Weather, Wimbledon and Tennis

With Wimbledon currently all over our screens and with the heatwave we are currently in I thought I introduce you to a few tips for tennis you could do in the gym or outside. This will hopefully benefit your tennis skills and get your heart rate up, burning unwanted fat for the summer. 

For tennis the main focus are powerful legs along with strong shoulders. The recruitment of fast twitch muscles are crucial in tennis as every movement is of a explosive form. As a tennis player though you still want to remain light on your feet, great aerobic capacity for long rally's with flexibility to stretch for the short drop shots. Stability for when playing power shots and the ability to get to the shots along with pin point footwork are also aspects which are needed. However, firstly I'm going to start by how to improve the recruitment of fast twitch muscles.

Much like my recent blog on football the recruitment of fast twitch muscles are crucial to gain the explosive power to generate through the shots. Beginning with a compound exercise to recruit these muscle fibres in a high weight, low rep, explosive manner. Back squat is where I would begin. Warm up to a weight where you would normally perform 8-10 reps with. Use this weight to perform 3x5 of pause squats, pausing for a 6 second count at the bottom of the rep. Superset this with jump squats to failure. Next moving on to the posterior chain through deadlifts. Unlike the pause with the squats the attention needs to be paid to the eccentric phase, with the lowering of the weight and exploding out of the bottom. I read a recent article on Laura Robson's training and this is one of her  favourite exercises. Perform 5x5 superset with 8 tuck jumps. Both of these are aiming to increase your recruitment of fast twitch muscle fibres.

Mentioned in the article was how Laura uses a lot of pull ups in her routine to build up her upper strength. These can be performed assisted, normally or weighted all to improve strength. If you can't perform a pull up unassisted then jump up and lower yourself down under control, this will just build up the strength in the area. Press ups is the king of exercises to build the strength in the upper body. Clap press ups will suit tennis more due to the explosive manner in which they are performed. Lowering yourself down under control with a explosive press generating power, emulating an action when performing a shot. With these you can go as far as bring your whole body of the ground.

 

Movement around the court is the last aspect I'm going to address which is one of the most important. Movement can't just be backwards and forwards to and from the net as the game is mostly played across court meaning lateral movement must be efficient as well.  This is often improved through drills, such a shuttle runs, or death runs like in basketball but there are certain exercises which can help. Ice skaters where you jump laterally from one leg to the other will increase the single leg power on the plane of movement. All different types of sprints will aid with movement. Move laterally and then after 8-12 strides sprint forward. Jump 180 degrees then sprint forward. Move laterally, then backwards and sprint forwards. All these slight adjustments to just basic sprint will all help, read my football entry for more tips and advice. 

Gym based workout

1) Squats - 15,12.10,8 then 3x5 pause squats. Superset with jump squats.

2) Deadlifts - 15,12,10,8 then 5x5 deadlifts, focus on eccentric phases. Superset tuck jumps.

3) Pull ups 3 sets till failure. If exceeding 10 reps add additional weight.

4) Clap press ups, aim for 6-8 reps. 

5) Plank, 4x45 seconds.

Outdoors 

1) 5 burpees, 8 press ups, 10 jump squats. As many rounds in 20 minutes.

2) 10 Ice skaters, 5 broad jumps. 5 sets.

3) 50 m sprint

                      180 degree turn into sprint x5

                      Lateral, backwards into sprint x5

There we have a few little points that you could use to improve you strength and conditioning for when your next on the court, or you just fancy a different workout.

Jack

How many carbs do I need to eat??

The volume of carbohydrates in anyones diet has always been a massive worry for many people. So people believe that cutting all carbs whether it be high glycemic or also low glycemic carbs is what needed to become shredded and to look like all the time fitness models, well in many ways you'd be wrong.

For many years this was me, always thinking that cutting carbs out of my diet will allow me to lose what and look lean for the ever 6 pack to come out which is everyones desire. Carbohydrates are an essential macronutrient. They are your body's preferred energy source, and they're a great source of fuel for any physical activity you might do during the day. But, if you don't use carbs the right way at the right times, they can add an enormous amount of fat to your body. There are four easy ways to do this:

1 At breakfast you body is deprived of calories and energy due to you fasting throughout the night therefore, this is one of the best times to consume carbohydrates as your glucose tolerance is at its highest. For breakfast grab something that is full of slow glycemic carbs, best option being something like oats. This is slow releasing, keeping you fuller for longer.

2 Another great time to eat carbs and is where they are also essential is both pre and post workout. Pre workout carbs will give you the energy to sustain a high, intense rate throughout your workout however if you body is not use to consuming carbohydrates here be careful as it may make you feel tired and slow. Opt for a high glycemic carb like a banana to give you a quick energy burst, some time fitness models even go as far as krispy kreme donuts . Post workout is when your body is at one of its highest to consume carbs in order to gain recovery and energy. (I wont bore you with all the details). Again you want a fast absorbing carb which will get straight into the muscle. Fruits and honey are always a great source. I often make a shake with my whey protein along with kiwi and a banana. A little treat to look forward to. Here you want to be consuming around 40-60grams if you are monitoring your macro nutrients. 

3 Don’t eat all your carbs in one sitting, this will make you feel bloated and often very tired. Instead opt to break it up over the day, constantly feeding the muscles. This works the same for proteins and fats. This leads me onto how you need to mix up the carbs you're eating, don’t just eat rice all day. One you'll get bored and so will your body processing it. Instead opt for things so as bulgar wheat, sweet potato and VEGETABLES!!!

4 Eating carbohydrates late at night has always been a huge topic of conversation across the fitness world. Many people say that you should eat no carbs after 7pm as unless you train late  as you body no longer needs energy however I am some what against this. Don’t get me wrong I don’t eat a huge volume of carbs late a night but I don’t cut them completely out. If they fit into your macros for the day then go ahead and eat them. 

5 The best way I look at eating carbs in general is you must mix it up. Eat more carbs then you normally would and see if they give you more energy in the gym, if they don’t then taper them down slightly. Second to that is look in the mirror, this is a mans best friend in getting a good body even if slightly vein. If you're looking to fat, cut down on the volume food especially carbs you're eating. If you want to put some bulk on, up the food you're eating. Easy as that. Give it a week or so between changing this and you'll notice such a difference when comparing yourself in the mirror. This will help you understand what is best for your body as everyones body works differently and you can build on it from there. 

Therefore don't be afraid of eating carbohydrates just follow the five easy steps above and see how they work for you, however this isn't gospel. These are the foundation to test your body and understand how it reacts to this and adjust it to fit your individuals needs for the future. 

Remember 70% diet and 30% gym.

Jack