Strength training is very important to tennis players. To be effect on the court and reduce your risk for injury, you need to be strong. But this doesn't mean developing huge muscles. Instead, tennis is a sport that places a premium on having the strength to produce the racket speed necessary to create powerful strokes, while at the same time being supple enough to have effective movement around the court. While there is definitely a place in your tennis workout for the use of free weights and machines, resistance bands offer the opportunity for you to perform a great variety of functional exercises, specific to tennis conditioning, and at a fraction of the cost of other exercise equipment.
First Step
The important first step in any training program is to make sure resistance training is appropriate for you. This means checking with your health care provider to make sure any underlying conditions or injuries you may have are not going to be made worse with this type of training.
Resistance Bands
Resistance bands are flat, elastic bands that come in a variety of resistance levels. The different levels are denoted by the different colors. The color and level of difficulty varies between the different manufacturers. Resistance bands are a form of "elastic resistance"--like resistance tubes, and perhaps the greatest advantage of these pieces of equipment over others is their transportability. They can be folded or rolled up and taken with you anywhere, including the tennis court. This transportability allows you to workout on the tennis court or practically anywhere--a major advantage when you don't want to, or can't, make it to the gym. Basically any exercise you can do with resistance bands, you can also perform with resistance tubes. While resistance bands do not generally come with handles like you would find with resistance tubes, you can purchase handles as accessories.
Upper Body Exercises
Tennis is a sport that places a lot of stress on your upper body--shoulders and core. Resistance bands are a perfect tool to address these areas. By standing on the center of the band with both feet you can perform such exercises as front shoulder raises, bicep curls and upright rows. When performing these exercises you can make the exercise more difficult in one of two ways--first by widening the distance between your feet as you stand on the band, and second by changing to a more difficult level band. By looping the band around a immovable object like a post you can perform additional upper body exercises such as the standing row, external rotation, oblique rotation, triceps extension, resisted crunches and standing chest press. When using the band in this way always double-check to make sure that you use an object that will not move or give way.
Lower-Body Exercises
A tennis player's legs are key to great movement around the court. Keeping your legs strong is a great way to improve your tennis movement and stay injury-free. Lunges with resistance and squats are excellent ways to work on your leg strength and balance.
Safety First
The key to using resistance bands or any form of elastic resistance is to always check for any tearing, fraying or other signs of wear and tear every time before you use them. Friction or simple wear from use can lead to a band tearing in two. If you should happen to be using them at the time of this tearing, an injury can occur to yourself or others in the vicinity. So always remember "safety first" by getting into the habit of checking your equipment before each use.
References
- "United States Tennis Association: Strength Training for Tennis"
- "Complete Conditioning for Tennis"; E. Paul Roetert, Ph.D.; Todd S. Ellenbecker; 2007
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