FITNESS TRAINING.
Today’s Athletes and
tennis players are extremely fit and therefore it is necessary to be at peak fitness in order to compete successfully.
Obviously, the fitter you
are ( and this incorporates all areas of fitness Strength – endurance – speed etc.) then the better you will be
able to compete.
The level at which you play
will determine how fit you need to be, someone at the top of their profession, competing against the world’s best, will
need to be fit enough to play a full five set match at the highest level. If you are playing club or league matches, these
will normally be 3 set matches but with the proability of two rubbers during the match i.e. 6 sets, then equally the fitter
you are, the better you will perform and also you will enjoy that much more.
Whatever level you are playing,
I maintain that you will still need to go through the same sequence of training schedules, the only difference is the intensity
you will be required to sustain and the hours needed to meet the required level.
It is most important to understand
that purely playing tennis will not get you into top condition – even if you are just playing tennis at a social level,
I would still advocate some form of training and this will help you to avoid any unnecessary stress or the possibility of
injury.
Before starting your fitness
training it is essential to do a good warm-up, for social tennis players who are doing some form of fitness work out, the
pre game warm-up on court, is often sufficient, but keep in mind how strenuous the game is likely to be.
At the end of the work out
or game, flexibility stretches should be carried out, this again will guard against strains and injuries.
You must therefore look at
a tailor made programme to meet the demands of your standard of excellence. This can make the difference between winning and
losing.
As you progress into the
serious tennis playing fitness is the second most important factor after mental skills.
After approximately 16 years old and onwards, specific physical conditioning can be introduced.
Physical Fitness is made
up of the following:
Endurance – Being able
to endure physical activity over a long period
Strength - Maximum force which muscles can generate against a resistance.
Speed - Reaction speed,
power/explosive speed – able to maintain speed for
more than 10 – 15 seconds.
Flexibility - Range of movements.
Co-ordination – Co-ordinating
the muscular action with adequate speed & intensity
Balance - Ability to maintain dynamic balance and static balance.
Power - Maximun force generated by a group of muscles within shortest
period
Strength X speed
Agility - Ability to start and stop and to change direction quickly and
effectively.
Tennis players need to develop
each one of the fitness components, although some are more important than others. It appears that the most important of these
components are:
Co-ordination, agility, speed
and power and these are where players should concentrate the training effort, followed by endurance, flexibility, strength,
response time and dynamic balance.
The training programme should
involve all methods available:
On court work outs both playing
tennis and doing various exercises.
Fast and slow running –
on and off court.
Interval training.
Sprint speed training
Plyometrics
Weight Training
Abdominal strengthening
Medicine ball training
Co-ordination
Balance
Circuit Training
Agility training
We will deal with each of
these areas individually.
It is most important to record
your fitness training and the results of the training programme. You should monitor your training and have tests about every
3 months,
in order to modify or adapt
the programme.
Under ‘Periodisation’
will be found the suggested 12 week training cycle, this needs to be adapted according to the match schedule.
The following are some test
situations:
SPEED.
20-Yard Dash: Record in seconds how long it takes from a standing start.
Mark off 20 yards on the
tennis court, coach stands at the end of the course and signals the start, stop watch starts at same time.
Do three trials and the best
time is recorded
Average times: Males 3.16 secs… Females
3.58 secs.
AGILITY
Spider run.
Place a ball at each of the
points shown,
The player starts from the
middle of the baseline
and retrieves one ball at
a time and places it
behind the baseline in the
middle, each ball is
retrieved in the order shown.
The player has
3 attempts and best time
is recorded.
Averages: Males@ 17.4 secs
Femakes: 18.0 secs
UPPER BODY AND ABDOMINAL
STRENGTH.
Push-ups.
The test is the number of
push-ups the player can do in 60 seconds or to failure.
To be recorded the upper
arm must reach a position parallel to the floor or below, the arms must then be completely extended and straight body alignment
must be maintained.
The best score. Average Males:
34 – 38 Females:
26 – 29
Sit-ups.
Player lies on his back on
the mat, with fingers interlocked behind the head. Both feet are placed flat on the floor with knees flexed with an angle
of 90 degrees. For the test only and assistant holds the feet down. A full sit-up is recorded when the player has touched
the elbows to the knees and returned to the start position. Time is recoded as 60 seconds.
The best score: Average Males 45 Females: 42
Aerobic Endurance.
The one and a half mile run.
This is an accurate predictor of aerobic endurance.
This is scored in minutes
and seconds. On command go, players run on a level 440 yard track (6 laps). This test should be performed on a separate day
from other tests.
The best elapsed time: Average Males 10 minutes 13 secs Females: 11 minutes. 22 seconds.
FLEXIBILITY
Sit & reach. Measures
amount of trunk flexion and ability to stretch back muscles and hamstrings.
Player sits on the floor
with feet flat against a box projecting from the wall. The arms and hands are stretched forward as far as possible and held
for at least 3 seconds. the knees must be fully extended. A ruler measures the distance in front of or beyond the edge of
the box. If a player is unable to reach their toesm the distance is recoded as a negative score.
LOWER BODY POWER.
Vertical jump test. Measures
the power of the legs.
Player rubs the fingertips
of the hand neaest the wall with chalk. Then stands with side to the wall and reaches as high as possible overhead makes a
chalk mark on the wall. Heels together flat on the floor. Without moving feet player squats
and jumps as high as possible making another chalk mark. The distance between the two marks is recorded.
Average:
Males 52.5 centimetres Females: 39.0 centmetres. 
