BODY TALK Issue 21

The Top 10 Training Tips for Tennis SuccessBy Paul Gol

Many people seem to have forgotten that the main objective of every strength training programme youdo should be to improve your performance.

If your sport was power lifting, that would mean lifting heavy weights but because your sport is tennis – that means improving your ability on the court.

I’ve seen many players over the years with amazing bench press abilities but are still to win ameaningful match!

So! follo" #hese 1$ #ennis #raining #ips #o ensure your success%

1) Bodyweight before external resistance

ven now I’m still surprised at the eagerness of some people to get under the bar".

If you can#t stabilize, control and move efficiently with only your bodyweight then you have nobusiness using heavy e$ternal loads.

%ome of the strongest athletes on the planet are the gymnasts who spend most of their timemanipulating their own bodies around the gym – thin& about it!

If you can’t stabilize your shoulder girdle and core doing push'ups, then there is no way you should beunder a bench press bar.

(an you sit in a full bodyweight s)uat or perform full range single leg bodyweight s)uats*

 + strength program in the beginning stages may actually include no weights whatsoever but that willwor& better and faster than a program that relies primarily on weights and machines. Musclerecruitment and control are far more important than ma$imal strength.

%trength is %-%% without control!!

2) Train in a standing position - GROUN B!"#

he majority of your training should ta&e place /0 1/2 3 – standing, as hopefully you spendmost of your time playing in that position. 4hile there are e$ceptions to this rule, we always losesomething when we go from a standing position to seated or lying.

$) Train with free weights

I almost feel silly bringing this up, but I still see programs out there that include leg e$tensions and legcurls. +ny machine limits your range of motion and controls the movement. his may have somelimited use for beginners but you need to learn to stabilize and control your body in all three planes ofmotion simultaneously.

5ow can anyone e$pect to possess co'ordination in active wor& when his muscles have neverwor&ed together in groups*" – arle -iederman 6789.

 

7: years ago and still people do it today. Machines that isolate have a limited place in the preparationof you as a tennis player.

%) Train with explosi&eness

%ome people feel that e$plosiveness is dangerous but if you want )uic& rac&et speed and to hit withpower, then training e$plosively is a must as it mimics what happens on court.

') Train (o&e(ents not (scle grops

 +s above, isolated muscle group training ;outside of rehabilitation< should have no place in yourtraining. 1ou should focus on strengthening specific movements by focusing on using your body towor& in an integrated fashion ;true muscle isolation is impossible anyway<.

*) Train nilaterally and (lti-planar

Most strength training programs train you in one plane ;sagittal< with bilateral ;two< movements,however the majority of sport ta&es place in all = planes simultaneously with primarily unilateral;many< movements – so train in this manner!

 +n interesting fact to consider is that >?@ of the gait cycle ;wal&ing, running< is spent with one leg inthe air. In fact most of the shots you play rely primarily on the dominance of one leg, therefore all yourleg training should include the following e$ercisesA split s)uats, step ups and lunge variations.

+) Use !,, pri(ary (ethods to de&elop strength

a< Ma$ %trength ' heavy loads

b< 2epeated fforts Method ' multiple sets and reps

c< Bynamic ffort Method ' using relatively lighter weights and moving them at ma$ speed;this is %I-- the least used method in most programs<

raditional strength training programs have wrongly borrowed from outdated body building conceptsand focused overwhelmingly on building ma$ strength.

5owever you need to remember that the most important factor is the 2+ of force production. In theworld of sport, Spee is King.

) .ariation

verybody &nows that a training load should be progressively increased – don’t they*

0ot many people understand that the training stimulus must also be progressively and periodicallyvaried. If you spend too much time on one program, you’ll habituate to the positive aspects whileaccumulating the negative aspects.

his creates performance plateaus and injury situations. Ceep things varied and &eep your bodyguessing.

/) !&oid (i(ic0ing s0ills

Ma&e sure the roles of strength and conditioning, and s&ill training are separate.

/verloading a techni)ue affects the mechanics of the techni)ue negatively. If there is any danger thatthe training you are doing forces you to change your techni)ue then %/D immediately!

 

he role of conditioning training is 0/ s&ill training.

1) Balance yor training

Ma&e sure you address pushing and pulling on both horizontal and vertical planes and attempt tobalance the loading.

If you are bench pressing 9::lbs but can only do a chest supported row with ?:lbs, your shouldergirdle is going to suffer.

If you can’t handle the same loads for two opposing movements then increase the volume of thewea&er movement ;e.g. by doing an e$tra e$ercise or an e$tra set or two< to compensate.

&onclusion

Bo not get caught up in the numbers game and do not confuse gym improvements with on courtimprovements.

he greatest players in the world do not have the greatest bench presses in the worldE they have anability to produce useable force on the court

Improve your winFloss numbers, not your lifting numbers.