Circuit Training For Tennis
Author: Paul Gold
Get fit to play, don't play to get fit is a very well known
saying and you should all know that doing some fitness work
along side your lessons and practise sessions will improve
your performance as well as making you less prone to injury.
Well, if you are looking for the perfect way to train all
the components of fitness you need to improve your game in
the same session, then you need look no further than
circuit training.
Circuit training is an exercise format that normally
utilises between 6 and 10 exercises that are completed one
after another (the circuit!!) for a specified number of
repetitions or time period before moving onto the next
exercise. The completion of one exercise and the beginning
of the next are separated by brief timed rest intervals and
each circuit by a longer rest period. The total number of
circuits performed during a training session may vary from
two to six depending on your training level (beginner,
intermediate, or advanced), your period of training and
your training objective.
To plan a Session you will need to think about the possible
exercises that can be performed with the equipment and
space you have available. In order to ensure that no two
consecutive exercises stress the same muscle group set up
the circuit as follows:
Total-body, Upper-body, Lower-body, Core/Trunk etc.
It is important to warm up and perform some dynamic
stretching exercises and to repeat this as a cool down
after the session.
Example No Equipment Circuit Training Session
Skipping – cardiovascular & coordination
Press ups - chest, shoulders, arms (esp triceps - serve)
and core
Squats – quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves and core/lower
back
Crunch – abdominals esp rectus abdominis
Star Jumps – leg power, flexibility & endurance
Bench Dips – triceps, chest and shoulders
Lunges – hamstrings, glutes and quads
Back extension – lower back
Shuttle runs (sprinting/running continuously between
predetermined points) – speed endurance
Duration – start with the following (lower level): 20
seconds work on each exercise with a 30 second recovery
between each exercise - 3 sets with a 3 minute recovery
between each circuit
Complete the circuit training session twice a week with at
least 48 hours between each session. I suggest you base
your training on a four week cycle of an easy week, medium
week, hard week and test/recovery week.
The work load can be varied by changing the number of
exercises, duration, sets or repetitions.
About the Author:
Paul Gold is one of the top tennis training consultants on
the web. He trains players of all abilities from beginner
through to Tour level as well as writing for several
industry magazines and sites. He has a Masters degree in
Sports Sciences and is a Performance Enhancement Specialist
and Speed Agility Quickness trainer. For more articles and
information about products and services contact via
http://www.tennis-training
