Speed Training for Excellence in Tennis
Speed is certainly one of the most vital attributes any professional Tennis player must have. Tennis is a very physical game that requires the athlete to perform short, explosive bursts of speed to keep up with the ball. Speed is essential in Tennis because the ball can move in any random direction at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour across the court, and the receiving player must dash quickly to meet it and return the ball in the opposite direction.
So, you may be wondering… What is speed training is all about? The simple answer is that speed training workouts are those exercises that are geared toward increasing the pace of the athlete – The ability to change direction in split seconds. Most professional Tennis players perform speed training to improve their agility and balance while dashing from one end of the court (It is such a beautiful thing to see Roger Federer’s flawless footwork and speed at Wimbledon!) to the other. Consequently, Speed training is a basic component of any training regimen for all Tennis players. In fact, in a certain sense, the quickest player wins in the game of Tennis.
I’ll be sharing with you 5 pro tips for an excellent speed training exercise. Consistent application of these workouts will help to boost your speed dramatically and ultimately you could become a better Tennis player. To find out more, keep reading!
Warm-Ups
Speed training workouts for Tennis is all about exerting maximum energy and intensity to quicken your pace. One great way to do this is by doing dynamic warm-ups. These exercises are the key to working your muscles at maximum capacity. While warming up, you should take short, quick and explosive bursts of speed running (for example running to a post and running back.) This is also a great aerobic exercise that can increase your heart rate and capacity.
Before you start speed training, ensure that you put on the appropriate running footwear to avoid getting injured. A little tip/warning here: If you’re new to running, I recommend you start at a slower pace and gradually build up your speed. Don’t just start running too fast from the get-go or you face the risk of getting serious injuries to your ligaments. This is because when you run very fast, your muscular contraction is quite rapid, so if you fail to warm up adequately, you risk getting some really nasty injuries.
Cool-Downs
The Cooldown is essentially the interval between sprinting and recovery. It involves decreasing your speed gradually until you’re simply walking. Rapid contractions during speed training warmups tend to contract the leg muscles as your training progresses, and this generates some lactic acid and other waste products. The benefit of the cool-down is to help to gradually pull your leg muscles back to their initial resting condition and reduce the volume of waste products.
The cool-down is just like the warm-up besides the fact that warmups usually start at a slower pace and energy, and gradually builds up the momentum, but the cool-down means gradually slowing your pace from a quick run to a walk, then complete halt, and concluding with some light stretching exercises to relax the ligaments and leg muscles.
A good combination of warm up and cool down exercises will considerably decrease muscle stress normally experienced a couple of days after a training session.
Speed Training shouldn’t be done in Straight Lines
Think about how you play Tennis for a moment. You don’t actually run in one particular direction, but you move forward, backward and sideways. You need to tailor your strength training to account for this. As a Tennis player, the ability to make quick, sharp changes in direction is critical – It determines whether you will reach the ball in time or not. As a guide, you could actually write down how often you move forward, backward, left and right. Simulate your Tennis playing in your warm up and cool down runs. A good idea is to run around a bend. That isn’t to say that you shouldn’t practice making straight runs, but you just need to limit it since you’re not training for track and field.
Short distance training is Key
Remember what I said about only running in straight lines not being very beneficial for Tennis athletes? Another important component of speed training has to do with mileage. In Tennis, you typically only cover only short distances to meet the ball – from your side of the court to the net, running up, down, forward and sideways.
You probably run no longer than 100 – 200 meters/yards in an entire Tennis game. What counts isn’t necessarily how far you can run, but how fast you can run. Consequently, when you’re doing speed training exercises, you should run shorter distances of 5 – 10 meters/yards. Focus on building up your speed over time and leave the marathons for track and field athletes.
Adequate rest is vital
Although resting is one frequently overlooked component of exercise in speed training and most sports in general, it doesn’t make it any less vital. Getting adequate rest between sets will give your muscles and tendons sufficient time to recuperate. It’s very dangerous to overwork your muscles without adequate resting because it could lead to serious muscle injuries. Have you ever heard of Achilles Tendonitis? It’s a serious injury caused by muscle overuse that could lead to rupture of the tendons – a very traumatizing experience for most athletes.
Last Words
We have now established that speed training is essential for peak performance in Tennis. The next step is for you to find out the best speed training workouts that will give you the results you desire. The importance of wearing the correct sports footwear cannot be overemphasized.
Finally, make sure you get enough rest post-workouts because if your muscles don’t recover fully, it will be very difficult for you to perform at the high levels of intensity that the game of Tennis demands. Ideally, you should rest for at least 60 seconds between each set, although some high-intensity speed workouts will require you to rest for up to two minutes.
