Eternal Life Bacteria for improved health

Health is a big part of what tennis players find attractive about the sport.  Running parallel to that is the idea that you can give yourself an edge on the court with healthy habits.

New technology sometimes helps in this regard but old fashioned things like home remedies and simple use of basic foods and herbs.  Another concept is the use of a natural balance of bacteria in the digestive system and even on the skin that strengthens the immune system.

Here is a story of a scientist who took his experiment personally.  If successful he expects to gain better health and longer life.  I can't say I'd try this particular approach but the idea that in general there are many unknowns that can improve your health and this includes microorganisms.  Digestive bacteria is already one area that appears to improve a person's immune system that may have been damaged by antibiotic use or illness.

Proven foods that help in this may include any foods that introduce and replace gut bacteria.

Here is an interesting article on ways to introduce good bacteria into your digestive system.

Blood Type Info.

There are some diets out there that say your blood type can help you lose weight or control diseases.  I can't say what is right on this other than what mainstream medicine concludes which is that it won't help in dieting.

Here is some webmd information on blood types that it is probably worth knowing.  Since you are into sports any medical and health knowledge is a good thing.

Watch out for Diabetes

Signs of Type 2
Slideshow from WebMD

Benefits of a Fast Delivery Versus a Slow Delivery in Serving

This is a follow-on post to the one on hitting all tosses on your serve.
With that I don't mean hit a wildly errant toss that you can't reach without missing, but just don't get in the habit of doing the toss catch when it is slightly out of position.  Most servers have problems with their toss if they have the classic skyscraper toss that takes forever to fall back into position.  Meanwhile, wind can move the ball as you wait for it.

The Benefits of a fast serve delivery

The most important benefit of a faster delivery is that the toss height is minimal and therefore is less susceptible to wind and toss control issues.

Ideal Toss Height

The ideal toss height is one that you strike at full extension, but not hyper-extension,  and where the ball effectively sits still in the air as it transforms from a rising ball to a falling one.

Wind

When you have lots of wind or gusts of wind your benefit of having an abbreviated delivery with a just-high-enough-toss is a major advantage.  In really bad wind you can even shorten the toss to eye level with this practiced skill of a short and rapid delivery.    Those players with high tosses tend to have a miserable time on a windy day because their serve is grooved and timed for a ball that drops back into their strike zone.

Angle of Travel

Depending on how accurately you release the ball the angle of the travel is accentuated on a high toss where a low one that is hit not long after release simply has less time to travel out of position.

Timing

The need to time the drop on the serve toss is eliminated with a short delivery and toss.   A skyscraper toss on the other hand requires excellent timing of the fall of the ball relative to the backswing.  Examples of servers that had the high toss with timing problems are numerous.  The most memorable one for me is Sharapova though I do remember Ivanovic having problems.
Remember that once the ball begins to fall it is now a moving target and the speed of the drop limits the time it sits in the strike zone.  The higher the toss and the longer the drop the less time the ball will stay in the strike zone.  Lower tosses are easier to time and hit.

Conclusion

You'll find it easier to learn a serve if you focus on a short toss and when I say short I mean very close to your maximum extension and that can include your jump/hop up and into the court.  Depending on your jump height you'll need to increase the toss height to compensate for it.  In my case rather than increasing the height considerably I'd just put the ball further out in front which of course would pull me forward for a serve and volley play.

Dietary Fraud on a National Level: Guidelines Change Again and Again

New Study Says Fat is Good and No to Carbs
It would be nice if the experts would make up their minds.  This has changed repeatedly over the years but for at least the past 20 years the idea was that carbs are better for you than fats.  Now with the advent of massive health issues as a result of the bogus science new studies are challenging that long running trashing of the old food pyramid.  Now a new pyramid will probably come into use that puts fats above all sources of calories.

Guess what?  Now cheese, eggs, and butter are back on the dietary approved list according to newer studies after decades of ruining the party.

102 Year Old Woman in New Jersey says Eat Everything
Don't diet and enjoy life.

Cancer risk reduced by living in the Suburbs

New Study

It's hard to believe any of the new studies coming out when it comes to these type of casual influences.  One thing for sure is that for mental health it is better to be in natural settings rather than the city.  This may be the influence that improves health and resistance to cancers and other diseases.  Better air might help too fewer pollutants entering the lungs have to be a benefit.

Try playing tennis in natural environs for your health, happiness, and to build memories.  I can still imagine those soft summer sunsets surrounded by trees while hitting with friends.  The same goes for Fall when the leaves are turning and the temperatures are changing.

Hit all Tosses on the Serve if you have a great toss.

I don't teach this method and instead have told players over the years that unless they swing at it they can catch it and not count it as a fault.

Apparently that rule doesn't apply everywhere.

Here is an example of a lost match for not hitting the toss.  

This only confirms the need to perfect your toss.  Here is a gold standard rule that I have come to apply to myself.  You should be able to hit your serve however imperfectly with your eyes closed.  I learned that I could do that once when serving into the sun on a poorly designed tennis court that always had you either eyes in the sun or back to the sun depending on the time of day.

Try it.  Close your eyes after the toss and see if you can hit it.

Now here is my secret.  I have an abbreviated toss relative to the skyscraper tosses you see among many very good players.  Yet, you all can see that some of the best servers toss the ball to their max reach with a racket and then hit it.  If you can hit the ball at the apex you have a ball that is essentially stationary for a moment before it begins the downward drop.

Now for some terminology.

This is not used in tennis but rather in baseball and other sports.

Delivery - That is the time between the start and finish of the serve motion that is independent of the ball speed.  There are many servers that have a time delayed delivery that seems to go on forever yet others who seem to get the job done in the blink of an eye.

Dolgopolov is a great example of a fast delivery.    Roscoe Tanner is an earlier example.

