Tennis uses almost every muscle in your body which makes it a great workout alone but working out outside of tennis is a great way to improve your game.
If you are just learning how to play tennis on court and off court workouts are going to be key to your success. Last week, we talked about workouts for your legs and core, so let’s discuss some exercises specifically for your arms, chest, and back.
When you are playing tennis, you are obviously using a lot of your arm muscles but a lot of that power comes from both your chest, back, and shoulders. Working these muscles out when you are off the court is surely going to increase your power and your overall game so that you can keep winning those matches. Here you will learn about some exercises that you can do pretty much anywhere without much equipment.
Let’s start with your back muscles. Your back and core muscles are very closely related and we learned that the core is key to balance so strengthening your back is also going to help your core.
Grab a set of light weights and start out with some T raises. Start with your feet about hip width apart and your weights in each hand at your side, palms facing forward. Bend your knees slightly and move your torso down and forward. While you are moving forward, bring your weights together in the center, keeping your palms up. Now separate your weights, straight out from your shoulders until your body is in a T shape. Staying in this position, with your torso forward, keep moving your weights in and out for about 20 reps. Another great back workout is arm out planks. Get in a plank with your hands on the ground, right below your shoulders. Your arms should be pretty straight. Now just alright raising one arm out to your side until it is at shoulder height. Try doing 15 reps per arm. While push-ups are simple, they are another great back (and shoulder) exercise that does not require any equipment.
Next up is working out your shoulders! Once you have warmed them up a little bit with some push-ups, it is time to start targeting those shoulder muscles specifically. Your rotator cuff, which is between your shoulder and arm, is going to be most important right before you hit the ball.
Get back in your T raise position with your weights. This time you are going to hold your weights with your knuckles facing inward toward each other at your sides. Lower your weights down to your mid calf and pull up keeping your arms at your sides. Bring your weights up to about your hips/stomach. Your elbows should be bent and your arms almost parallel to the ground. I try to do around 20 reps of these. Next up is going to be a lateral raise. Start with your feet shoulder width apart and your weights at your sides, again with your knuckles facing in toward each other. Now, raise both arms (or you can do one at a time if this is more comfortable for you) out to your sides until they are at shoulder height. These can be difficult so just do as many reps as you feel comfortable with. Once you are done with your lateral raises, try a deltoid raise. You will be in the same position as before but instead of raising your arms to the side, just bring them up in front of you.
Now that you have your back and shoulder workouts, let’s work on gaining muscle in your chest. Your chest is especially important in your forehand swings.
If you can find a sturdy table or box about thigh height (I use my coffee table!), try an incline press up. Place your hands on your surface and put the rest of your body in a push up position. This is basically just a push up but it’s going to be a little bit easier as you will have less direct body weight. Now grab your weights again! You will be in the same position as your lateral and deltoid raises. Holding your weights with your knuckles facing forward, start with your elbows bent next to your sides with your hands (holding the weights) at your shoulders. Now just press all the way up until your weights meet in the middle above your head. Engage your core throughout and try to do around 20 reps.
Last but certainly not least, let’s focus on those arms and hands! Obviously your arms are going to be vital in tennis but so are your hands. You have to be able to grip and control your racket so the hands and wrists are just as important as your arms.
If you can find a smallish ball that is slightly weighted and squishy enough to squeeze, try doing some ball squeezes. These are going to increase your hand, wrist, and forearm strength. While bicep curls are not the most exciting, they are one of the best and easiest ways to gain muscle in your arms. Next is going to be wrist curls so grab your weights. Best part of this exercise is that you can do it sitting down! Place your arms on your thighs with your knuckles facing up. Now all you have to do is curl those weights up using your wrists. Do as many as you are comfortable with and be careful not to over do it. If you can get your hands on a hand grip squeezer, doing this throughout the day is surely going to improve your forearm and hand strength.
Strengthening your muscles off the court is just as important as improving your skills on the court so try out these workouts a few times a week. In addition to these exercises, take a lesson with HOKALI to really get your tennis game on point and you’ll be playing like a pro in no time!
Wanna know more about tennis? Have a look at this blog post!
Tennis uses almost every muscle in your body which makes it a great workout alone but working out outside of tennis is a great way to improve your game.
If you are just learning how to play tennis on court and off court workouts are going to be key to your success. Last week, we talked about workouts for your legs and core, so let’s discuss some exercises specifically for your arms, chest, and back.
When you are playing tennis, you are obviously using a lot of your arm muscles but a lot of that power comes from both your chest, back, and shoulders. Working these muscles out when you are off the court is surely going to increase your power and your overall game so that you can keep winning those matches. Here you will learn about some exercises that you can do pretty much anywhere without much equipment.
