How to Follow a Tennis Conditioning Program

Tennis players must possess a variety of skills: accuracy, power, strength, endurance and agility. Players who follow a sports conditioning program, specifically designed for the rigors of this racquet sport, have the potential to increase strength, improve movement and prevent injury. Many of the steps of a tennis conditioning program can be done right on the court.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Towel
• Rubber tubing
• Partner
• Water or sports drink
• Tennis racquet
• Medicine ball

How to Follow a Sports Conditioning Program for Tennis

1. Begin your training session with warm-up exercises to loosen your muscles before you approach tennis-specific conditioning. Start with arm circles, side steps and lunges. The United States Tennis Association provides information about warm-up exercises you may want to try (see Resources below).
2. Follow your warm up with drills to improve your running and overall movement. These cardio drills can include high-knee marching, skipping and butt kicking.
3. Pick up your tennis racquet for footwork and agility exercises. Holding your racquet, sidestep back and forth across the court. Run forward toward the net and backward quickly, making sure to keep your weight off your heels.
4. Round out your practice session with strength training. Follow a workout that uses rubber tubing for resistance. Stand on the tubing or attach it to a fence to create enough resistance to work your back muscles, forearms and wrists.
5. Grab a partner and play medicine ball tennis. This game addresses all the areas in which a tennis player must excel--movement, agility and strength, especially in the legs. Throw a 10 to 15 pound medicine ball across the net and score as if you were playing with a racquet and tennis ball, letting the ball bounce once before catching it and throwing it back.
6. Rest for 1 to 2 minutes betweens sets of exercises and make sure to stay hydrated with water or a sports drink. Keep a towel handy for absorbing sweat during rest periods.

Tips & Warnings

• Try not to swing your arms when doing drills, as the resistance will slow you down.
• Rotate the muscle groups you train each day, so you do not risk hurting yourself. Train one muscle area and wait two to three days before conditioning with the same exercises again. One exception to this rule is the abdominal muscles; they are quick to recover from a workout.

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