By Carlos Cobiella
For many people tennis is a seasonal activity that you practice during the summer months. Your body will need to get used to the specific demands of the sport. Conditioning is the process of training to become physically fit by a regimen of exercise, diet, and rest. The goal of conditioning is to optimize performance and minimize the risk of injury. In other words, you want strength, power and endurance to be at its peak when you start your season.
Ideally you should start planning 12 weeks ahead, as it takes time for your muscles, joints and cardiovascular fitness to get to the right level. This allows you to start slowly and increase the intensity of the workouts proggresively. However, most of us struggle to plan that far ahead. Six weeks should be the minimum time to allow your body to adapt. Trying to get to peak fitness in less time often results in acute or overuse injuries, the same ones you are trying to prevent through conditioning.
Rather than suggesting a set of specific exercises, I would like to talk about principles and areas that need to be worked on. If you do not exercise regularly during the year, start with cardiovascular fitness. Aerobic activities such as running, cycling or swimming can help. After the initial sessions you can try interval training to speed up the process.
This should be followed by strength, flexibility and coordination workouts. There is a wide variety of information on these subjects available on line. If you struggle to gather the information or simply would like assistance in designing a program you can contact a qualified strength and conditioning coach or visit facilities that will help you. Many gyms and physiotherapy practices offer this service. I found the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health (ISEH) to be particularly helpful. Their experience with elite athletes enables them to design individualised programs to improve your performance.
The aim is to improve performance and reduce the risk of injuries. But there are many other benefits of conditioning, such as increased self-confidence, delayed fatigue, quicker and better recovery and promoting mental strength, not only in tennis but in your general activities. In summary, improved health and quality of life whilst making the practice of tennis more enjoyable.
Anyone with an underlying medical condition should always make sure that it does not pose too high a risk with a certain exercise program. If you have injuries that may interfere with your playing, in knees, shoulders or lower back, try to address them before you even start your conditioning. You should ask advice from your doctor or a sports medicine physician. Once addressed, ask how to safely work back into your training program.
A well balanced diet is important when engaging in increased physial activity. Make sure you are eating enough calories and obtaining the proper vitamins, minerals, fluids, and supplements to meet your training needs. Appropriate amounts of proteins and fresh vegetables and fruit are generally the basis for it. If you require more specific information you should consider consulting a sports nutritionist for guidance.
The aim is to get back to tennis in a safe way and to acquire the level of fitness that will allow you to enjoy it fully. Preventing injuries is part of it and with that in mind, don’t forget to plan an adequate period of rest between sessions, whether training or playing. This will enable your body to recover properly. Also consider adding an element of cross-training to your program. Using various sports or exercises to improve overall performance creates different physical stresses on the your body than those associated with tennis, improving your overall performance and also decreasing the risk of suffering an overuse injury.
