Bowling is a fun and challenging activity that can be enjoyed with friends, family, or even on your own. But did you know that bowling offers more than just entertainment? As a matter of fact, there are various benefits to bowling that can positively impact your physical, mental, and social well-being.
From improving your cardiovascular health to boosting your mood, bowling is a fun hobby that everyone should consider adding to their life. In this article, we’ll explore 13 of the top benefits of bowling and why you should start hitting the lanes today.
Strengthens Muscles in the Arms, Shoulders, and Legs
One of the biggest benefits of bowling is the way it can improve your physical health. While it may not be as physically demanding as other sports, bowling requires a lot of repetitive movements that can help strengthen your muscles over time.
Every time you lift a 6-14 pound bowling ball and throw it down the lane, you use your arms, wrists, and shoulders, while bending down and using your legs to push the ball. Doing this repeatedly can help tone and strengthen these muscles.
Bowling strengthens your muscles gradually, the heavier the ball you use the better impact it can have on your muscles in fact heavier balls also drastically increases your chances of hitting a strike (learn why?) thus it’s a win, wins!
When bowling for the first time, you may experience soreness in your hands or other body parts. This is completely normal, as your body is not used to such movements. However, after a few weeks of bowling, your body parts will become stronger.
Improving Hand-eye Coordination and Balance
In addition to muscle strengthening, bowling also helps improve hand-eye coordination and balance. To be great at bowling, you must be able to focus on the target (pins ) and release the ball in the right direction and hook the ball, which requires precise timing, the perfect positioning of the ball, and coordination. Over time, this can help improve your overall coordination and balance.
Improves Flexibility & Range of Motion
Bowling requires a lot of motion, you have to lung and twist every time you bowl. You have to use your arms and legs at the same time and maintain a proper balance to propel the ball properly on the lane.
You are not only strengthening your muscles with bowling, but you’re also stretching the muscles which improve overall flexibility.
All this, gradually makes you flexible and increases your balance.
Burn Calories & Helps In Weight Loss (Cardiovascular Exercise)
Bowling is a cardiovascular exercise hence it raises the flow of oxygen and blood in the body. There are many other cardio exercises but trust me none of them are more fun than bowling.
Bowling can be a surprisingly effective and fun way to burn calories. A person can burn up to 200 calories per hour while bowling, depending on factors such as weight, age, and intensity of play. This makes it a great option for those looking to incorporate some sort of physical activity into their routine without the need for intense workouts.
Many people struggle to get cardio in on regular basis (As it is kind of boring), for such people, bowling is an excellent sport because you will get cardio in on regular basis as well, and you will be enjoying the exercise.
As Bowling is a cardio exercise, it also helps in weight loss – depending on the weight of the person, a person can burn anywhere between 100 calories to 300 calories in just one game of bowling with friends which is almost equivalent to calories burnt in one hour of walking.
Bowling is a fun exercise, you might get bored most of the time while walking but you will never be bored bowling.
Although bowling is not going to be an intense cardio workout like jumping rope or skiing as you don’t build up a consistent cardiac intense workout.
If your main goal is to lose calories with bowling, then try to avoid bowling with more than 4 people because then you will get a lot of time to rest, hence making it less effective.
Reduce Risks Of Heart Diseases & Other Diseases
Every 36 seconds, an American dies because of heart disease, this shows how important it is for us to care for our hearts till it’s too late. (Source)
As Bowling is a cardio workout, it is good for your heart. The cardiovascular activity makes your heart rate accelerate and helps it to pump blood properly which ultimately strengthens your heart which is probably the most important organ of our body.
It also reduces the risk of many other diseases such as diabetes, lowers cholesterol levels, better blood pressure, and it also helps in respiration.
Easy to Learn
Bowling is very easy to learn, after just 5-6 games, you will be able to score 150+ which is a good average score in bowling (depending on luck as well). Unlike other sports like boxing, and skating, learning to bowl is very simple. There are not many complicated rules as well as other sports like basketball.
Not sure of how hard bowling will be, I have written a detailed article on it and also shared some techniques that can help you score 150+ in your first-ever bowling game, you can read it by clicking here.
I scored 170 in my first game of bowling, I’ve shared some of my personal experience there so make sure you don’t forget to check that out.
