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Are There Any Bad Exercises For Tennis?
Over the last few months a number of sport science, strength & conditioning, athletic training, physical therapy and tennis coaching conferences have occurred all over the world. In all these conferences exercises and drills are presented for performance, stability, injury prevention, recovery, strength, speed, power, flexibility, etc. With so many exercises available to the Tennis Performance Trainer (TPT) or the Certified Tennis Performance Specialist (CTPS) one of the great discussions includes if there any bad exercises for tennis or exercises that should be avoided? Tennis has some unique requirements and the repetitive movements cause some significant imbalances over time. As a result, certain exercises are needed to offset these imbalances - but do certain exercises in the gym, on the court or on the track/field - do more harm than good for the tennis athlete? Some of the most discussed topics over the past few months have been around the following:
- long slow distance running (>5miles, etc)
- bench press & push ups
- bicep curls
- leg extension machine
- Olympic lifting
- weighted rackets for stroke practice
- overhead shoulder pressing
Very interested to hear the thoughts about whether any of these (or other) exercises should NOT be implemented in a tennis athlete’s physical conditioning program. Knowing what to do is just as important as knowing what not to do.
Over the last few months a number of sport science, strength & conditioning, athletic training, physical therapy and tennis coaching conferences have occurred all over the world. In all these conferences exercises and drills are presented for performance, stability, injury prevention, recovery, strength, speed, power, flexibility, etc. With so many exercises available to the Tennis Performance Trainer (TPT) or the Certified Tennis Performance Specialist (CTPS) one of the great discussions includes if there any bad exercises for tennis or exercises that should be avoided? Tennis has some unique requirements and the repetitive movements cause some significant imbalances over time. As a result, certain exercises are needed to offset these imbalances - but do certain exercises in the gym, on the court or on the track/field - do more harm than good for the tennis athlete? Some of the most discussed topics over the past few months have been around the following:
- long slow distance running (>5miles, etc)
- bench press & push ups
- bicep curls
- leg extension machine
- Olympic lifting
- weighted rackets for stroke practice
- overhead shoulder pressing
Very interested to hear the thoughts about whether any of these (or other) exercises should NOT be implemented in a tennis athlete’s physical conditioning program. Knowing what to do is just as important as knowing what not to do.
In studying human physiology for 30 years, one thing I have learned is, EVERYONE is different, and what is good for one may be bad for another.
I consider one of my biggest contributions to the study of sport is that scientists OUGHT to report individual differences along with group means. Our lab began doing that over 10 years ago, and I hope more researchers of athletes will do this in the future.
Very interesting topics. The problem with a general statement of course is when do you actually do these exercises and is it done with correct form and supervision. All of these exercise if done incorrect could cause various problems but if done correctly could be a benefit. Very age specific and athlete specific to the type of player and overall tennis athlete being trained.
Long slow distance running - can counter effect the balance of aerobic and anaerobic endurance of an tennis athlete if not correctly balanced - long distance running can effect the muscle developmental of players but has been used by many top pros - again Marathon runners may not be the best tennis players but there are some parts of aerobic conditioning that can be achieved by running which may be good for a long match - look at how fresh Rafa is in the later sets vs some of the other PROs. Not sure he does long distance running but just example. The complex nature of tennis conditioning is part of the greatest of the sport at the top levels. How do you incorporate all aspects of a 100% conditioned athlete that can burst for up to five or six hours? Creativity is what allows for the athlete to achieve greatness.
Overhead Shoulder, Bench Press & Push Ups - Age Specific & Weight Controlled - Need to always be stretching then also try to immediately do some tennis movement (ie Swings) which is why the timing of the training is key to the development - again keep the muscle development in line with the overall goals of the athlete & Coach - I like to have the player do some strength or power move and then air swing a racquet working on speed, balance, loading and unloading.
Bicep Curls - these are cute not used in particular for any athletic sport but are a secondary muscle that you want to keep long not short body building development - Again the athletes today are bigger and do look more fit within the arm region - need to make sure this exercise does not become something they like the look more than the actually use of the muscle. Arm strength to increase racquet head speed.
Olympic lifting - very large open discussion - again time & place - age specific - very very very important to have correct form if used within the training. The wrist joints are made up of small bones - very complex joint that is very important in Tennis. This type of lifting could be a positive or a very large negative if applied wrong. This to me is a platform for many of the other parts of the sports training business - all of this type of training was developed over seas - Nebraska football in their glory days started the ground base attack program then track started the whole explosion & speed revolution by adding some of these strength movements. The athletes needs proper form taught to be successful - I believe this ITPA overall goal to educate the athletes and coaches. Many colleges utilize this through all their sports so it may be important when preparing athletes at the next level. Getting them prepared so they are exposed to it when they get to college. Very important for girls to have correct form.