Meanwhile, look at Federer facing Dolgopolov and how his midrange delivery speed dominates Dolgopolov with his supreme placement, spin, and deceptive speed.

It appears that the actual difference between the toss and the strike of the ball is not much different between the two players, but it is enough be visually apparent.  What does seem common is that the toss height is about the same but I suspect Dolgopolov might even catch the ball on the rise though his toss is very far forward so it may on balance be about the same as Federer.

I would suggest emulating the Federer serve for your most accurate and reliable serve versus some of the fastest motions.

Another example at the other end of the timeline for delivery is Pete Sampras.  His motion seems so delayed and so long that I wonder if it mesmerized his opponents.  He puts the ball up very high.

What is the common thread among the best servers?  I suggest the first thing is a very consistent toss.

Work on your toss by going to the fence and practicing your contact point.

Work on your toss by setting a target on the court where the toss should land if you toss it to the right place.  A racket on the court out in front is a good target.  Put the butt of the racket at the top of your front foot and send it out to 1 O'clock.  That should be approximately where the ball should land.

Tennis Player Feet: Double Socks To Save Your Feet, Wide Platform Shoes for Stability, and Gel Cushion Inserts for Shock

I got in the habit many years ago of wearing two pairs of socks for the long days of teaching or for matches.  Hard courts are hard on the feet and and joints so any cushioning your can add to your feet will help you in the long run.

The first step is the right shoes.  Get a good platform and in particular a wide platform.  If you have wide feet then take a look at some shoes that fit the bill.



Next is the insert.  As good as shoes might be the addition of get insoles is another add on I've found very useful.  I buy a shoe size larger so I can add these along with my two pairs of socks.


gel inserts for shoes


Finally, here  at the socks.  I use a black interior sock that is low cut so it doesn't reduce circulation on my legs but still gives me the cushioning,

Play Racket Sports - Live Longer

Tennis and Badminton at Top of Life Chart

It's nice to see this but I see it as a confirmation that mostly what happens is that active people choose sports that are conducive to long term participation.  I've known many players still on the court well into their 90's.

It seems the main benefit of Tennis is cardiovascular health so other risks may not be reduced.  Since cardiovascular disease is the biggest killer this study makes perfect sense.

Free Tennis Book Promotion for November 30th, 2016

Get your Free Copy if you want to have some fun with your racket while improving your skills.

How To Eat Tennis Healthy

Dr. Mercola on fraudulent foods and real foods.

Try sardines.  They're good for you and one nice thing about them is that you'll be eating safe seafood.,
Try Kippers.  Same thing  (Both contain Omega 3)

(Omega 3 fatty acids are good for anti-inflammation.)


Hint:  Never eat seafood in a restaurant before a match, even a few days before a match or you're asking for a unplanned default.  Stay away from clam dip or shrimp during the the week you want to play unless you cook the shrimp yourself.  I don't eat clams period, but if you do just know that you can get really, really sick for a few days if it's bad.  I'm telling you this from experience.

Eat Cheese - Live Longer

Eat Cheese and Live Longer

The changing recommendations go from it's bad to it's good.  I say just eat what you like and do so in some level of moderation.

I like Blue Cheese but don't eat it as often I used to.    I'll have to find some organic version.

Robot Tennis Pros

When will we see robot tennis pros teaching at clubs.

I just came across an article on Lowe's putting customer assistance robots into use in the aisles.

I often wondered when this might happen where teaching pros get replaced by robots.  Can teaching be programmed into a machine?

We're part of the way there with ball machines and they've been around for a long time.  Add in an intelligent analyst of the game and technique and you might have something.  Still, for now I'm not worried.  It just seems that it will be a while before the smiling face on the other side of the net can be replaced with some blinking lights.

I hope I'm right on this.

Home Exercise and Risky Exercises at the Gym

Home Exercises and Workouts
Here is a slideshow compilation of some useful and relatively safe exercises to perform at home.

7 Risky Exercises
Some of these I can personally attest to as not safe to try without skilled supervision.  Usually, this is from using gym equipment with weights that stress muscles beyond the normal range.   I suggest being very careful when going with any substantial weights.

Suggestion:  Stay with low weight dumbbells and repetitions.  This will help your tennis game while not risking injury and also increase muscle endurance rather than just bulk from heavy weights.

Heart Health and Anti-Inflammation: Nuts as a health supplement and food. Sunflower Seeds.

Go Nuts for Nuts by WebMD
I have made almost this whole assortment shown in this slide presentation part of my regular diet.  I didn't know that some of these nuts are good for inflammation reduction.  One that they left out was sunflower seeds.

I have added sunflower seeds to my daily diet because they taste so good and because they are really inexpensive.  You can find bags of seeds for less than half the price of most of the other nuts listed in the slide show.  As an additive for salads or just as a snack I find them very satisfying.  If you check on the link you'll see that the sunflower seed has many nutrients needed for health.

Bottom Line:  Add nuts to your diet for controlling inflammation and for health nutrition.

Anti Inflammation: Ginger for Tennis Players

Ginger
This is a good article about Ginger.  I can tell you my own experience with it.  It was by accident that I found the benefits of this great spice.  During the time I was a caregiver for my mom I always looked for treats that she would enjoy eating no matter how little of an appetite she had.  There were a few favorites that came along and one of them was ginger snaps, and in particular the ginger snaps I found at Trader Joe's.  Unfortunately, I learned to like them too and before long I watched my weight balloon up by simply eating more of these than was smart.  Here is the upside though.  First, I found that these snaps in particular gave me a stress reduction better than anything else I found.  When things became challenging I'd grab the ginger snaps tub and go sit down and share them with my mom.  She loved them and so did I and it is amazing how well this one little treat worked to help cut my stress during that very stressful time.  I'm not sure if it was the great taste or the ginger that caused this, or maybe just sitting down with my mom, but it was a great thing to look forward to.


