Tennis Fitness

This section is for athletes who want to strengthen and lengthen the muscles, and soft tissues used in their sport in order to avoid injury, rehab old injuries and perform at the limit of their potential. All the joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, and nerves are discussed and specific exercises demonstrated. The site also emphasizes the stabilizer muscles, like the rotator cuff muscles and the adductors and abductors of the hip, that are critical in sports, but seldom well trained for action.

Let's review the basics.True Fitness consists of Flexibility, Strength, and Endurance. You need to optimize each element if you are to be truly fit, reduce the risk of injury, and compete at your best.

In addition to knowing what to do, you really need to know the mistakes most people make and avoid them. Take a look here.

• Consult a physician before beginning your conditioning to establish your readiness.
  
  
• After exercising one muscle, exercise the opposing muscles. After the pecs, get the rhomboids, traps. After, the quads, get the hamstrings. After the biceps, get the triceps. After the abductors of the hip, get the adductors. You get the idea. Failure to follow this simple rule can result in severe muscle imbalances.
  
  
• Make sure you get the stabilizers like the rotator cuff muscles and adductors and abductors of the legs, not just the big muscle groups like the pecs, quads, hamstrings, gluts and deltoids.
  
  
• Make sure you stretch the muscles you just contracted in between sets.
  
  
• Make sure you breath out during the concentric portion (the contraction) and inhale during the eccentric (extension) portion to avoid injury.
  
  
• Do 12 to 25 repetitions and 3 to 4 sets of each exercise. If you are looking more for tone and endurance, use lighter weights and higher repetitions. If you are looking for explosion and more muscle mass, raise the weights and lower the repetitions.
  
  
• Do not exercise the same muscle groups on consecutive days. Cells must be allowed to regenerate. Otherwise, you are tearing down, not building up.
  
  
• Do not overlift for your sport and risk bursitis, tendonitis, and muscle tears. Additionally, over-lifting without stretching will decrease range of motion, and speed. Just watch a body builder walk and tell me if that "tin man" gait will help you compete in your sport.