from Tennis Fitness Love
The French Open is behind us and we can just admire the athleticism of all players. They can last on the court for hours, moving light and strike the tennis ball always on balance. That is something that we always want to strive for. We may never be like Roger, Rafa or Novak, but we can strive to be the best and most athletic that we can be. And for all of us, there is a room for improvement. Make sure that you make a commitment to yourself and your fitness, and make room in your calendar for 1-3 strengthening sessions, 2 agility sessions and daily short stretching routine. It may sound like it is a lot for your already full schedule, but you don't need to spend hours each training. Thirty minutes of intense core and leg workout after your tennis practice a couple of times per week is great. Learn how to finish every tennis practice with 10-20 minute stretching, and you will be doing better on the court that you can even imagine.
Stretching
If you are looking for an inspiration for a stretching routine, here is a 12- stretch routine, that takes care of your entire body... depending how long you hold the stretches, it will take between 10-20 minutes. The more flexible you are, the less you need to do.
Stiff Neck and Painful Shoulders
Do you experience tight neck and shoulders often and do you get tension headaches? Today’s lifestyle of is “everything forward.” You sit at the desk with your shoulders, arms and head positioned forward, and with your lower and upper back rounded. The posture is similar while you drive your car: your shoulders, head, and arms forward, with rounded back. Then you come home and relax, slouching in the sofa, watching TV with your head and shoulders forward… The majority of your activities is “forward” and only very few activities, if any, put your body in its natural position with the sway lower back, the head positioned over the shoulders and the shoulders retracted back.
Our bodies are optimally functional when the posture is erect, with a slightly arched back, a curvature in the neck and a head positioned directly over the shoulders. The shoulders are aligned over the hips, which are directly above the knees, and they are directly above the ankles. This is the ideal that we always want to strive for, or the joints will experience additional and unnecessary stress during your athletic endeavors. If you play tennis with not fully functional shoulders, you may experience pains and overuse injuries. There are a few simple exercises that you can do anywhere, at home, on the court or at work and they will re-align your shoulders, release the tension from your neck and shoulders and make your spine more supple. The exercises are elbow curls, arm circles and cats-and-dogs. For detailed description, read the following post how to prevent stiff neck and tight shoulders.
Lunges - the King of Exercises for the Lower Body Strength and BalanceLunges are great exercise that will improve the strength of your entire lower body, balance, coordination, and your tennis fitness. You don’t need any equipment or gym to do your lunges, and to make it more entertaining, there is a variety of different versions of lunges, such as walking lunges, split-step lunges, lunges backward, forward and sideways, jump lunges, step-up lunges, lunges with twists, lunges with a kettlebell (or dumbbell) overhead, and many more. You will never get bored! For detailed description of all the variations of lunges, read how to improve your tennis fitness with lunges.
Power Bracelet
You have probably seen the colorful rubber bracelets with a magnet, which are supposed to improve your balance, strength and flexibility. They cost around $30. But can they really help you with your tennis fitness and performance? Read the full report and study on Power Bracelet and you may be surprised...
Kettlebells - Great Tool for Tennis Players
Kettlebells are great for every athlete, but specially for tennis players. You use the quick power of your hips to catapult the kettlebell up or over the head. You have to engage your core to a maximum, to resist the forces of the kettlebell that is swinging/falling back down. And when you have the kettlebell over your head, because the center of gravity of the ball is behind you, you will engage more shoulder stabilizers. Besides that, it will strengthen your hands and grip, forearms, eye-hand-coordination and flexibility. Last, but not least, it is extremely fun in its challenging way. The technique is very important for safe training, so make sure that your technique is correct when you start learning. Either hire a kettlebell teacher, or watch different videos so you know how to do it correctly.
1) The basic swing is a bread and butter of the kettlebell training. Read the post and watch the video on how to do this basic kettlebell swing correctly.
2) When you do the basic swing flawlessly, you can add more advanced things, such as snatch, overhead squat, flips and many more fun things.
3) One-legged stiff-legged deadlift is a great strengthener of the glutes, hamstrings and lower back, in addition to perfecting your balance and coordination. Watch the video and see the instructions on stifflegged kettlebell deadlift.
If you don't own kettlebells and are interested in purchasing them, I highly recommend the online retailer Power-systems. Just wait for a coupon for free shipping, or you will pay a lot of shipping fee. They offer different discounts very regularly, and I always post a new code under the kettlebells articles, so if you are interested in purchasing your own Currentells, keep coming back. Cureent offer: Use code B51101 for free shipping until June 11, 2011.
Czechoslovakia --> Sweden --> Venice Beach
If you ever wondered how I happened to leave Czechoslovakia and through Sweden land in Venice Beach, you can listen to this interview by Tommy Mischke for CBS radio.
Nice Calorie Expenditure Table
As the summer approaches, we all want to be a little bit lighter and leaner so we look good in those tiny summer clothes. It is time to start eating more vegetables and fruits and maybe to add some more activities to burn more calories. See this short table on how many calories different activities burn. (Look where the kettlebells are.. it is another good reason for having fun with those shiny black iron balls).
Interlinked PDFs and Kindle
I am very happy to announce that "Tennis Fitness for the Love of it" book on injury prevention and tennis specific fitness has been published for Amazon Kindle, Nook, iPad and other e-readers. I also offer interlinked PDFs on my website for an easy orientation and jumping through the book. In addition, there are 5 short e-booklets (around 6,000 words) on different subject, such as strengthening, stretching, myofascial release, etc. They all are inter-linked and with colored photographs. Here below is a complete list with links of all the e-book:
Amazon Kindle (available on Amazon.com) for $8.99
iPad, Nook, Kobo versions (available from Smashwords) for $8.99
Interlinked PDF version for $8.99 (35,000 words)
E-booklets, each for $2.99, all interlinked PDFs
Static Stretching for Injury Prevention EBook
Myofascial Release for Injury Prevention EBook
Strength and Power for Injury-Free Tennis EBook
Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation EBook
Agility and Performance EBook
20% OFF for all the fathers, sons, coaches, husbands...
In honor to our men whom we love so much, I offer 20% off on all e-books until the Father's Day on June 19. Enter code FATHER20
If you enjoyed reading the June newsletter, feel free to forward it to your tennis partners and friends, so they can become fitter and better players as well.
