I've designed four separate routines that work different parts of the body. Each workout will help to increase strength, size and stamina and will in turn improve your tennis ability and help you put on mass. For each workout I have included a brief description of how training that part of the body improves your performance on the tennis court.

Exercises
A tennis player needs to become stronger, faster, more agile and must improve endurance. When I was designing this program I studied the movements that occurred on the tennis court and selected conditioning exercises that simulated those activities. I also selected exercises that would prevent injuries by correcting muscle imbalances, particularly in the shoulder area. For this part I got a bit of help from the fitness trainer at my club and my tennis coach. I found it difficult to find pacific exercises for this purpose. This program involves an amazing number of muscle groups, each of which makes a specific contribution to performance of the required skills. When I found out all the exercises which would be beneficial I knew I could not do the whole program in one workout. I overtrain my partner, so I would have to do them on separate days. I decided on a 4-day split so my workouts would take around 45 minutes to 1 hour to complete.

In tennis, the first thing you have to do is get to the ball. Most of the exercises in the first workout develop the quick foot speed you need to get to every ball. By reducing foot contact time, you'll cover the court more quickly and efficiently.

Workout 1 - Foot Speed
 Depth jump with lateral movement
 Push-up with clap
 Hexagon drill
 Single leg push-off
 Side-to-side box shuffle
 Jump and reach
 Split squat jump
 Jump over barrier (side)
 30-60-90 box drill
 Jump to box
 Lateral cone hops

Workout 2 - Lower Body (Legs)
Tennis power starts at ground level and works its way up through your body. By the time you make contact with the ball, you've generated a lot of force along this chain. For this reason you need to develop strength in your lower extremities (your legs) so your push-off will be strong. From your serve to your low volleys to even the first step after a wide ball, your game relies on power in your legs. It has been found that Tim Henman has his personal trainer help him with his leg development for overall power. This shows how important the leg development is. The following exercises will strengthen these-

 Back squat
 Calf raise (seated)
 Bench step-up
 Leg curl (facedown)
 Calf raise (machine)
 Leg press

 Cross-over lunge
 Side lunge
 Front lunge
 Walking lunge
 45-Degree lunge

Workout 3 - Trunk and Abs
You need a quick start on court, and these exercises will help develop one. They work to support the low back, helping in injury prevention. They also play an important role in maintaining range of motion and strength for serves and overheads. When I serve, I bend my back far back, which causes me to work on my trunk development. The program I used and found effective included-

 Back extension
 Hip rotation
 Bicycle
 Knee pull-in
 Glute-ham raise
 Russian twist
 Hip press-up
 Side sit-up
 Hip roll
 Sit-up with legs raised

Abdominal Muscles
Everything you do in tennis revolves around your abdominal muscles. Strengthening your abdominals, trunk and upper extremities will improve your range of motion. These exercises include-

 Drop pass
 Pullover toss
 Kneeling side throw

Workout 4 - Upper Extremities
You can't play tennis if you can't hold on to your racket. As your opponents increase the power of their shots, you need to strengthen your grip to fight back. Wrist exercises will not only build strength, they'll also condition the muscles of the forearm to absorb the impact from ball contact. This will decrease your chances of injury from overuse, such as tennis elbow. During a long match (as with other body parts) your wrists can hurt the most. This is due to the constant hitting of the ball and the impact that causes your wrists to take a lot of strain. This is why exercising your wrists is important. The exercises include-

 Wrist flexion/extension
 Wrist ulnar/radial flexion
 Wrist pronation/supination

All the twisting and turning you do in the course of a day on court puts your body through a rigorous workout. Shoulder exercises will help with your ground strokes and overheads while also preventing injuries. These exercises include-

 Pec dec
 Seated row
 Prone flye
 Push press
 Dumbbell row
 Pullover and press
 Bench press
 Pullover
 Incline press (barbell)
 Front and back pulldown

There are four separate workouts in this program. Each workout should last about 45 minutes-to-1 hour and each workout should be done once a week. I have mentioned the different exercises you can do for each workout but did not specify which ones enable you to change various exercises.

I recommend changing certain exercises every 6-to-8 weeks to prevent your body from getting used to the set exercises. You should go with a 12-15 rep scheme. This will also help with your stamina when you are playing long matches.

I recommend doing 3-to-4 exercises and 3 sets per exercise. Remember like with all training concentrate on form rather than letting your ego get the best of you.

John Lemare

johnlemare@hotmail.com