Designing a full body strength workout for a tennis player will ideally be highly individualised, based on their current ability with strength training, their strengths and weaknesses etc. In this article I will provide an intermediate level strength training session that a tennis player could use to improve their overall health and tennis performance.
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Tennis players do not need to be extremely strong individuals, like say a rugby player or judo athletes. In tennis, technique is by far more important than any other physiological attribute. That being said however, once you reach a point where your technique is excellent, making physical improvements can have a huge impact on not only performance, but also longevity in the sport. An often unconsidered benefit to strength training for amateur tennis players is the ease at which they can feel when playing tennis when stronger. Exposing yourself to heavy weights will make you feel as if hitting a hard serve or forehand is easy, making the experience much more enjoyable.
Tennis players need to be strong and robust, able to deal with long matches and maintain high levels of power output. they also need to have high levels of movement virtuosity (the ability to move with excellence in aa huge number of organic positions).
Designing a training plan for a tennis player, or a single session like this one, should be about building full body muscle mass and strength. Below is a full body strength session that coul dbe perfect for a tennis player.
A) Kettlebell Deadlift
5 x 5 @Heavy weight
B1) DB Bench Press
5 x 12 @moderate weight
B2) 1- Arm DB Low Row
5 x 12/12 @moderate weight
C1) Pallof Press
4 x 8/8
C2) Single Leg Crossbody Touch
4 x 5/5
In this workout, the primary strength exercise is the Kettlebell deadlift, which aims to build full body strength. Then we have two very effective secondary exercises in the DB bench press and the 1-Arm DB low row. Finally we work on the core with resisting rotation and hip stability and balance with the single leg crossbody touch. Their really are a thousand ways to skin this cat, but this is an example of an extremely effective full body strength training session for a tennis player. The programme algorithm can produce these style of workouts using a huge variety of exercises.
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This resource was written by Sean Klein. Sean Richard Klein has thousands of hours of coaching experience and a BSc in Sports Science with Management from Loughborough University. He owns a gym in Bayonne France, CrossFit Essor, which runs group classes and a Personal training studio.