12 Minute Interval Blast

I've got an awesome brief, but incredibly sweet and challenging interval session for you. An interval is pairing a period of hight intensity work with a period of recovery. In this tennis fitness interval workout you will be doing 8 intervals.


Again, the idea here is to turn up the intensity, go full bore, kind of like you are grinding it out during an incredibly long point on clay courts, and then to recover...let you heart rate come back down before you play another point so to speak. We are using a 1 to 2 work/rest ratio to mimic the typical work/rest ratio scene in matches.

This session can be done running (outside or treadmill), on a stationary bike, jumping rope, or on any modality you choose. The trick is that you will be alternating between one minute of brisk walking (referred to as 50%) and 30 second periods of sprinting ( referred to as 100% or highest intensity you can give without hurting yourself). Remember the period where you are really stepping on the gas only lasts you 30 seconds...you can do it!

You'll see in the prescription that the first 2 periods used for the sprint are less than 100% so as to let you wake up the muscles of the hip flexor an quadriceps before you go for it.

If you choose equipment such as a treadmill, or bike, the key is to get you legs going as fast as possible (frequency or high number of footstrikes/revolutions) rather than applying more resistance through raising the incline...go flat out fast!

Here's what it looks like:

2 min = 50% Warm-Up

30 sec = 80%
1 min = 50%

30 sec = 90%
1 min = 50%

30 sec = 100%
1 min = 50%

30 sec = 100%
1 min = 50%

30 sec = 100%
1 min = 50%

30 sec = 100%
1 min = 50%

30 sec = 100%
1 min = 50%

30 sec = 100%
1 min = 50%

Finito!

Let me know how it goes...Adam Brewer

2 Things You Need To Do To Improve Your Tennis Speed

So here we are in 2009 with the entire year ahead of us to commit to a new and improved version of your tennis-self. The start of the year presents an opportunity to re-invent your plan of attack relating to your tennis fitness program.

As you have heard me say over and over again, the simplest way to improve how you do on-court is to improve what you do off-court. If it is your tennis speed you are looking to improve, then you've got to get out and get yourself to things: a jump rope and and speed ladder. Now, I know times are tight for almost everyone right now but purchasing these two items is only going to set you back about $50 or $60 bucks combined. If you're smart you'll get unbelievable value for this purchase because you'll be using them at least 2x/week...


By the way, when it comes to Speed, Agility and Quickness training (and I am lumping jumping rope and ladder work into this category), studies show that working on these areas twice a week is ideal. Additional days a week showed no marked improvement in any of the areas. Having said this, it is the quality applied to the limited quantity that reaps rewards.

If you haven't used either of these pieces of fitness equimpment, here are some basics:

* do this work before you play or do other forms of training
* start with basic moves and progress
* work for short periods of time (6-30 seconds) at high intensity and add short rest between bouts

Here is a sample routine:

Ladder
1. One foot in each rung forward (2x)
2. Two feet in each rung forward (2x)
3. Two feet in each rung sideways-right (2x)
4. Two feet in each rung sideways- left (2x)
5. Grapevine sideways down ladder- (2x)
6. Crossover step in each rung (2x)
* Jog back to beginning to do second round

Jump Rope
1. Jump with 2 feet together (50 revolutions)
2. Jump on left foot twice, right foot twice and repeat (50 Total Revolutions)
3. Jump on left foot (25 revs)
4. Jump on right foot (25 revs)
5. Boxer jump (right then left repeat (50 revolutions0
6. Split jump (right in front, switch, left in front, repeat (50 revs)

Do this simple routine 2 times a week for at least one month and you will be shocked at the improvement in your court speed. This is just the beginning...keep using these two tools over the first 3 months of the year and soon your nickname is going to be Speedy Gonzales!

Now get out there and get moving with your tennis training.

Adam Brewer

Are You Making This Big Mistake?

What a day it has been...I've been getting myself ready to visit my family for the Holidays.  I try to give myself 2 weeks at the end of the year to rest, recover and recharge for the year to come.  Part of this is taking a break from most digital interface.  Personally, I think we can all stand to do this from time to time- get away from all the crazy technology that is at our fingertips.  I don't know about you, but for me it seems way to easy to sit down in front of the computer to work and before you know it, 2-3 hours are gone.  

Anyway, enough about my little break I will be taking and on to the good stuff...more tennis exercise tips for you.

There may be one HUGE mistake you might be making that could be possibly setting you up for serious injury...not spending at least 5 minutes doing dynamic warm-up before you hit even one tennis ball. I can't tell you how many adult players in particular I see go from their cars to to hitting balls on the courts without any real warm-up.  Alright, alright...I know you might be one of the those "special " people who have been lucky to have gotten away with it so far, but let me tell you, sooner or later it will catch up with you. 

By the way, starting short court or hitting gently at first DOES NOT count as a warm-up.  Yes this should be done, but after you have taken the muscles and joints through a series of simple dynamic exercises.   It doesn't have to be anything crazy either.

Many times, I think people don't go through a proper warm-up because they are afraid of being the only one and looking stupid.  Look...hopefully gone are those high school days when we felt like we needed to be in the "in" crowd.  Take your health into consideration please and don't worry what anyone else is going to think.  

Say you are going to be joining a clinic and you can't get on the court early because there is another group there until you start.  You don't need the court to do a dynamic warm-up.  Here is a simple routine:

1. 20 Jumping Jacks

2. 20 High Knee Marches

3. 20 Butt Kicks

4. 10 Body Weight Squats

5. 10 Lunges

6. 10 Arm Circles Backward

7. 10 Arm Circles Forward

8. 20 Side to Side Loose Arm Swings

Doing something as simple as this is better than nothing.  This will at least give your body a chance to safely begin to engage the muscles with the intensity that the sport requires and FYI...you won't look silly doing it!  

