Thursday, December 4, 2008

3 Keys To Performing Tennis Exercises Safely and Effectively


In Real Estate, it is said that three most important factors when buying a home are location, location, location. Well, when it comes to doing safe and effective tennis exercises, our mantra will be FORM, FORM, FORM.

Getting back to homes for a second, when you build a home, before you put up the walls of the house, the cement foundation needs to be set...without a solid foundation, your home will crumble. In exercising, our "cement" from which we put up our "walls", will be our legs. In other words, even if we are doing an exercise that is targeting the upper body, such as a dumbbell shoulder press, in no way shape or form should you begin to do the exercise without first addressing your set up from the ground up.

Step One: (for standing exercises)
Set up your feet. The most stable stance is on two feet with them parallel and squarely set under the hips. Another version is what is referred to as the staggered stance- one foot slightly in front of the other. This position tends to help if one has low back issues. The last base set up is on one foot- definitely an advanced option.

Step Two:
Put a slight bend in the knees. Helps with balance, saves the joints and protects the low back

Step Three:
Engage your core. Draw your navel toward your spine without flexing forward and continue to breath. To help you with this concept, the sensation in your mid section should be much like when you cough.

Once you've addressed these three primary foundational techniques for standing exercises, you are now prepared to "put up you walls"- move your arms through the shoulder press exercise. Use this three step process and you will be setting yourself up to safely and effectively perform your tennis exercises.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Make Your Tennis Workout Count With These 3 Steps


I'm going to get right to the point...I am a stickler for detail and efficiency in action in just about everything I do.  Truth be known, that is why I get great results for myself and my clients when it comes to tennis conditioning.  When it comes to training, you don't have to spend all day and into the night getting fit for tennis.  To my mind, way too much time is waisted by most individuals when it comes to their workouts.  

This "time-waisted" may come in the form of not planning ahead, not knowing your purpose, not staying on task or worse yet, a combination of all three.

Plan Ahead
Before you hit the gym, make sure you know what areas of the body you are going to be focused on and what exercises you are going to be using that day.  Write it down if you have to.

Know Your Purpose
If you have no purpose, keep it simple...make your purpose to train movement patterns, not muscles.  Focus most of your time on full body movements that work more than one muscle group and joint at the same time.

Stay On Task
Do all you can to not dilly dally...get in, get out.  Since time is of the essence for most of us, make the most of yours in your workouts.  You are there to get the job done in the most efficient way possible, just like when you step on the court.  Hopefully you aren't spending too much time talking about the game you watched last night...

So there you have it. Don't be a "time-waister" in your workouts..apply these 3 simple ideas to your workout sessions and watch your on-court tennis performance move to new levels.