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A more powerful serve, a mightier backhand, a stronger return, better grip strength and superior jumping ability… Sound good? Weight training can help you move to the next level and a professionally designed strength, flexibility and cardio program can go a long way in helping you have a stronger game but also prevent an unnecessary injury.
It is best to have a Certified Corrective Exercise Specialist or Medical Exercise Specialist give you an individualized workout prescription depending on your level of conditioning and particular needs.
Tennis is a physiologically demanding sport that requires power, speed, balance, agility, coordination, flexibility, and cardiovascular endurance. Thus, increasing tennis-specific fitness components beyond typical tennis practice gains is the goal of the weight-training program. Both upper and lower body power are essential components of tennis.
Tennis uses the shoulders, chest, back, and arms. Tennis also requires plenty of leg power for the explosive, stop-and-go action of the game as well as trunk strength for quick twists and turns. Unfortunately all this movement can result in injury.
A consideration for tennis players is the prevention of injury.
Commonly injured joints are:
o the knee (from the unnatural side-to-side movements), so performing leg exercises for all four planes of motion working the quadriceps, hamstrings and abductor and adductor muscles will help to stabilize the knee joint.
o the lower back (from the twist and turns and the force of hitting the ball), so be sure to incorporate low back and torso strengthening and stabilizing exercises and an exercise that rotates the torso.
o the rotator cuff and shoulder. Rotator cuff exercises are needed to improve both the strength and endurance of these important muscles.
o The elbow. Tennis elbow is another common injury because the elbow joint absorbs so much impact as the ball makes contact with the racquet. To prevent tennis elbow, stretch and strengthen your arm muscles so that they are flexible and strong enough for your activities.
