For 377 weeks she led the world ranking list in tennis, won 22 Grand Slam tournaments, in 1988 she even won all 4 Grand Slam tournaments and won Olympic gold. This makes her the only woman ever to have won the Golden Slam - we are talking, of course, about Steffi Graf. Today Steffi Graf celebrates her 50th birthday with her family in Las Vegas. fitnessmarkt.de wishes the woman who shaped the tennis world for 20 years and inspired millions to a more sporty lifestyle all the best! Find out how to get fit for the court here.
Training for the court
The so-called hitting side is much more challenged in tennis than the opposite side. A big topic in training off the court is therefore to prevent muscular imbalances. Another characteristic of tennis is the alternation of phases in which you have to go at full power, followed by short "breathers" that are not really breaks at all. With High Intensity Interval Training you can prepare yourself ideally for the situation during the match. The tennis player has to be very fast during the match, an enormous tracking power, good sprinting skills and great agility are an advantage. Accelerating from a standing position and stopping immediately from a full run, a perfect hand-eye coordination and a good reaction are the skills you need on the court. Off the court, this is exactly what you can train - the magic word here is Functional Fitness, especially the plyometric training works wonders for jumping power, speed and agility.
Functional Fitness - A trend for everyone?
Strength training in tennis
In tennis, the arms, shoulders and back are the most important parts of the body. Of course, the temptation to train the strength of the hitting arm is great - after all, what tennis player doesn't want a fast, hard serve? Nevertheless, strength training in tennis should be balanced and considered holistically.
Too much muscle mass can even make you slower in the end - because your serve may always find its target, but nobody wants to just watch the balls in the match. A functional workout with kettlebells does not train single muscles, but activates large muscle groups in the whole body, so you train arms, shoulders, back, neck, besides kettlebells are excellent for core stability and explosive power from the hips. A good core strength is essential, with a well trained core muscles you create optimal conditions to improve your tennis game, the explosive power you need to sprint from a standing position and still catch that impossible ball far into the corner of the court.
An effective core workout can be incredibly fun: Medicine balls, wall balls and slam balls strengthen not only the arms but above all the torso. Your core is also the focus of the workout with the sling trainer, swing bars and resistance training.
Endurance training in tennis
Of course you need a good basic endurance for the court. But it's important to be able to power through short, extremely intense phases and stay fit and focused while you're waiting for your opponent to serve, for example. High-intensity interval training is a good way to train your endurance. This is exactly what you train. With the Tabata method, used for example by the fitness coach of the German women's tennis team, this means alternating between 20 seconds of full power and 10 seconds of "rest.
When training with cardio equipment, the treadmill, the rowing machine or an indoor bike are ideal - they are great for HIIT units in endurance training. The rowing machine is a hot tip especially to complement tennis training: Here you not only train your endurance in sweaty HIIT units, you also strengthen your shoulders, back and arms at the same time.
Plyometric training for speed, agility and responsiveness
In plyometric training, entire sequences of steps and jumps are trained using various aids such as plyoboxes or coordination ladders. This not only improves speed and jumping power, but also effectively trains agility, reaction, explosive power and coordination. Plyoboxes can be used to create entire courses in which you can also boost your endurance. With reaction and reflex balls you train above all your hand-eye coordination and your reaction ability. The balls bounce completely unpredictably, the training is sweaty, tough and a lot of fun.
Conclusion
To be top fit for the court, you need a mix of HIIT sessions for endurance, a balanced strength workout to not only build your muscles but also prevent muscular imbalances, and functional training for your spryness, speed, and responsiveness.
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Editorial fitnessmarkt.de (DG)
Photo credit: #AdobeStock 225659722
Published on: 14 June 2019