Training Help

[Jonny]

Hey guys, my question may kind of run in to topics that would be best put in other forums, but I don't really see the point in writing about 10 different messages, so it's all going into this one, if that is OK.

OK, basically I'm 16, I'm a really keen tennis player. Technically I'm not all that special, but I have a lot of power. Over a 3 set match, my serve averages about 110-120mph. The thing is, I want to get into the national junior circuit, but don't really have the technical ability to do so, and won't have the technical ability unless I get the training from the national circuit. It is a kind of chicken and egg situation, if you get what I mean.

However, I figured that if I can reach a maximum serve speed of about 140mph (Which I realise is incredibly fast, but I believe I can do it) then not many people will be able to live with that. The only way I feel that I can add that extra 20mph onto my serve, is with some weight training.

I feel I have the right kind of body to do this, I'm 6ft 1" and roughly 12stone in weight, although my muscles are not particularly well toned right now. The muscles used within a serve are my abdominals, pectorals, biceps, triceps and the muscles in my back (Their names evade me, does trapezuis make any sense?). Basically, what should I do in order to work on these muscles in terms of training, and how much should I do per day?

Also, what kind of nutrition do I need. I have always believed that Proteins are good for building my muscles, and Carbohydrates for supplying the energy when working out. I have seen in many shops a rather expensive high protein milk shake solution, does this actually work? Also, will this make me become bulky, although I need extra strength, being too 'large' will not aid my movement round a tennis court.

Any advice on this, or any extra advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jonny

 

[ballast]

If you are an athlete, looking to incorporate a resistance program, your primary goal in regards to the weights is injury prevention.This means following a balanced program, not just working the muscles primarily used for your sport.After injury prevention, you should focus on some sport-specific exercises that will help you improve your performance on the court.Trying to balance a weight training program with your skills drills and practice sessions will be the difficult part.Since you are just starting out on the weights, I would go with 2 full-body sessions per week performed on non-consecutive days.Eventually, you may want to go to an upper/lower split routine, but for now, the full body routines will probably be best.Try to categorize your exercises into four primary groups and at each session do one exercise per group.Group one is legs/hips.Squats,lunges or single-leg leg presses are some good examples(the reason for mostly single-legged exercises is that they build balanced strength in each leg so no strength imbalaces will occur).Once per week you should include some hamstring curls to maintain balance with the quads.The second group is the back.Pulldowns,chins and rows work well for this group.The third group is the shoulder girdle.You should alternate between standing presses and bench presses and use dumbells as much as possible.This is the same as doing single-leg movements.The dumbells will force each arm to work equally.The last group is the core or midsection.Back extensions and crunches are good examples and if you can do these exercises on a stability ball that would be even better.The ball calls into play all the stabilizer muscles of the midsection.One very good sport-specific movement for the core group is russian twists.These work the muscles responsible for rotation of the torso and will add power to your serve.You might want to include a set or two for the elbow flexors/extensors.Curls and tri extensions will cover these muscles.That would be you're basic program.As far as sets and reps, You should probably start with three sets of 5-8 reps per exercise.There are two reasons for the low reps.First, you want to emphasize strength.Second, you don't really want to add too much bodyweight as that could slow you down on the court.For diet, you should try to eat 4-6 meals per day getting protein at each meal and keeping the fat fairly low.Two supplements you may want to try are creatine and glutamine.Hope this helps you out.BTW, welcome to the board.

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"I'm just here to kick a$$, sleep till noon"

<FONT COLOR="#000002" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">[Edited 1 time by ballast on 07-01-2001 at 03:57 PM]</font>

 

[Jonny]

Thanks for your help, I'll certainly take that into account and let you know how I get on.

Out of interest, you mentioned creatine and glutomine. In what foods am I likely to find large amounts of these?

Thanks,
Jonny

 

[ballast]

If you want to get the full benefits of creatine and glutamine, I'd suggest you buy the supplements themselves.Glutamine is an amino acid which is not found in any type of food I know of.

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"I'm just here to kick a$$, sleep till noon"

 

[MightyKing]

I play tennis and my serve is around 100-110. I don't think weightlifting has helped it out much though as it has always been fast.

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"The Greatest Mistake You Can Ever Make Is Continually Fearing That You Will Make One"
-Elbert Hubbard

 

[Jonny]

Thanks ballast, you've been a great with all this. It's appreciated, I'm gonna try your suggested workout tomorrow.

Thanks!

 

[ballast]

No problem.The key words in your last post being "suggested routine".Training is very individualistic.Experiment with different variables like sets,reps and rest intervals.Include the things you find useful and discard the rest.Check back here often.There are many knowledgable individuals here who are more than willing to share their advice and personal experiences.I have learned alot from them in the short time I have been here.Good luck to you.

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"I'm just here to kick a$$, sleep till noon"

 

[TheSupremeBeing]

LOL, Heath (Mighty King) plays tennis

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Complex problems have simple, easy to understand, wrong answers.

 

[Jonny]

Mighty, I am well aware that technique plays a big part in a server, as in a rally itself, but at the end of the day, someone who has tiny muscles is not going to be able to hit the ball as hard as someone who has much bigger muscles, right?

I always found that whenever I lifted small weights before I played a match, the racket and balls felt that bit lighter than usual, and I was able to hit the ball that bit harder.

At the end of the day, if strength had little or no bearing on someones game, why would the professionals bother weight training?

 

[ballast]

I agree Jonny.If you were to compare two equally skilled opponents, the stronger of the two would potentially be the better athlete.Strength training is invaluable in many sports.There are way too many coaches who still think that weights will make their athletes slow and bulky.That is the biggest load of b.s. I have ever heard.Simply due to the fact that strength training drastically lowers the chances of injury make it invaluable.IMO, any athlete involved in a contact sport like wrestling, boxing or hockey will benefit most from strength training, but that dosen't mean other athletes shouldn't incorporate it into their training.

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"I'm just here to kick a$$, sleep till noon"

 

[ALBOB]

I would also add that you will need to be extra diligent when it comes to stretching and warming up. Hitting a tennis ball, like hitting a golf ball is akin to the action of a whip. There's lot's of stress on the joints in that motion. When you start weight training and adding extra velocity to your movements you're upping the joint stress a great deal. I completely agree that weight training will help make you a better player, IF you use extra caution. If you're really that good an athlete, I know you already warm up properly, just make sure you keep doing it, maybe even a little more as you get stronger. A 200 MPH serve is no good if you're in the stands with your arm in a cast.

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Life is hard so quit whining and go out there and be alive.

 

[Jonny]

Thanks albob, that's a valid point. I have always had a thourough warm up before I play a match, but I can't say I was aware of how strength=more stress on joints. I'll have to rememer that, thanks