Tennis fitness training involves short bursts of intense exercise followed by a short recovery time to simulate a match. Shuttle runs and ball races are effective exercises for explosive power and tennis aptitude. General tennis fitness and endurance exercises are also useful. Practicing actual strokes is the most effective way to increase muscular strength and stamina.
Tennis is a game of many short, sharp sprints around a relatively small court. It also requires high stamina from the arm muscles to be able to play the ball with precision and power over a long period of time. Tennis fitness training focuses on simulating a match using short bursts of intense exercise followed by a short recovery time. It is also essential to increase muscular endurance, as well as the general resistance of the body, especially for long matches.
Shuttle runs are one of the most effective ways to increase tennis fitness and will help improve your body’s ability to run short distances quickly. Start by placing four or five cones at an increasing distance from the starting point with about 6 feet (2 meters) between each one. From the starting position, you should run to the first cone before starting again. Then run to the second cone before running again and repeat until you reach the last cone. A variation on this is to run backwards by returning to the starting point.
Other exercises for explosive power and tennis aptitude include ghosts, where you play an imaginary rally against unseen opposition on a real court, and ball races. To perform ball runs, you have to stand with your back to a partner who then throws a ball in a random direction. As soon as the ball has been thrown, you have to turn and run towards it as fast as possible.
Although speed and agility are important in tennis, it is difficult to win without a high level of cardiovascular fitness and general endurance. Often the player with the best overall fitness will win a match between players of even skill. For this reason, general tennis fitness and endurance exercises, such as jogging or long-distance swimming, are also useful for tennis players.
A tennis match can last up to three hours and consists of a large number of different shots and rallies. For this reason, the resistance of the arm muscles is important. Although there are a number of different exercises that can be performed to increase muscular strength and stamina, practicing actual strokes is generally believed to be the most effective when it comes to tennis fitness. Although it is not always possible to practice with a real partner, a tennis machine can be used to provide a repetitive and realistic workout. As with most sport-specific training, playing is the best way to improve fitness.
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