Ginger for Tennis Players

Now for the tennis upside.  Tennis doesn't generally need stress reduction treats, though I can recommend taking along some snaps for some match energy or if things aren't going well.  The benefit I am talking about are inflammation reduction.  I can tell you that I noticed a major reduction in arthritic pain by adding Ginger to my diet.  The cookies just happened to be the way I did it initially because it was a pleasant snack.   I often had to climb four flights of stairs dozens of times a day in my mom's townhouse in Annapolis during that caregiver phase and it was tough on my already heavily overused knees and hips from decades of sports.  I noticed the difference when I stopped eating the ginger snaps.  I had gained so much weight from eating them all the time that I decided to go cold turkey and stop completely.  About that time my mom had given up eating anything but soft foods like rice pudding and Ensure drinks so it was an easier choice than it might have been had those tubs of snaps still been there to tempt me.  Again, it was the stress reduction and pure wonderful taste of these things kept me going at times.  Funny huh.

My Experience 

Well, once I stopped eating those snaps I began to notice my joints began to hurt more.  It had to be the ginger or now the lack of it since that was the only thing that changed in my diet.   Rather than go back to the tub of cookies I decided to find a supplement of some kind.  First I tried raw ginger which can also be found at Trader Joe's and most other grocery stores.  That required finding ways to add it to food and took time to cut it up etc.  Over time I found ginger supplements on Amazon in capsule form that contained ginger powder.  Sometimes I'll just take apart a gel cap and dump the ginger powder into a recipe or when cooking chicken or fish.  Also, you can find ginger in a spice bottle at your local grocery store.  Any way that you can find the bring it into your diet is a net positive toward joint pain and inflammation.  It is part of my regimen and if you are having arthritis pain and want to stay on the tennis court I found that it helps me.    I haven't heard of any serious side effects from taking in Ginger and for myself I have found none.  It is another tool in my battle against arthritis.

Locker Room Health Risks

WebMD Locker Room Risks

Your Feet
I always considered the biggest risk athletes foot but nail infections are high on the list.  To protect against this and other risks to your feet wear shower shoes (flip flops), and make sure you sterilize them periodically.

Towels
I was once responsible for washing the towels as well as everything else at the clubs I worked at.  Soap, hot water, and a hot dryer seemed to do the trick for sterilization.  Never put out damp towels.  In today's risk environment I bring my own towels or shower at home or in my hotel room.

Water Burns
I've stepped into showers and had steaming hot water hit me when a toilet flushes in a locker room.  Just changes in water availability can cause an extreme change in temperatures so be ready to move as hot water can cause serious burns.  A blast of cold water can also be exciting.  I had that happen to me in an Army locker room where the water went from warm to freezing instantly.   It is great for getting up the heart rate but at least you don't suffer burns.

Hot Tubs / Whirlpools
I stay out of these.  I was a certified pool operator and ran the whirlpool in a club and saw the difficulty in keeping the balance between too much chlorine and a bacteria laden soup.  In such a small body of water with heat added to it the balance was very hard to maintain.  As a user, I only went in once over years of that option available to me.  Once I changed the filters and saw the accumulation of filth on them I decided to pass on the experience.

Garlic, Sleep, and Love for a Healthier Heart

Garlic, Sleep, Love

It's hard to argue with Garlic and Sleep.

Exercise and Aging

80 Year Old Model Walks the Runway in China

Exercise is one of the key elements of this amazing story.  He also focuses on learning new things.  Why not make tennis one of those new things and since it is a form of exercise you get a twofer.

Choose Tennis - The Book

Tennis Requires Good Eyesight - Coffee for Your Vision, LED light Risk

Coffee helps prevent macular degeneration

Avoiding blindness is of course preferable no matter what but if you're a tennis player, vision is mandatory at least for now.

You can play without hearing but not seeing the ball is something I don't think you can get around until new technology comes along.

Therefore, I feel better about my love of coffee.

LED Light Risk
Consider staying with incandescent lights

Nadal Creates a New Shot

Side-spin on groundstrokes is nothing new, but usually when it is employed it is from a specific side.  For instance, a left hander that puts sidespin on a forehand will usually pull the stroke from 9-3 on a clock face to cause the ball to move leftward.  To go in the opposite direction is almost against biomechanical  laws but somehow Rafa has found a way to do it.  I first saw him do it against an opponent who stood there at the net as he watched a ball sail down the alley apparently out of bounds only to watch it curve inward which never happens in normal earthbound tennis.  Among the gods of tennis this may be a normal event but to see it brought down from on high was astounding to the player on the receiving end, to the announcers, and to me.  Rafa just introduced a new shot.


Look for his side-spin pass among this group.

https://youtu.be/jDvR6tgUMLg


Also, go to minute 7:22 to see what looks to be the side-spin curve forehand.

  All of his passes are great but he has added a new level of deception to making the pass.

Pickleball Wars - Stay with Tennis

Pickleball causes some problems in tennis communities.

The noise is the issue.  No kidding.  I have never been near pickleball at this point but do know what the sound of a plastic ball is against a hard object so I can imagine what residents might not like about it.

What would you do with the noise problem

I wouldn't want a racketball court in my house either or next to it so this may be the same issue.   With tennis, it seems that the sound is subdued and not the same pitch and maybe less brittle than the sound of plastic balls getting smacked.

It may not only be the noise spikes but the tone of the sound that makes it so annoying to players.

Why

I suspect that pickleball is attracting many of the same players that would have gone for racketball.  It takes less skill, and another added advantage is less movement is required.

If you must

In chess the Queen is the most versatile and essential piece on the board, and without it the game ends.  Consider pickleball as a beginning step toward tennis, the Queen of racket sports.  Tennis can also be calibrated to cope with your mobility so taking up a sport of less skill requirement should be thought of as your starting point.  It's your call though.