Anyone Can Bowl With No Age Limitations
Bowling is a low-impact activity and so can be enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities, although children may need to use lighter bowling balls and bumpers to make the game easier.
I have written a detailed article on bumpers in bowling, how they work, and some benefits of it. So, if you’ve got a little one with you, don’t miss to check that article out.
Providing a Social Outlet
You can definitely bowl alone but it becomes even more fun when you bowl with a partner, friends, or family members. It can be a great way to meet new people especially when you have moved to a new place.
Everything is better with a friend!
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Whether you bowl casually or you want to play at a competitive level, bowling is a social sport where you get a chance to meet new bowlers every time.
When you bowl, you get the opportunity to talk with each other, share laughs, and have a good time with your family/friends/co-workers.
Bowling is a great way to meet new people and form friendships. Joining a bowling league or playing with friends can provide opportunities for socialization and connection, which is important for overall mental health.
Bowling centers also offer many opportunities to bowlers so that they can expand their social circle whether at the individual level or in groups.
Some of them are:
- Leagues
- Tournaments
- Charity Bowling Events
- Other Social Groups
You can also form different bowling groups by yourself, if you’ve any idea of a bowling group, let the manager know about it, they are always looking for great ideas to get bowlers in their center.
Stress Reliever
Bowling acts as a great stress reliever. The repetitive motions involved and knocking down pins in bowling help to calm the mind and reduce feelings of anxiety Moreover, the social aspects of bowling, such as being part of a league or playing with friends can be a lot of fun thus reducing stress.
Improves Focus & Builds Confidence
Bowling requires a lot of focus and concentration, which can help to improve mental agility and focus. This can have benefits beyond the bowling alley, such as improved performance at work or school.
Regular bowling sessions can even help to boost confidence, particularly in children and teenagers. Bowling a strike and competing with friends can help to build self-esteem and a sense of accomplishment, thus improving your confidence.
Improves Coordination
In bowling, you have to move your hands and legs simultaneously, which improves your overall body coordination. Throwing the bowling ball and hitting the pins also requires a lot of hand-eye coordination. This sort of exercise stimulates mental readiness, focus, and strategic thinking.
Bowling is a great activity for children to practice their motor skills and dexterity, and for older individuals to refine their techniques.
Bowling requires you to maintain coordination, flexibility, and balance as you focus on the target, swing the ball back, bend down, and release the ball. Practicing with proper form can improve these skills.
Bowling Competitions
Many people enjoy friendly competition and the feeling of accomplishment that comes from improving their skills and achieving their goals. Bowling gives opportunities for both individual and team competitions.
Team competitions, such as joining a league, can provide a sense of friendship and teamwork. Bowlers can work together to achieve a common goal, such as winning a league championship or improving their overall scores. This can be a great way to form lasting friendships and improve socialization skills.
You can even take your bowling game to a further professional level as well.
Learn more about bowling competitions and leagues and how you can join one here.
Competitive bowling also gives opportunities for bowlers to take part in tournaments and other organized events. This can be a great way to meet other bowlers, improve skills, and gain recognition for achievements.
In addition to these benefits, bowling is an accessible and affordable activity that can be enjoyed by almost anyone. It can be played year-round, making it a great option for indoor amusement during colder months or stormy weather.
Does Bowling Count as Exercise?
Bowling can be considered a low-impact exercise as it involves physical activity, such as walking, swinging, and releasing the ball. While bowling may not be as intense as some other forms of exercise, it can still provide some health benefits, such as improving cardiovascular health, muscle strength, and hand-eye coordination.
What are the benefits of Bowling for students?
Bowling acts as a fun and engaging way for children to stay active, promoting social interaction and teamwork, and improving their hand-eye coordination and focus.
Does Bowling Help To Lose Weight?
Bowling is a great cardiovascular low impact exercise and thus it is a great way to lose weight where you can burn 150-300 calories per hour of bowling which is equivalent to 1 hour of walking but bowling would be much more fun than just walking down the street.
Wrapping up
In conclusion, bowling is a sport that provides numerous benefits for the physical and mental well-being of a person, as well as opportunities for socialization, skill improvement, and competition.
So next time you’re looking for a fun and healthy activity, consider heading to a nearby bowling alley – you might be surprised by how much you enjoy it!
