing pound of fat in a day isn't completely impossible since an hour of singles burns about 700 calories (at the club level I would asume), and a pound of fat is 3500 calories or so. So 4 X 700 = 2800 calories burned.

I don't think that's right. In fact, it's almost impossible, since one hour of singles, you're only PLAYING for 11-13 minutes. You're resting the rest of the time.

I think a whole match of tennis burns 700 calories, and not just one hour.

 

[blackfrido]

I don't think that's right. In fact, it's almost impossible, since one hour of singles, you're only PLAYING for 11-13 minutes. You're resting the rest of the time.

I think a whole match of tennis burns 700 calories, and not just one hour.

Andres,

One of my hitting partners plays always wearing one of those "heart rate monitor/calorie counter" polar I thinl it is.
Our matches last between 1 1/2 to two hours = 800 calories burned according to his device.

 

[Andres]

2 hours of tennis = 800 calories sounds about right.

 

[Rickson]

It depends on how much you move during the match. 500 KCal per hour is about right, but for an extreme mover, it'll be higher than that. 1 lb. of bodyfat lost per match? I don't think so. This is not a match that goes 5 sets.

 

[Nanshiki]

Not a match... four hours of high-intensity training.

Nutritiondata.com has a calculator for a lot of different activities, based on height and weight (and sex of course). Doubles burns about 500 calories, it says, although I find that hard to believe.

If anything I probably burn more than my calculated amount since I'm overweight, and have fairly high muscle mass.

 

[lawlitssoo1n]

its all water loss man. swimming or cycling will help u lose weight, actually running is the best way to lose fat

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

...

Nutritiondata.com has a calculator for a lot of different activities, based on height and weight (and sex of course). Doubles burns about 500 calories, it says, although I find that hard to believe.

If anything I probably burn more than my calculated amount since I'm overweight, and have fairly high muscle mass.

Actually that 500 calorie calculation by ND is already highly dependent on your weight. Try the calculation again with a weight that is 50 lbs lighter. As you indicated, other factors that will affect the calculated expenditure for tennis doubles is your age, sex/gender, and possibly height.

Of course these calculations are very ballpark numbers since it really doesn't take into account the length of your rallies and the intensity level at which you play. If you have quite a few long rallies, you may be active more than 20 minutes per hour. On the other hand, if rallies tend to be very short, you may be active less than 10 minutes in that hour.

Some ppl play doubles rather statically -- they only move when the ball is in their vicinity. Other doubles players are constantly moving (left, right, foward, back), as dictated by the position of the ball, whether they are hitting or not.

 

[Zachol82]

Playing singles is obviously a great way to lose weight, so long as you aren't so severely overweight that your knees blow out in half an hour.

When you factor out the water weight loss, at one point I was losing a pound every day from 2-3 hours of play. Then I stopped playing every day for a month or so and I gained about eight pounds. Ouch.

Now I started playing every day for about 3 hours (today was four), and my weight loss has started again. Today, including slight weight wait loss (it was cold so I did not sweat much), I lost about 3.5 pounds. Neat. I'm not going to be playing for the next 3-4 days, and it's Thanksgiving, so unfortunately that is probably all moot now.

What's the most weight (including water weight) that anyone has lost in one day playing tennis?

Yea, you'll just mostly burn water weight...if only you can burn fat that fast in a day's work.

I've burned 2.5lbs overall from 3hours of playing before. It was around 90F too. Anyhow, just eat anything with a lot of fiber and protein and it should keep you full. It's extremely easy to lose weight but extremely hard to keep it off. That's because keeping weight off includes a healthy diet...which is pretty damn hard to do since I can probably eat 2 whole pizza's after 2 hours of tennis =(

 

[Tennis4203]

i'd say it's most definitely water weight.
if you lost 1lb in a match of tennis - holy you musta been running like there's no tomorrow.
Even in my longest matches most, if not all of my weight loss is water loss .