Stay with Tennis but calibrate it for your mobility and skill

I always thought that for seniors it might make sense to remove the alleys from play in doubles after age 60 or 65 just to limit the movement required. You could even add another player too and have two at the baseline and one at the net.  It could make things interesting.  Safety of course is another issue if more players are added.  New ways of not taking head or face shots if you are at the net are in order.

As for me, I'd like to find a way to keep people on the tennis  court and even if it meant using some of the slower balls for seniors that are currently used for those learning I think that has just as much value as going for the pickleball method.


How about taking out the alleys, using 60 orange dot or 78 green dot balls that are slower and easier to hit. I'd rather be using a tennis racket.  How about you?

Approach Shots: The Flat Approach

Nowadays you see the few pros that come to the net often hitting topspin approach shots.  Not only is this difficult to time well when moving forward and attempting to drive a shot while keeping it in the court, it is not the ideal for getting the job done.

Most players now aren't adept at using chip/backspin on approach shots since they rarely use backspin with two handed backhands.  A good compromise method for both forehand and backhand approach shots is to hit the ball flat.  This is especially useful when the ball is close to net height, or even above it.

Advantages

With the flat approach you can cleanly target the ball to a corner or fire it directly at the feet of your opponent at the baseline while they are centered on the court.  Unlike a chip approach the ball will reach the target quickly and not skid,  but instead continue forward and result in a rushed shot for your opponent.

Your advantage increases at the net when your opponent trying to pass you is facing a fast moving ball and little time to prepare.   You can use this shortened response time to your advantage by virtually eliminating your opponent's chance to plan an offensive lob or a well placed passing shot.  You force them to look at the ball and do so in such a rush as to have less of an opportunity to use their peripheral view to decide on a direction to pass you.  If by chance they see you coming forward especially if you make a show of the split step you might even distract them from hitting the ball well.  In either case you can beat the passing shot by using a quick response since you've eliminated the time for disguise and deception from your opponent on the pass.

This is why I like the forced and flat approach as a great tool for handling higher balls that are not useful for the chip approach.   It allows you to use a dynamic forward motion through the approach rather than hitting a static shot after stopping to hit it as heavy topspin shots require except for lateral movement.    This allows the same advantage of the carioca step (grapevine) on the chip backhand approach by not excessively slowing the forward motion to the net.  You use a balanced pause with your momentum in check but not stopped as you rotate through the shot and then continue forward.

Since on a high ball lift is not required because you are closer to the net all your focus is on racket face direction rather than an upward lift.  Get the feel of using your palm to push the ball to the target in an inside out motion on the forehand.  Do the same with the back of your hand on a one handed backhand.  With the two handed backhand use the palm of the non-dominant hand as your directional tool.

I found the best means of pointing to the target prior to rotation is to point the lead shoulder directly at the target while at finish your are facing forward and then moving forward.

Try it yourself and you might find the flat approach shot is another great tool for your offensive game.

Book Review: The Singles Game, A novel by Lauren Weisberger

The Singles Game

by lauren weisberger

Book on CD

This is as much a modern story encompassing everything from one nighters, social commentary, and some version of modern love.  It does use tennis as the backdrop and I suppose it is the main storyline.  I found myself amused at the Valley girl narration, not that there’s anything wrong with that approach, but it gave me a mental image of a relative airhead tennis player.  The mistakes made by Charlie, her nickname for Charlotte, leading up to her failures annoyed me mainly because with the type of time investment described in her training she found ways to sabotage her wins with dalliances.  The imagery focused mainly on well proportioned male players, hunks with attitudes, and beautiful and fit female players.  The male coach Todd that she hired was a real special case of bad attitude seemed overdone.  I suppose there are players that would need that or be willing to submit to his methods in order to win, but the feeling was that it was a deal with the devil that inevitably would fail as it did at least in performance terms since she didn’t win her major.  Again it was distractions that cost her the win.

I picked this book up because it was about tennis and stayed with it because it had enough reality to it that it is worth the time invested.  Plus, I’ve found a new author I might investigate for other books to read.

The title is a play on words since the singles aspect of it has as much to do with the main female character’s personal life as it does with tennis, the backdrop.

There is a dearth of tennis fiction so for anyone looking for tennis related reading I can say it was worth listening to for 10 CDs worth of time.

Recommend  ***and 1/2 stars

Free Tennis Book Promotion Today - Tennis Basics: Learning the Sport

I'm running another free promotion today for my recently published book called Tennis Basics.

If you're taking an introductory tennis class this is a good companion for review.

Free Book Today September 14th.

Please take advantage of it and let me know what you think by making a comment here on my blog or posting a review on Amazon.

Thank You,
Brent

Can exercise can suppress the immune system? Seniors Take Notice.

New Study says two days in a row of exercise can suppress the immune system.

No kidding.  I knew this when I was in high school and used to play basketball all winter for 5 or more hours a day.  I kept getting colds and when I finally went to a doctor and told him that I played basketball every day for hours and thought it might have something to do with it he said something simple.  "Well, stop playing every day and take some time off for recovery."  and I did and solved the problem.

That is easier said than done since exercise can become addictive and is a regimen that many form into a habit.

My routine is to vary the type, intensity, and duration of workouts.  For instance.

Weight training:  I do minor stretch bands and dumbbells more or less every day but don't stress if I miss a day.  I go for more weight in curls and presses on an alternate day or every third day program and do this in the evening where it allows some repair and recovery, plus it manages metabolism for better sleep as blood sugar appears suppressed.

Calisthenics:   Pushups, planks, crunches, etc.   Every couple of days I find it worth doing this but not every day for me.  Avoid the Gym and do calisthenics. - Interesting article.

