Tennis Player World

Young or not so young, you can find a cross-training program that’s right for you.

No matter what your age or ability level, cross training is a winning strategy.  For younger athletes, it means getting an edge in speed and endurance; for older ones, it can help not just on the tennis court, but off it as well.  “When you hit your 40s, you start to feel those aches and pains a lot more distinctly,” says Zina Garrison,  44, a former Top 10 player.  “When I trained in the pasts, it was to be competitive, but now it’s for my health – I feel a lot stronger and more flexible when I’m working out regularly.”

Training Musts for any age.

In the same way that rush-hour traffic wears on a car, the particular demands of tennis, with its constant acceleration and deceleration on a hard surface, can be damaging to your body – you’re asking a lot of your joints and muscles with all the starting and stopping movements. 

In order to handle stress, you have to prepare specifically for it.  To do so, tennis players of all ages should include four primary component in their cross training regimens.

Interval Training: The average point lasts anywhere from 5 to 10 seconds, combining heart-pumping sprints and short recovery periods.  Interval training is known as anaerobic conditioning – the heart and lungs can’t get enough oxygen to the muscles quickly, so the muscles create energy without it.  You can train your body to adapt to this through intervals, or periodic bursts of speed followed by more moderate recovery sessions. Interval workouts are key for tennis players because they turn on that anaerobic power for a few seconds and then cut back so you can gear up for the next point faster.

High impact Training: Although it has a bad reputation these days, high impact activity, be it running to the net or around the neighborhood, is not necessarily bad for your body.  Impact gets a bad name because people avoid it and then get injured when they play. In order to keep up with the demands of the game (especially if you play on hard surfaces) it’s vital for tennis players to do some high impact cross training.  Whether you are 16 or 76, this means jogging, stepping or doing a similar cross training activity at least once a week.

Multidirectional drills: On the court, you’re zigging and zagging from one side to the other. Off it, your body pretty much moves in one plane of motion – forward and back.  So to help you reach more balls (and avoid sprained ankle), practice both lateral and rotational movements through various drills.  These exercises help improve speed and agility and strengthen the muscles around the knees and hips, which are critical for older players.

Base conditioning: While anaerobic intervals help you play longer, developing an aerobic base is important in helping you through the final set of the match.  Steady-paced training (30-45 minutes of jogging or a session on a bike or elliptical machine once or twice a week) builds a strong foundation for the rest of your conditioning.

Putting it all together: While trainers agree that each of these four elements is important no matter what your age, the type and amount of activity you should do varies depending on your age, interest, and skill level.  Younger players and those who primarily play singles should do a more intense series of intervals and high-impact activities (such as running or on-court drills).

Older players and doubles specialists may opt for only a little bit of high impact conditioning, such as walk jog interval, and transfer the rest of their conditioning to lower-impact exercise such as swimming or stationary biking.

I put together a workout routine for two age groups: people in their 20s and 30s, and those in their 40s and above.  Aim to do each workout once a week in addition to your regular time on the court. After a few weeks, you should notice a significant difference in both your endurance and speed.

Training in your 20s and 30s

Interval (15 minutes) – Do this interval twice a week on a treadmill or outside.  Use your “rate of perceived exertion” (RPE), or how difficult the workout feels on a scale of 1-10, to gauge the intensity.

• Warm up for 5 minutes at moderate intensity (RPE 5)
• Sprint for 60 seconds at high intensity; your breathing will become labored and your muscles will start to burn (RPE 8-9).
• Recover for 60 seconds at moderate intensity (RPE 4-5)
• Repeat the sprint-recovery series 5 more times, for a total of 6 sprints.
• Recover at moderate intensity for 5 minutes.

Footwork drills (10 minutes) – Do these drills on a court. Add 2-3 minutes weekly.

• Warm up for 3-5 minutes by jogging in place or running around the court.
• Step-over-drills: Stand all the way to the right on the baseline and quickly step back and forth over the line, moving as fast as you can. When you get to the left side, quickly repeat in the other direction.
• Sprint the length of a full court, then sidestep the width of the court.
• Run the length of the court backwards, then sidestep the width of it, facing the net.
• Repeat this circuit 3 times.

Steady-state exercises – Do any cardio (jogging, swimming, cycling, etc) for 30-45 minutes at moderate intensity. (RPE 5-6)

Training in your 40s, 50s, and beyond.

Intervals (about 15 minutes) – Do this interval twice a week on the treadmill or outside. Use your “rate of perceived exertion” (RPE), or how difficult the workout feels on a scale of 1-10, to gauge the intensity.

• Warm up for 5 minutes at moderate intensity (RPE 4-5)
• Run for 30 seconds at high intensity (RPE 8-9)
• Recover for 60 seconds at moderate intensity (RPE 4-5)
• Repeat the run-recovery series 4 more times, for a total of 5 sprints.
• Recover by walking briskly for 5 minutes.

If you have access to a swimming pool I highly recommend the aquatic tennis drills.

These are some of the tennis based drills recommended in chest-deep water.  Since you’re working against the resistance of water, you’ll get strengthening benefits as well as aerobic conditioning. Try using hand paddles in the water to replicate the feeling of a racquet.

• Warm up for 3-5 minutes by jogging in place or treading water.
• Sport swing-Practice alternating forehand and backhand swings hand paddles for added resistance; repeat for 4 minutes.
• Cross-country skiing: Extend your right arm and left leg forward, then jump and alternate your opposite arm and leg. Continue scissoring motion for 2 minutes.
• Moguls: Stand with your right side facing a lane line. Keeping your feet together, jump over the line, bending knees and pushing water to opposite side with both hands.  Jump back to starting position.  Repeat for 2 minutes.
• Finish by jogging in place or treading water for 3-5 minutes.

 Steady-state exercises

Do any low-impact cardio activity (walk, swim, bike, elliptical machine) for 30-45 minutes at moderate intensity (RPE 5-6)

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