Training For Tennis

Training For Tennis - Preparing Well For The Game
By Roberta Barrow 

Training for tennis is a crucial undertaking. It is something that involves various aspects that require special attention and consideration. All these aspects must be provided for so you can be well-prepared for the game.

Strength Training

Strength training is definitely to spend time in the gym to strengthen the muscles. Nonetheless, your main goal is not exactly to develop a muscular built. The purpose of strength training is to improve your core and make stable your body parts and joints that are known to receive additional stress when playing. These parts must be strengthened so they will not be injured during games. These parts whose strength must be developed are abdomen, hips, back, oblique muscles, wrists, shoulders and elbows. The lower body also needs strengthening as you would require power from adequate weight transfer that will result from strong legs.

Flexibility Training

Those key parts that need strengthening should also be made flexible and kept lose through proper stretching. If these areas are tight, you will also be prone to injuries regardless of how strong your muscles are.

Footwork Training

Drills that deal with footwork are activity bursts followed by rest periods. These drills also need not be in fixed durations. They can be in short intense rallies, while in double plays, etc. They help improve your agility and speed. Be reminded that these two skills or qualities are not synonymous. Speed is how fast you can move on a straight line; agility is how you can quickly shift from a particular direction going to another direction and requires more acceleration.

Nutrition And Proper Dieting

Tennis is described as both anaerobic and aerobic activity. Thus, your training must also include proper nutrition and dieting. What you eat will provide power or energy for both types of activity. Complex carbohydrates are for aerobic exercises while good quality proteins are for the anaerobic activities. Nonetheless, no particular diet is recommended to fit all tennis players. Your diet will be based according to your own dietary needs and physiological attributes.

Mental Training

In playing tennis, you will use not just your body, but also your mind. Therefore, in preparing for tennis games, mental preparations should also be considered. Before playing any game, it is natural that you would feel some tension and nerves, but you should know how to not turn these feelings into anxiety. Perform some familiar rituals and routines that will help calm your nerves.

Visualization will also help your brain to focus. Imagine the minds of techniques and shots that you wish to perform during your game. This will provide you with a positive mental model that can help fill voids that are possible to occur when the brain does not have something to concentrate on. Visualization must be continued into any match so you can get through games in poor weather, through unforeseen distractions and a difficult opponent. Being mentally prepared for the unexpected will help you to remain focused as you can anticipate and plan your course of actions if ever they happen. It will also be great if you can take time to study the kind of performance your imminent opponent is known to have. Mental Manual For Tennis Winners will show you how to have a winning attitude and sharp mind for tennis. Tennis Stomper is a related program for building endurance and strength for your game.

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