Stretches:  Every day simply for injury prevention,  Hamstrings are my primary focus since this helps protect the back.

Cardio:  This includes walking and tennis.  You can moderate each so that doing them every day can be done without risk to most healthy people.  If walking is overdoing it then as humans we've devolved into couch potatoes.  It find a light tennis workout against a backboard or just taking serves is something I can do every day without concern.  I think my body has acclimated to this as a standard condition whereas a higher workout might cause problems.  That falls into the intense cardio category.

Intense Cardio:  This can be tennis, jogging, sprinting, or just doing anything that brings the heart to a fast clip relative to your age and health.  This is the area where risk seems the highest so learning to calibrate and discipline your workouts tailored to your needs is important.

Final Thought:  Do what works for you and observe the results on how you feel.  Your body will often let you know.  When older it seems that the joints are the place where the most recovery is needed.

Disclaimer:  Talk to your doctor, physical therapist, and physical trainer before embarking on a new program.  This article is for information purposes only.

Free Tennis Book Today

What good is a blog if you can't help push your new book.  In this case though I'm only asking for you to grab a free copy and post a review on Amazon if you like it.

Tennis Basics: Learning the Sport

How to Eat for Tennis

Eat before 7pm to avoid heart attacks and strokes
Add to this idea not eating again for at least 12 hours.

Hot pepper food has risks.
I stay away from this altogether.  Any food with the word death in it leaves me cold, not hot.  I won't touch it.

Here is a comparison between the Nutribullet and others.
I use the Nutribullet to eat my salads.  A cucumber, spinach, and some whey or soy protein with water and whatever else you want to drop in for taste and nutrients.

Paleo Diet - Can it reduce heart disease.
There are some similarities to this and the Mediterranean diet so if that suits you then maybe it is the best compromise.

100+ village lives on Mediterranean diet.  They are in the Mediterranean so that helps.
This seems like the ideal diet for health in general but may be appropriate for those that want to participate in sports since it has a good measure of fruits, vegetables, and is light on meats other than fish.  It looks as if dairy is limited as well.

Broccoli the superfood for health

Diet better than Statins: New study

New study results on the Mediterranean  diet vs the MED-statin diet.

The side effects of drugs like statins are often downplayed.  This is why many of use have chose diet and some supplements like fish oil to help keep heart disease risk down, but as we've been told often genetics play a major part in results no matter what you do.  I take this approach to at least improve my odds.  

Also, it seems the twofer of anti-inflammatory properties of Omega 3 oils helps with arthritis and pain.  I had doctors actually recommend fish oil for joint pain.  Other possible benefits include better moods and brain function.  Whatever the case, if it does no hard it might be worth a look.  It can always be approached incrementally.

Why post this on tennislifer?  Because anything you can do for your health is a net positive and adding to your ability to continue to play tennis through joint pain management as well as cardio risk reduction is a powerful reason to make life changes.  It's easier than you think.

As always:  Consult your doctor before changing your diet or meds.  This commentary is for informational purposes only.

Can Tennis Slow Aging?

Endurance Exercise may slow aging
So make tennis your endurance sport.  That's easy enough.  Hit against the wall, or play singles if your legs, hips, and back can take it.  If not, make doubles your version of a round of 8 in Golf, though I'd guess that the tennis is much more of a physical challenge than golf.  That said, I tried golf again recently and found that though I have learned to accommodate tennis my back does not like golf at all so except for putt putt golf I'll stick to the doubles court.

Another thing to remember is that the surface can make it easier on your body in terms of impact while allowing you to increase your endurance demands by playing longer.  Additionally, new research tells us that just being in the heat is a form of conditioning and a few hours in a clay court playing doubles might be a good endurance challenge.

Disclaimer:  As always, consult your physician if you have health issues that might put you at risk in the sun or just performing strenuous activity.  One great thing about a doubles game is that you can calibrate your play level by choosing your opponents and partners and ratcheting down your activity level accordingly.  Just focus on skills and strategy and leave the acrobatics to the ones still willing and able to do so.

Exercise: Sitting too much is very bad for your health

A New Study says sitting for prolonged periods is a serious health risk.

This is nothing new.  Any office worker or person that spends more time in the prone or sitting position is a guarantee for many health problems.

Get up, get out, and get moving.

If you want a good way to accomplish that with some fun try taking up tennis.  At any level you can get great exercise that uses almost all of the body, but especially the legs which are the pumps for your circulation.

$20 for a good used racket and a can of balls and you can get started rather than $50 a month at a health club where you have to get your workout on a treadmill or some other machinery.

Nitric Storm and other supplements

An ESPN article regarding Federer and Djokovic using these supplements relates that they may be banned soon.  First off, the article looks like an ad so I wonder.  Am I just passing and posting an ad.  If so, be warned that I did this to ask some questions.  Agassi proved one can play tennis even while zonked on chemicals that have no benefit to performance, at least according to his book.  If anything, he reduced his performance by his actions.

If so, at least it does supply some information that if true may help some people and players that may not be facing testing to get their weight under control and improve performance.

As for the professionals, I can only say that if the substance in these supplements proves to have no negative effects but helps performance I wonder how far down the road we have to go in banning things.

For instance, when I need to focus on writing or getting something done that requires intense concentration it helps to have a cup of coffee nearby.  By some of these rules writers may be eventually castigated for resorting to such chemical stimulations to keep things moving.  And where would the actor be without the belt they used to take before taking stage, not that they do that anymore since they take pills for that now I suppose.

Pilots used to take stimulants in the military though I don't know the rules on that now.  I have to guess that under battle conditions worrying about anything but full concentration and staying awake takes precedence over long term or even short term health.  They never worried much about the people in the service for the long term, so if they do now, well it is probably based on a cost analysis of VA benefits paid out.