Be Well,

Adam Brewer

6 Tips To Break Tennis Fitness Plateaus

As one works to improve their overall tennis fitness level, typically you will run into what are referred to as plateaus in your progress. That is, there will be weeks, even months for some, where no improvement seems to be taking place, whether it be in weight loss, fat loss or strength gains or even on-court improvement. These plateaus are normal experience but most certainly there are ways to reduce the length of time they last.

The key to busting through plateaus can be summed up in one word...VARIETY. If you participate in some of my Santa Monica fitness workouts, then you already know a lot about this, as I do all I can to have no 2 workouts the same...however if you can't join us, it is essential for you to put this into your plan of action.

When it comes to tennis strength training, one of your goals is to keep your muscles guessing…often referred to by some in the fitness industry as muscle confusion. If you constantly do the same thing over and over, your muscles will adapt and at some point without some form of new stimulus introduced, your progress will level off in terms of new muscles fibers being fired.

What follows are 6 simple ways to add variety to your home fitness routines or gym workouts:

*Make sure to choose the appropriate weight for the given repetition ranges...that is, where you feel the muscle beginning to burn a bit during the last rep. Choosing weight that are too light is a common error for many that will also lead to plateaus. It is that burn that is going to help you build lean muscle to help you burn fat.

1. Use circuits: typically you will put a series of 4-8 exercises together where there will be no rest between. The rest comes at the end. Traditionally you will order them so that you target major muscles first and minor muscles further down the line. Usually done if you are just starting out or just need to get in and get out. Use 8-12 reps of each exercise

example: Total Body
1. Squat
2. Shoulder Press
3. Bent Over Row
4. Chest Press
5. Mountain Climbers
6. Biceps
7. Triceps

2. Use supersets: this is where you will two exercises back to back before you rest. The most effective supersets typically use non-competing muscles as a pairing...i.e. Chest/Back or Legs/Shoulders instead of Shoulders/Chest or Back/Biceps. Use the repetition range of 8-12 reps, choosing a weight that allows you to work to fatigue.

example:Legs and Chest
1a. Forward Lunge
1b. Spiderman Push-up

3. Use compound sets: Take one muscle group and do 2 exercises back to back for the area...you are "compounding" the effort put out by that muscle as well as the effect. Usually two major moves. Do 8-12 reps of each.

example: Legs
1a. Goblet Squat
1b. Dumbbell Step Ups

4. Use giant sets: Take one muscles group and do three exercises back to back to back. Typically a major move is done first, maybe second and then a more targeted exercise is used to finish it off. Use 8-12 reps of each exercise for best results.

example: Shoulders
1a. Military Press
1b. Lateral Raise
1c. Front Raise

5. Use complexes: here you will take a particular area of the body, and do 2 exercises for it...the first being a traditional resistance exercise to be followed by a plyometric or power oriented move for the same area. These can be challenging, so do them early in your workout. Use 6-12 reps of exercise 1, and 4-6 reps of exercise 2.

example: Chest
1. Dumbbell Chest Press
2. Clapping Push-Ups

6. Use timed sets: typically done with lighter weights...you would work for 60 seconds as an example and get as many reps in as possible. The goal is to burn out the muscle and rev up your heart rate,Rest 30-60 seconds and repeat.

example: Back
1. 60 seconds of Bent Over Row

These ideas should get you started...good luck and let me know how it goes.

Adam Brewer

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.

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.

Tennis Exercises..Use Specificity to Improve Performance

I wanted to wish you an early Happy Thanksgiving, as there is a good chance I won't get around to blogging tomorrow. Like a lot of you, I will be involved in holiday events, beginning with my Family Affair Boot Camp workout at the beach starting bright and early at 7 am. It should be a blast, as about 30-40 people, young and old, will gather to start their holiday off with some fitness...sounds pretty cool to me. Hoping the weather holds out though as today was a rainy day here in LA and tomorrow is supposed to be more of the same. We'll just have to wait and see.

Now on to the topic for today...Do I always have to apply periodization training to my tennis fitness exercises? To cut to the chase, the answer is NO. As long as you are thoughtfully applying Specificity to your training, you are good to go. So let's look at what specificity means. To sum it up in one sentence, I might say...

Train The Way You Play-

When one is deciding what types of exercises to use, it is necessary to look at one’s operational environment. In what ways will you be functioning- will you be moving just you arm or will you be bending down, turning and walking, throwing something etc? At the same time, what experience are you bringing to the workout with regard to how much strength training you are presently doing? This is referred to as a needs assessment.

More often than not, it is ideal to gear your training to fit your purpose. For our purposes, we are going to apply our training to an environment (the sport of tennis) where you’re body is constantly be called upon to operate in a synergistic way in which it allows you to change levels, move in multiple planes of activity, at extreme ranges of motion and varying speeds, all the while attempting to maintain balance so you can strike the ball in an optimal fashion. Now that’s a mouth full!

In other words, make your workouts multi-joint, multi-planar, uni-lateral, unstable and primarily standing. However, make sure to be progressive in your approach. Begin with the basics and then move on to advanced conditioning...start slow and controlled and then move to fast and chaotic.

Examples of this will follow soon.

Be well and until next time, train on purpose and play with passion!
Adam