A "ripped" or well-defined musculature is very possible to achieve through regular practice at the tennis. If you pursue the game with dedication, simply practicing and playing the game regularly can dramatically change your physique. The well-rounded nature of the sport, which involves a range of movements, works on multiple muscle groups. As a result, athletes can hope to develop a "ripped" body image as various body parts become toned in reasonable proportion.
Core
After hitting tennis balls for an afternoon, you can feel that your abdominal muscles have had a workout, in addition to your arms and shoulders. Each time you hit the ball, you rely on strength from your core, or trunk. A game of tennis works the abs, the lower back muscles and the hip musculature. To improve your game, include core strength and core stabilization exercises in your training sessions. To build core strength, adopt exercises that work the various abdominal muscles in tandem with the lower back muscles. For improved stabilization, select exercises that require control of the trunk in relation to the lower limbs.
Upper Body
Perhaps the most obvious muscles used in tennis are the arms and shoulders. Just hitting tennis balls will help to define and strengthen your biceps, triceps, forearms and shoulders, resulting in more sculpted arms. In addition, tennis requires use of the pectoralis major and latissimus dorsi muscles in the upper trunk. To enhance your performance on the court and the toning of these muscles, do strength training on the days you aren't playing competitively.
Lower Body
Tennis also improves lower body strength, toning the legs and buttocks. Muscles used include quadriceps, hamstrings and calves. Because tennis demands that you quickly move from a standing position to a sudden sprint, you must use your legs to produce bursts of power. This strengthens the fast-twitch muscle fibers, which are used in anaerobic exercise, vital to producing that "ripped" look. To improve lower body strength, include leg extensions, leg curls, deep knee bends or other exercises that focus on the quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings and calves. Tennis drills, such as hitting balls, also work the lower body intensively, provided that you use a coordinated movement that integrates all the muscle groups.
Flexibility and Physique
One advantage of tennis toward building a sculpted physique is the flexibility demanded by the game. Within a game, players must stretch muscles throughout the body. As a result, the body does not develop into the "muscle-bound" appearance associated with body building and intensive weightlifting. To improve flexibility and create the lean, well-defined look, stretch all muscle groups before you play. Hold each stretch for 15 to 20 seconds, over three repetitions, to warm the muscles and avoid injury.
References
- Tennis Welcome Center: Tennis - A Total Body Workout!
- Hospital for Special Surgery; Tips for Tennis Players: Optimizing Performance and Staying Healthy; Lee Rosenzweig
- Wellness.MA; Strength Training For Tennis; Wayne L. Westcott, Ph.D.
- Med Sci Tennis; The 4000 Watt Tennis Player; W. Ben Kibler; 2009
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