So if it turns out that eating Brussels sprouts grown in Belgium with special soil from Europe gives you an edge will they move against that too.  Where this will all end who knows, but I have to say that for Roger in particular I believe that he wouldn't do anything that had negative health effects just to keep earning.  There, my bias for him is exposed but he seems so squeaky clean that I find it hard to imagine that he would do anything outside of the boundaries of what is considered the rules.

As for Novak, I know he tweaked his diet but I can''t see him in that light either.  He is almost scientific in his approach to health and performance so I have to imagine he wouldn't take health risks either.

I'll be interested in seeing the finding on this.  Dieters are the most likely regular users of this rather than athletes.  It seems unlikely that it could be worse than over the counter diet pills.  As for muscle mass and endurance, unless it is about making huge amounts of money in professional play why bother.

In the end isn't that what this is all about.  The rule makers will decide, but weren't they the same ones that prevented Laver and Kramer and a host of others from playing in the majors for some arbitrary idea that amateurs were a better breed than professionals who dared play for money.

Thankfully that is long gone.

Diet can improve performance and extend your life and health - get thinner.

Here is a great article on inverting the food pyramid.

Dr. Merkola get thinner.

After all of those decades of low fat high carb diets now the facts are out and the damage to health caused by this government intrusion has proven again not to follow the advice of industry controlled governmental types.

Healthy fat, safe protein, and plant carbs seem to be his recommendation.  Grains and sugars come last.

Exercise Prevents Early Death for Office Workers - Try Tennis

According to a recent study this is true.  1 Hour of exercise daily removes the risk of office work.

Fine.  So who wants to bounce on a treadmill or do a stair climber to get that hour of activity.

I suggest that tennis is the better choice for regular exercise since it is actually something you can learn to enjoy rather than see it as a chore.

College Instructor's Guide for Tennis 1 - Credit Tennis

This is my recently published book available from Amazon.

Tennis 1 - College Instructor's Guide: Tennis Instruction





If you are about to begin teaching a community college tennis class it may be helpful to have a made-to-order course.  You can check out the preview on the book to see what is covered.  Look at the outline.

Thank You

In Memoriam Chet Murphy Tennis Player, Coach, and Teacher

Chet Murphy passed away ten days ago  on July 7, 2016 reaching the amazing age of 98.    I didn't find out about it in the news and still can't find anything. Yet, by chance I was reading one of his books today from the 1970's that I studied so many times in the past.  He along with many of that era was a strong proponent of scientific approaches to tennis technique.  I decided to find out what he was doing now and thought that maybe he was no longer alive.  A web search and wikipedia confirmed that he had passed away just a few days ago.   So even though I never knew him personally I knew him through his words on paper and still feel loss as if I had just spoken to a friend recently who now I hear has passed away.

Rest in Peace Chet and may his family know that he is not forgotten.  We all shared the same love of the game of tennis and his contribution to the game will stand the test of time in his books.

Here are some of the titles that Chet authored in some cases along with his brother Bill.  You can still find them on Amazon in print form.

Advanced Tennis by Chet Murphy

Murray Wins Wimbledon Again

I didn't expect this.  I actually didn't expect his first win at Wimbledon.  I'm going to have to give credit beyond just him but also to his coaching.  It seems Lendl somehow gets Murray past the mental hurdles and brings forth in him a game approach that leaves his previous tepid and timid baseline game behind and brings out aggression.

Neutralizing Raonic is no easy feat with that monster serve he sends across the net.  Murray did it, and did it with an old style approach, blocking returns.

Ready about Murray and his win.

Oh, and congratulations to Murray.  I was never a fan since his style always left me wanting to see Federer hit the ball rather than him.  His moody antics added to my lack of interest.  But you have to give him credit for this one.  One Wimbledon can be chalked up to being one of the best in the world and catching someone in the final on a bad day.  Two means he belongs in the winner's circle.

Why Controlling your temper matters

On the tennis court there are times when frustration brings players to do stupid things and letting your temper get the best of your can be costly.  First off it has the effect of giving your opponent the pleasure of seeing you break mentally and often this makes them mentally stronger.

Additionally, there are rules against this in tournament play especially when it impacts safety which often by accident it can and does.  Here is an example.

Time Henman Hits a ball girl at Wimbledon when he loses his temper and smacks a ball that was not in play, but rather in his possession and is disqualified. 
He's lucky he didn't hit her in the eye and blind her but an ear hit at close range is definitely not pleasurable and could even damage hearing.

Another aspect of this is ego, that big EGO that many of us have witnessed when a player full of themselves needs to impress the audience however small that losing or not playing a single point well justifies acting out.  Often, the player talks to themselves loudly so the audience can hear as they provide excuses for not being the masterful player they fantasize themselves to be and want everyone to know that it is beneath them to be in this situation.  I've witnessed this enough times and it is embarrassing to be a witness to such folly.

Do yourself a favor and find a way to contain your rage and anger over mistakes or perceived injustices on the court.  It can cost you a match and more importantly cause you to lose enjoyment of the game and will surely do so to your partner if playing doubles.  Your opponents often gain from poor behavior on your part.

My Retirement Racket: Tennis Teaching Pros and long hours

A new study says men can get away with it as long as they don't have the additional responsibilities of managing a household.  This is where it seems to work against women according to this study though I wonder if applies to women teaching tennis as well.  I somehow don't think so.

One thing about the study that I found quite relevant was the point that arthritis was common among men who put in long hours but they tended to have fewer of the other degenerative diseases.

Meanwhile, women were subject to home stresses added to long work hours that seemed to set them up for many more health problems later in life.  This points to the idea of balancing work, family, and recreation.  Fortunately, tennis doesn't fall into the category of most corporate jobs that can be loaded with stress.  I never felt the stress of hours on the court.   If anything it was a relief from the management efforts of running a club.

