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