Is Bowling a Good Exercise Option?

Takeaways:

• Bowling is a legitimate exercise: While it’s fun and social, it also provides physical benefits like increased heart rate and calorie burn, especially when played actively.
• It’s a real sport: Bowling is recognized globally as a serious sport with professional athletes and near-Olympic status, demanding both physical skill and mental focus.
• Cross-training improves performance: Supplementing bowling with other types of exercise (like cardio, weight training, or flexibility work) can improve stamina, strength, and reduce injury risk.
• Mental and social benefits: Bowling supports mental health through stress relief, social interaction, and the satisfaction of skill development and friendly competition

If we had to tally up all the reasons we love bowling, we’d need a bigger scorecard! Bowling is a great activity for every skill level, from families looking to spend quality time together to elite competitors who show just how much skill and know-how go into it. It’s also a great social pastime that brings people together. One question that frequently arises, however, is whether bowling qualifies as exercise, and if so, is bowling goodexercise? 

After all, good health starts with good habits, and the best exercise you can get is something that you already enjoy doing. While we don’t think you need an excuse to lace up your bowling shoes, the fact that bowling is good exercise is undoubtedly a great one! Read on for more information and tips to make you start sweating (in a good way!) over your favorite hobby. 

Bowling: A Sport of (Almost) Olympic Proportions

Bowling is, indeed, more than a hobby: it is recognized as a sport! Professional-level bowlers are respected athletes whose gear reflects the high degrees of physical and mental acumen that bowling at this level demands. The International Bowling Federation oversees the rules that ensure consistency in the sport, regardless of the country or tournament. Furthermore, the International Olympic Committee was on the verge of adding bowling to the roster of its sports for the 2020 and 2024 games. We should note that the reason bowling didn’t hit a strike in the Olympics was a business decision, and not due to the sport's inherent awesomeness. 

In other words, bowling is a legitimate sport, which means that you can be confident that a robust game of bowling is good exercise that you can have fun doing.

Put Your Heart Into It

One of the reasons why bowling is such a welcoming sport is that it fosters a sense of community. When it comes to bowling for exercise, the ball is in your court - that is, lane! - about how much you want to turn your hangout into a workout. 

Playing a robust game of bowling, where there is constant movement and little downtime between turns, is a low-impact way to increase your heart rate. Depending on your factors, including how hard you push yourself, you can burn hundreds of calories in an hour.

On the other hand, bowling is good exercise for more reasons besides the game itself, and that’s good news for those who prefer bowling at a more leisurely pace! There’s nothing wrong with the kind of bowling that is more of an excuse to spend time with your friends, family, and teammates (and maybe indulging in a few greasy snacks available). You may not reap as many health benefits from bowling at the alley, but to play a good game that reduces the risk of injury, building your exercise around bowling will only continue to enhance your love of the sport. It’s for this reason that we recommend some well-rounded training to improve your bowling game.

Train Like an Athlete

Like any sport, bowling is especially good exercise when it is not your only source of exercise! From elite athletes to those who are easily bored, changing up howyou get physical activity can make you stronger, more balanced, and less likely to get injured in your primary sport. For example, people who love running might also take up swimming to train their muscles in different ways and to give their joints a break from pounding the pavement. At the same time, those who enjoy playing contact sports like football or soccer still benefit from stretching exercises to become more flexible in their daily lives. 

Being able to throw heavier balls more gracefully, accurately, and quickly for different lane conditions is a practice that requires more from your whole body than just hand-eye coordination. For example, traditional weight training, combined with more dynamic exercises such as kettlebell training, will help tremendously. Engaging in cardio exercises builds stamina, and participating in other sports will continue to enhance balance, coordination, and sportsmanship. 

Best of all, it means that you are developing healthier habits, and will get to thank bowling as your inspiration for getting in even better shape.

The Mind-Body Connection

This means that, beyond the mental benefits that working out naturally gives us, the sport of bowling presents many opportunities to strengthen a part of our health that’s still vastly underrated. Bowling is excellent for your mental health, too! Not only is it a very social activity, but bowling is a good exercise in learning to develop new skills, and it is rewarding whenever you get to see your practice pay off.

Also, according to the world of psychology, not all stress is the same. Healthy doses of “good stress,” such as playing a friendly, competitive game that requires skill, are the kind that help us learn how to deal with the bad stuff better. Besides, bowling is an exercise in learning how to blow off steam in a healthy way: stressed out? Throw heavy things at pins with your friends for a few hours!

Invest In Yourself

All healthy habits are investments in yourself, which also starts with taking care of yourself in the process. Bowling, like any exercise, is only as good as the gear you equip yourself with, because investing in the right, high-quality gear is an investment in your long-term fun and safety. Finding the right shoes goes a long way toward enhancing your throwing style with comfort, and we highly recommend finding well-fitting gloves, grip aids, and other accessories. 

At Bowlers Paradise, we are passionate about helping you get the most out of your bowling experience, so please make sure to sign up for our newsletter to get the latest updates, and contact us with any questions about our latest equipment. Roll into Bowlers Paradise today and strike out in style!