During the weekend, I love to unwind by playing tennis at the
local country club. While it is certainly a recreational activity,
nobody likes to lose on the court. In order to improve your game and
stay in peak condition, it is necessary to participate in some type of
sport-specific workout or training program. Tennis requires a
combination of speed, agility, and power, which means that a variety of
training techniques should be employed. Because players exert bursts of
energy over a prolonged period during the match, both aerobic and
anaerobic activities must be integrated into a training regimen. Below
are some of the best ways to achieve this combined approach:
Plyometrics:
Through a combination of speed and resistance, plyometric training is
ideal for developing the force needed for serves and forehands. Common
examples of plyometric exercises include box jumps, bounding, and
hopping. Upper body training can be accomplished by throwing medicine
balls in different ways, such as slamming the ball into the ground,
throwing it out from your chest, or heaving it straight up in the air.
Interval
Training: Ideal for building endurance strength while preparing for the
intensity of individual points, the athlete pushes to an anaerobic
level for a short period, and then recovers while remaining in an
aerobic state, repeating the cycle. The exercise develops cardiovascular
capacity while maintaining Type II, or fast twitch, muscle fibers.
Sprinting the straights and jogging the curves on a typical track is a
common example of interval training.
Agility Training: Lateral
quickness is essential for tennis success. One of the best ways to
develop this type of speed is by training with the agility ladder, which
is a tool that looks like a single row of hopscotch squares. Athletes
go through the ladder with a variety of foot sequences to improve
coordination and quickness. Running through various cone drills also
vastly improves footwork.
About the Author: Off the court, Peter Ambrose serves the Northern Virginia Complex of Merrill Lynch as a Director.