The point here is that productive work can be okay and even long hours properly spent with time for rest and relaxation can be a good trade off.

Relative to the life of a tennis teacher or some other type of job that is more likely to fulfill personal goals you can see less burn out and greater satisfaction.  I found this to be true no matter how many hours I put in on the court.

Having tennis as a career can allow you to combine all of these things with your avocation if your spouse is part of this.  Another component that can make it part of a great lifestyle is to have your kids involved.  Tennis as a family affair seems like the ultimate example of work, play, and family.

The Everett family comes to mind along with some teaching pros I've known where both spouses worked as teaching pros and their kids became active in the sport eventually getting a free ride to college on scholarship and making it a career as well.

Long days on the court can be a way of life for a tennis pro, but in addition to the satisfaction of helping lots of players you may find that it helps you as well.  But for the arthritis, I can say I don't regret any hours I spent on the court whether teaching and coaching, or playing.   I earned enough money to pay my bills and with some discipline and delayed gratification set up a safe and reasonably comfortable retirement.   And remember, for me teaching tennis was a form of retirement from the hazards of jobs that left you worn out but uninspired no matter how much the pay.

Additionally, tennis gives you the option of doing a slow fade into retirement where you scale back your teaching hours as your energy levels flag and your physical abilities drop off.  Stamina is the one thing I found that you lose over time no matter what you do but at least as a tennis teacher and coach you can dial it back as needed.

Anti Dementia: Curry and Tennis

Curry may help fight dementia
Anything is worth a try and there are other reported anti-cancer and inflammation benefits as well.  One of the best ways is  to add curry to chicken as a cooking spice.

Simply Organic Turmeric Root Ground Certified Organic, 2.38-Ounce Container  It makes the meat tastier and it diffuses the sharp taste to those not used to eating the spice.

There are supplements you can take in pill form as well.

My favorite is Zyflamend Whole Body that contains the active ingredient found in curry among many other anti-inflammatory agents.




Exercise as part of a dementia prevention plan
Playing tennis is one element of a healthy exercise effort to protect yourself from mental decline.

One of the best singles matches

Roger vs Novak 2012 Wimbledon

If you want to see one of the best matches ever played, here it is.  The level of play is astounding and I've watched a lot of "best matches ever going back to the 60's."  It is worth watching if you have never seen it.

Junior Tennis Training

Kriek on what it takes to produce results.
Learn something from this article.  He reiterates that hard work and motivation is still the primary element in success on the court.  Other factors include technical aspects of coaching and learning and this is where a good coach with knowledge of technique can shorten the time needed on the court to master a skill.

I totally agree with this approach on technique.  It can shorten years of practice and training to just simply have proper form within the boundaries of physics and biomechanics.  Not everyone has to look the same but the laws of physics and human anatomy dictate certain approaches for good results.  The upside gain for proper technique is that your ability to improve your results has more to do with your physical abilities once you achieve proper form.


Control first, and power last.

Fitness training for tennis

Intensity and Endurance

The arguments for long and arduous tennis training workouts  may be challenged by a new fitness study that suggests fitness can be increased with much less time and instead the focus can be on intensity.  Observable results over time show why this may not be the best approach when you take into account over-use injuries.  I say that as someone who has spent most of his lifetime putting in the hard extra hours on the court and in the process often created repetitive use injuries including arthritis. Take this into account especially if you are forced to learn and play most of your tennis life on hard courts which are also hard on the body.  Such abuse may not be necessary and might even be seen as unsound.

Skills VS Conditioning

My new perspective for workouts includes separating skill training from endurance and conditioning. Though of course there is an overlap but to limit the wear and tear on your body and to enhance recovery it might be best to think of skill training as precision training where your goal is to perfect a motion and control over the ball.  While conditioning could be looked at as simply pushing your cardiovascular system for heart rate increase and oxygen intake.  Strength training is separate from both though high intensity limited repetitions for short intervals can be the answer for increased strength and fitness and limiting injury risk from overuse.

New Study on Conditioning 

1 Minute of all out exercise equals 45 minutes of moderate exertion.

If this study proves to be a new definitive approach to gaining fitness then years or should I say decades of old methods have just been tossed aside, including mine.  I used to live on the court and the truth is I enjoyed it and still would if I could do so.  But time and long term use have shown me that all machines and bodies wear out and that anything you can do to protect yourself from excess mileage while maintaining skill training and conditioning is probably a good thing.   This reminds me of what I used to hear about Jimmy Connors and his training approach back during his prime years.  He would train for short periods, usually an hour if I remember correctly, but at very high levels of intensity and it worked for him in the sense that his skills were already in place and I rarely saw his conditioning become an issue during a match. 

Tennis Teachers and Tournament Players

Keep in mind that many tennis teachers who actively teach individual players in playing lessons and hitting drills are essentially doing long term over-use injuries to their system every day.  It is no different for a tennis player/teaching pro than it is for a any other job that brings regular repetitive strain on the system however limited that a price must be paid and usually this is in joint wear and tissue damage.  I don't know the statistics on longevity of tennis teachers but my observations tell me that few stay the course for 40 or more years without some serious problems relating to joint deterioration and the same goes for tournament players.  

I have come to understand that the last man or woman standing rule really applies to tennis after 60 and especially when the rarified air of 70+ tennis is viewed based on past participation.  It seems that the lawyers who spent most of their time behind a desk while still getting out to play recreational tennis are often the ones still able to participate well into their 70s and 80s, and often right until the end.  Could this be simply because they didn't trash their bodies on the court from athletic overuse.  I think so. 

