Off court training

[Coolhand Texas]

Well I have a video of me playing a bit from a month ago. problem is it is on my phone and its not the best. it was a last minute thing and i sorta picked the wrong side to put the camera on

But I can upload if someone can help me. I will warn you its not the best video. I will try to get a better one, maybe with someone actually holding the camera this time. haha

[djarvik]

No need to warn man - just upload. We all have phones and know how it can be.

I am sure you have great coaches in your college, likely out of my league coaches - but I would still like to take a crack at it and see if I can fine tune something. Nothing makes me happier then helping someone play a tiny bit better. True story

[Coolhand Texas]

Alright here are the clips I put together that actually have me in them. haha

Im the guy in the gray shirt who looks like he needs a break.

http://youtu.be/XsaoEpsxUHI

[Rob ITST]

You've got some nice looking strokes Coolhand - I especially like your serve.

[Moralspain]

yep Luke, good stuff.... i like your split step btw

[djarvik]

Nice. You are very athletic and your lower body and core is fantastic. You really using the legs a lot in all your strokes and serves. Hell, some pros don't do that enough, so that is great man.

Your serve motion is nice, a good knee bend and you have the contact point almost down. Maybe try to pronate a little more at contact and have your arm moving slightly right at contact.

Good looking forehand. Mostly flat, with exception of one time when you got jammed. The control you looking for is in the spin. I would say tinker a bit with your motion, but then again, I think the backhand needs more work so...

You also got a good footwork, the kind you get via drilling in clinics and with a coach.

[Coolhand Texas]

djarvik you are on point with the backhand. it is the wing that needs some work. surprisingly it works better when its under attack then when i get balls with no pace to it. I guess I'm not thinking about it as much.

Thanks for the comments guys

[TomBs]

I've never really done any off-court training, but since I won't be able to play on court for the next 3 months I'm looking into some off-court training. Got a knee injury though (not sure what, going to physio tomorrow). I hardly ever feel it though, so it won't prevent me from doing any exercising at all.

I lack strength. On my current level I can quite easily compete, but to get further I mainly need to get stronger, since players will just blast me off the court.

Looking into going to the gym next door for some workouts with the machines (not too confident on going with the loose weights, given the lack of experience with it). Good for general strength, but I don't really know what to do for tennis in particular. Djarviks balance board and ab-wheel look really good, but other than that I really could use some advice on what to do.

[Coolhand Texas]

for tennis workouts I would watch on how much weight you lift with your shoulders. thats the one area you do not want to get too big.

If you are just starting off I would recommend some basic lifting for strength. Psushups are old fashioned, but they are great to get you started.

Another great exercise for tennis is jumping rope. it helps with the cardio and shoulders. I use a jump rope that has weights in the handles and that really gets a good burn in the shoulders.

Since you are starting in the gym you should definitely start with the machines, using free weights improperly can easily result in injury.

If you are looking to strengthen your core, there a number of core exercises you can do. I would tell you some, but they are really hard to explain over text, but you can easily search for some good ones.

[djarvik]

For strength, I would suggest pushups. Probably the best exercise anyone can do, ever. Don't push off the hands though, get yourself a something like that:
http://www.amazon.com/GoFit-GF-PUB-Push ... B0007W2FLS

...this will prevent any wrist injuries that you may incur while doing advanced pushups and will give you a bit deeper stretch. Not sure how many standard pushups you can do, but if you can comfortable cross 10 x 3 then you need to challenge yourself a bit. It is important to keep form while doing any exercise and concentrate on contracting the muscle you are working to complete the exercise. Best way to do so while challenging yourself is to slow down the rep, to the point where it becomes hard enough to execute. You can use a chair and raise your legs for a more advanced version that will target slightly upper chest muscles. Moving your arms closer together will transfer the load more to your triceps and moving it further apart will transfer it more to your chest.

You should keep your reps sub 10, around 7-8 preferably while the last one being a "failed" attempt, meaning you struggle and may not complete it or lose your form.

Your begging routine should look like this:

- Jump ropes about 15 minutes
- Pushups 3 x max no more then 10
- Pushups with raised legs 3 x max no more then 10
- Chin ups 4 x max no more then 10
- Lunges with appropriate weight 4 x 8-10
- Ab wheel 4 x max (start from your knees for a few month before moving up to full stand)

Should take about 1.5 hours at most. 1 day of rest is a MUST after each workout.

Everything should be done slowly and deliberately while keeping your form for each exercise. This type of routine will target most muscles you need for tennis. I suggest to stay away from Machines or Free weights in the gym for a good few month. Machines restrict your workout too much to a muscle ground, they are great isolators but not so great for a sport like tennis. Free weights are better, but requires you first to "learn" to keep your form while performing any exercise.

To get stronger for tennis, mostly means to get your core stronger and more balanced. Think about picking up a Yoga routine, this is improve your balance greatly, allowing you to engage more of your muscles into your shots. Stay away from heavy weight lifting, not because you will get slower, but because of an injury risk and lower range of motion on these. Sure, they will make you look better, but there are other exercises that can help you play better tennis. Keep it simple and short. Try to slowly cut rest time as you get more advanced with the routine, this will give you better results with less time spent. Avoid "adding" more exercises. Once you are able to complete the routine with almost zero rest between each set - time to split the muscle groups into different days. If you get there I will be glad to help.

[Ali-Iqb93]

Give some tips to increase the height.

[Coolhand Texas]

to add to djarviks routine, which i think is a great starter. For the lunges to inact more of a core workout, hold a weight in only one hand. this will make the core work hard to keep balance while working your legs.

[Rob ITST]

Adding more to Djarvik....

When you start using free-weights, use light weights at first to get your form down. Even with bad form, you really can't injure yourself with low weights. Find some good videos and use a mirror to check yourself.

A couple rules-of-thumb: For any shoulder exercise, don't let your elbow go above your shoulder (your arms should not go past parallel). For any lunge/squat, don't let your knee go past your toe.

[TomBs]

Wow!
Thanks for the advice guys!

[L Sanchez MD]

"A couple rules-of-thumb: For any shoulder exercise, don't let your elbow go above your shoulder (your arms should not go past parallel). For any lunge/squat, don't let your knee go past your toe."

This might be obvious, but could you explain why?
I always do things better knowing the 'whys'.