6 Benefits of Volleyball That'll Convince You to Play More Often

Why is volleyball a good sport? Volleyball is a physically demanding sport that takes skill and athletic ability. Pete Waite, author of ‌Aggressive Volleyball‌, adds that volleyball also is an entertaining game that many athletes choose for the opportunity to be active and connect with friends.

There are several mental and physical health benefits of volleyball, and knowing what they are might motivate you pick up a ball and start serving, setting, spiking and bumping.

Playing volleyball is a fun way to incorporate physical activity into your week. And it can help you fulfill the requirements from the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. The guidelines recommend 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity (or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity) aerobic exercise each week.

And regular exercise is crucial for your health, because it helps keep your heart healthy, as well as helping to prevent conditions like cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Regular exercise may also help ward off symptoms of depression and increase feelings of happiness and wellbeing.

Playing volleyball affects weight and body-fat percentage by burning calories. Just how many calories do you burn playing volleyball? According to Harvard Health Publishing, 30 minutes of volleyball burns up to 336 calories (for a 185-pound individual), which can aid in weight loss over time. This can help reduce the risk of hypertension, heart disease and diabetes.

The movements performed while playing volleyball strengthen help strengthen your entire body. The muscles used in volleyball include the biceps, back and shoulders in the upper body and quads and calves in the lower body.

Playing volleyball also improves muscular and cardiovascular endurance. Improved circulation circulates more blood, oxygen and nutrients throughout the body, improving the body's functions and your overall health and wellbeing.

Volleyball requires you to pay close attention to the ball so that you can use your arms and hands to come into contact with the fast-moving volleyball in order to send it flying back over the net.

Bob Miller notes in his book, The Volleyball Handbook, that learning volleyball requires skills that help you connect with the ball as well as move in ways that allow you to prevent the opposing team from scoring points.

Playing volleyball requires that you work with a team to score points and keep the other team from winning. This requires that you work well with others and gives you valuable opportunities to interact socially with friends (both new and old) and acquaintances.

Regular social interaction boosts your feelings of happiness and helps you feel as if you are a part of a group working toward a common goal. Spending time with friends also makes you feel valued and loved, which translates into happiness.

Acting as part of a team requires that you learn good sportsmanship, cooperation and compromise. Playing volleyball requires you to pay attention to what your team members are doing, so you can work together to anticipate the moves of the opposing team.

Playing on a team also teaches the value of hard work and fairness. Volleyball is a competitive and physically demanding sport that depends on how well you accept defeat, as well as how graciously you win.