Weighted Racket - again baseball has been using this type of technology for years and years - timing is key to ever part of the training - if applied correctly and age specific - even athlete specific there are not short cuts to being the BEST - This is one topic that I have never really researched but I do have a really neat workout that I do with rotational athletes such as some of my Pro Baseball (MLB Players) - We use Med Balls & Sledge Hammers
Leg Extension - Again if used within the realm of the program - this exercise can be used for both power, speed & strength. There are many other options out there today for all of these exercises but everything gets back to the athlete as a single unit - what works for Roger may not have worked for Pete. Andre vs Rafa. Most of time tennis is 70% legs and 30% upper body so leg variety is very important but again it depends on the type of player - Girls and Boys Q-Angles are completely different - many ways to use the Leg Extension. Great info from Phil - EVERY player is different. Treat them like athletes - educate them.
Good thing is that athletes in all sports are becoming bigger, stronger, faster and better skilled. Tennis fitness or sport specific training is great field to be in today - it is truly a sport that is evolving - much like Football did years ago. I never thought that I would train an athlete to run under 4.7 at 300 LBs and bench 34 reps @ 225 - become s a Pro Bowler one year out of college where he struggled. We have the same opportunity to impact this tennis players and improve the sport.
Sorry for the late response was unaware of the Blog.
Phil thanks for the response - would enjoy talking with you further on how to get you some of the info.
Unless the athlete really lacks aerobic conditioning long distance running is questionable, work capacity based circuits provide high intensity, cv training. Would mainly be in a general preparation phase.
Working in tennis you have to be wary of overhead exercises with particular shoulder instabilities.
For me push up and pull ups are excellent body weight exercises and if you haven't got the ability to hold your own body weight it is highly unlikely you are maximising your strength potential on court. Body weight exercises are also excellent maintenance exercises particularly for the travelling player with limited equipment.
Olympic lifting is the best way to develop power but with tennis players you have to way up two things, one, can the athlete get in the positions required such as a front squat or overhead squat. Secondly do you have the time to teach and coach these. Ultimately there are a number of alternative exercises you can use but if taught from a young age initially with a dowel and the technique bars Olympic lifting is like coaching groundstrokes, serve or volleys, the skill will become technically sound and safe.
Human first athlete second is the important message, with everyone being different.
Bench press is always a great exercise if you are lying on your back and pushing people off of you. Maybe useful if you win the US Open Doubles and your partner jumps you. Not much other benefit.
Push-ups can be a different story, I am a huge proponent of "Offset pushups" (placing a med ball in one hand as you perform the movement. The shaking you might observe can be useful for presenting the rotator cuff with perturbations that help with developing shoulder stabilization.
Speaking of shoulders, if you have hints of wear and tear on the labrum of the shoulder, biceps curls can actually be an irritant to the proximal biceps tendon attachment.
Leg extensions can be an irritant to the patellar tendon in addition to being an open chain, non-functional exercise. However, that said, they can be useful if there is a girth or volume difference between the two legs and if used to eccentrically train the quadriceps you are preparing the muscle group for what its major purpose in life is, to be a shock absorber or decelerator of the body.
Olympic lifting movements doesn't have to mean Olympic lifting. Performing technical exercises is useful and has transfer to improving athleticism. It doesn't have to mean training like the Bulgarians. Javorek's complexes have great value as an anaerobic conditioning series of lifts with high value for tennis specific muscle groups. They combine several aspects of Olympic lifting but not the traditional methods of clean and jerking or snatching.
Weighted implements have been used in other sports, i.e. baseball, javelin throwing and much of the usefulness for these exercises is in the mind of the athlete. Do they really improve throwing velocity? Probably, but you are talking differences in grams between rackets, not pounds. Program design would be a critical factor here as well.
Overhead shoulder pressing, ask Bill Kraemer PhD, who published a study done at Penn state that showed female tennis players improved their serve velocity after participating in a weight training program that included shoulder pressing movements. Once again, a major segment of Istan Javoreks' complexes include front squat to a push press, Form and technique rules when performing these movements, not absolute weight lifted.
Conclusion: there are no bad exercises, only bad trainers and strength coaches who don't understand the essentials of the Needs Analysis and appropriate application of exercises that benefit the participant in their individual sport. Worse case scenario: the football strength and conditioning coach who is training a golf team.