Friday, February 6, 2009

Quick Tennis Workout For The Weekend Warrior

So you want to improve your tennis play.  You've been hearing about the importance of the off-court tennis workout for on-court improvement.  You know what the inside of the gym looks like but you haven't been there in years.  

You pick up the latest book on tennis conditioning and low and behold, it reads like a high school text book on trigonometry.  No joke, the reality is that most books and videos are put together for the highly competitive junior/collegiate athlete/or professional player.  They outline wonderfully effective periodized programs that most certainly will get results...if only you didn't have a full time job and a family of 4 or 5 to be concerned about.

There is an alternative.  The reality is you can still greatly improve your on-court fitness and performance by doing 2 to 3 full body workouts per week that might last you 20-30 minutes tops.  Listen, to my mind this is something anyone who is serious about there game and their health can find time to do.

Here is an example:

A.  Warm-Up...2-3 minutes on the treadmill or bike.

B. Full Body Circuit: Do 2-3 x, rest 60 sec between circuits

1. 8-12 Dumbbell Squat with a Shoulder Press 
(Targets: Legs, Shoulders, Triceps)
2. 8-12 Dumbbell Chest Fly on Stability Ball  
(Targets: Chest, Core, Shoulders)
3. 8-12 One Leg Cable Row with an Anterior Reach 
(Targets: Legs, Back and Biceps)
4. 20-30 Russian Twist with Medicine Ball 
(Targets: Abdominals in Rotational Plane)
5. 20-30 Mountain Climbers 
(Targets: Core)
6. 15-20 Supermans
(Targets: Low Back)

C.. Cool Down Stretch...5-10 minutes
*Target the hamstrings, quads, low back, shoulders



There you have it...one of gazillions of fast but effective full body tennis training sessions in the gym.  I hope you get in there and give it a try.

Until next time, train with passion and play with purpose,
Adam Brewer