Every time you play Padel, you’re doing your mind and body a favour.
This fast-paced racquets game has exploded in popularity in recent years – for good reason. Six of them, in fact: we’ll explain the health benefits of Padel below.
But before we get to that, what is Padel? Think of it as a sport that combines the best of tennis and squash. The courts are framed by wire or perspex, so you can hit the ball against the sides, and the scoring is the same as tennis.
One of the great things about it is that, unlike some other racquets games, Padel is incredibly easy to learn, and you don’t need to have any previous racquets experience. What’s more, you play Padel on courts that are half the size of tennis courts, so there’s less distance to cover. The racquet – or padel – and balls are also pretty light.
All of this means that Padel is suitable for a wide range of ages and abilities. Play with your kids, play with your parents, play with your fittest friend (or maybe you are the fittest friend), take part in an informal tournament – whether you’re a beginner or an experienced Padel pro, there’s fun to be had.
Don’t let that fool you into thinking you won’t get a proper workout, though. Padel is the kind of game where you can customise the difficulty depending on your experience, fitness level and what you want to get out of it.
Whether you choose to play Padel hard or gently, you can still reap the following benefits.
What are the health benefits of Padel?
1. Mood medicine
We all know that exercise can help improve mental wellbeing, flooding us with feel-good endorphins. However, we reckon there’s an extra secret-sauce element to Padel that makes it particularly good at improving your mood.
Maybe it’s the pleasure of firing a return past your opponents; maybe it’s the joy of executing a perfect serve; or maybe it’s simply the feel of the ball connecting with your padel. Whatever the reason, in our experience, it’s rare to see someone leave a Padel court without a massive smile on their face.
2. Stealth cardio
There are some types of cardio where you’re acutely aware of the effort you’re making – pushing to your limit in a HIIT class, for example, or racking up the miles on a treadmill. And there’s certainly nothing with that; many people even enjoy feeling the burn!
With Padel, however, the fun factor is so high that we’ve heard players say they had no idea how hard they were working until the game was over. While you’re concentrating on your shots, you simply don’t notice how much of a cardio workout you’re getting. But with Padel, you certainly are getting a cardio workout, improving heart health and endurance, and torching calories.
So if you’re someone who wants cardio in your fitness routine without actually feeling it too much, Padel could be the answer.
3. Co-ordination boost
Want to improve your hand-eye co-ordination? Padel is great for this. Not only are you serving and returning shots, you’re also bouncing the ball off the walls and back of the court. And all of that is taking place at speed. Even if it doesn’t come naturally at first, the more you play, the sooner you’ll see improvement.
4. Muscle toning
Like other racquets sports, one of the key health benefits of Padel is toning and strengthening your upper body. As the padel and ball are relatively light, however, you’ll be putting less stress on your joints as you do so.
And it’s not just about your upper body muscles. Moving around the court will help build leg strength, too, particularly in the glutes, calves and quads.
As you start to play more, you may even feel inspired to start hitting up the gym or performing bodyweight exercises at home in order to supercharge your performance on the court.
5. Social engagement
There’s research to suggest that working out with other people can have a whole host of benefits, such as increased motivation and enhanced mental wellbeing. Padel is an inherently social game. It’s usually played in doubles, which means you can enjoy that special camaraderie you get from squaring off on a racquets court.
What’s more, a post-match catch-up is very much part of Padel culture. Relaxing together over a drink (alcoholic or not), dissecting your moves, planning your next game – it’s a great way to spend time with other people.
Depending on where you’re playing, you may also be able to take part in tournaments, getting to know other players and widening your social network. Padel inspires so much love among its players that you tend to find a real sense of community – something we can all benefit from in our lives.
6. Stress relief
Had a frustrating day? There’s nothing like thwacking a ball into a wall to help relieve some of that tension.
What’s more, Padel requires constant concentration so you don’t miss a shot, giving you a break from any everyday annoyances. While you’re on the court, life is good. And maybe off court, too, if you decide to enjoy some post-match refreshments with your fellow players.
As you can probably tell, at David Lloyd Clubs, we love Padel. In fact, we’re adding new courts to our clubs all the time, putting us on course to be the UK’s biggest Padel provider! Find out more about Padel at David Lloyd Clubs and how it could become a much-loved part of your own fitness routine.
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