Greyhound VS Bulldog 

The most obvious current examples are Federer and Nadal.  Looking at Federer play you can see that he puts relatively little strain on his system since his game is predicated on timing and precision. Where Nadal used physical prowess and sheer force of will and effort combined with relentless application of power and racket speed to impart spin as his source of success, and it's likely he has a training program that matches his competitive prowess.  I thought from the beginning that his style of play would eventually lead to career limiting injuries, and sadly this seems to be the case.

Meanwhile,   Federer keeps going, and going, and going in his glider like methodology of minimal strain and I have to imagine that his workout and training program are similarly restrained, and almost done with circumspect admission that he is getting older and can't push too hard for fear of breakage.

Race Cars and Tournament Players

Take a race car versus the commuter vehicle analogy and you can see why considering your body as a vehicle with a finite number of miles available to it over a lifetime might apply.  This could be true especially if those miles are rigorous and there is little time for recovery and repair such as what many tournament players experience where in between matches they will put in many hours of training on the court doing drills that often emulate the hard requirements of play.  Just as a racing vehicle has a short lifetime in competition so must a tournament player depending on their style of play and training methods.  

If you are a tournament player who wants to become the best then maybe this can be justified, and especially if you are already on the way to earning a living from it.  

But as a recreational player or a non-professional (amateur) tournament player there is a long view that should be your concern.  Will my body allow me to be on the court when I hit age 50, 60, 70, and hopefully 80+.  If you want to set that as your goal to make tennis your lifetime sport then I suggest taking a balanced approach that includes limiting yourself and to cross train. 

How to Train for Longevity

Skills

Think of skills as your secret weapon against the need for body damaging overuse and over-exertion. Choose  mastery of skills on the court that work toward this objective.  My suggestion is to make serving for placement, spin, and lastly speed as your order of importance.  Serve every day but serve two baskets  minimum (60 x 2 = 120)  and make these count.  

Ground strokes are your tools for putting pressure on an opponent and the more accurately you can do that with depth, angle, spin, and speed in that order will mean you do less running while your opponent is the one to suffer the physical outcome of chasing down punishing attacks from the ground.   

Volleys are your friend.  Become a volley master.  Why?  Because the better you can volley from anywhere on the court the smaller the court becomes for you.  Rather than having to retreat on some shots to hit your groundstroke it is so much easier to move forward and the bonus of getting more angle available to you means your opponent will run more.  At the net you can cover the court in two lunging steps in either direction while at the baseline your opponent may have to travel 7 sprinting steps or more in either direction to cover the angle you generate from volleys.  Learn to love volleys.

Conditioning - Cardio

Think low impact whenever possible.  If you are working out on a court then clay is your friend and hard courts are your long term enemy.  Do your conditioning training on a soft surface if possible by running  most of your movement drills and sprints on grass fields.  If you must do it all on a court then at least have cushioned shoes and inserts.  DO NOT RUN STAIRS.  These are great for conditioning but unless carpeted with padding you risk serious long term injury such as tendonitis and joint deterioration.  I speak from experience going back to high school where a coach had us run stairs and I had my first bout of tendonitis in the knee.  Squats are okay but again these have a risk especially as you age.  I prefer to use crossover step training for volleys that will do as much for your squatting ability while improving your balance and movement as well.  Cross train on a bicycle or stationary bike,  or a stair climber machine to save your knees from wear.   Walk on a treadmill though I  myself won't run or jog on one.  Instead run across a field of grass and preferably do interval sprint training over long distance jogging.  Remember, tennis is a game of sprints often up to 4 miles of them in a professional match.  

Conditioning - Strength

Dumbbells of limited weight, say 10-20 pounds, can be your safest approach when it comes to strength training for your upper body.  I prefer repetitions that simulate and train the muscles I use for tennis. Add in stretch bands and a medicine ball and you have most of what you need.  Fancy equipment found in many fitness centers can be the source of injury if you aren't careful.  I've witnessed many injuries from these that took players off the court

I stopped doing strength training on my hamstrings and quads decades ago when my only payment for trying these were leg muscle injuries that were debilitating, so I don't recommend this approach. Instead I stretch these regularly as in daily, and prior to play I do dynamic stretching. All the strength training I do on my legs are limited to what your body can do without equipment such as squats and lunges.    Take the approach you are comfortable with but if I were to go with equipment on these I would use a professional trainer with an extensive background.

Take the Long View

Think of your tennis career as one that can last from age 5 to 95 and act accordingly when it comes to protecting and preserving your body.

Proof this exists.

Men's 70, 80, and 90 tennis Championships.

90 Plus Men's Doubles Championship 2012  at Pinehurst - You gotta love these guys.

Match Fixing in Professional Tennis

Lower level players seem to be the ones more susceptible to the allure of payment for throwing a match.  In this article it appears the players are usually not even in the top 200 of the world.
Match Fixing

What can be done about it.  Unless there is some better way of compensating players that earn barely enough to meet expenses to continue competition I see no way to correct it.  Then there is the reality of it.  Does it really matter if some low level player throws a match since it won't change the outcome of tournaments appreciably.   Yes, it does put a tarnish on the concept of sportsmanship.   I suppose a top player might pay someone in their way through the tournament to grease the skids and give them an easy win and for sure some top player could afford it.  Has it happened.  Truthfully, I never even imagined such a situation.  How would you approach someone and ask them to do it except through an intermediary.  It all seems doubtful.

 Can you even imagine a top ten or twenty players not competing or throwing a match for money.  Not likely.  Usually they will throw a match if mad or tired.  Some players have been known to use such tactics if they need time off.  As for the rest of the players doing this I suggest looking for patterns rather than one off events.  The problem is that with a lower level player why would they develop a pattern of throwing matches since it would clearly impact their ranking to send them even further down the ranks.  If there is a betting market for matches at such a level I've not heard of it and so I wonder if it matters at all.  The only thing throwing a match does is harm the player unless it is someone at the top.  To me, this whole thing is a non-issue.