Whole Body Training - Part 1

Methods for improving tennis movement

By Steve Green - Fitness & Conditioning consultant to LTA. Former fitness & conditioning coach to Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski

The execution of a stroke in tennis is reliant on smooth coordination of the many joints that are involved in the skeletal-chain. Many diverse training methods are used by coaches/athletic-trainers in an attempt to improve upon ones 'shape' or 'the way they hit the ball'. Often these methods include one of two common mistakes:

1. Training often underemphasizes the need to train the 'body' in its entirity. Moreoften, limbs are trained in isolation making the transition into on-court performance less effective.
2. The fast dynamic nature of training although important and specific to much of what we do on-court, neglects to train the body's all-important stablizing mechanisms/muscles required for controlled dynamic balance.

This article aims to provide the coach/player with some alternative training exercises that if repeatedly done well can offer an effective way of training the co-ordination chain whilst at the same time strengthening the essential mechanisms, which give the player the balance to execute the most powerful of strokes under control. In addition, these exercise can be used to complement physio-rehabilitation or be used as a preventative measure for future kinetic chain injury.

This article is the first in a series of three, Part 1 features four low/moderate intensity exercises that can be performed as part of a warm-up or as a training session in its own right.

Exercise 1 & 2 (Core muscles, rotation, stabilising posture, lower limb joint stabilising)

• Be aware of the whole kinetic chain being involved, particuarly mid-section.
• Emphasis slow movements
• Feel loose at the knees

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