Fitness Mailbag: Stretch and Strengthen
Category: Tennis
Publish Date: 09-23-2010 10:38 AM -0400
We’ll answer your health, fitness and nutrition questions here each week. Click here to submit one of your own.
I’m looking for shoulder exercises. Can you help me? Thanks.—Jim Filippo
An injury to your shoulder can keep you off the court for months. Take Maria Sharapova: She was sidelined for nine months after having surgery on her rotator cuff in 2008, and she still hasn’t been able to climb back to the top. “The majority of upper body injuries in tennis players are shoulder-related,” says Dr. Mark Kovacs, manager of USTA Sport Science. “So spending time on rotator-cuff strengthening and shoulder flexibility, especially internal rotation of the shoulder, is really important.”
When you exercise your shoulders, you’re actually working the four muscles of the rotator cuff, which stabilize the joint. Resistance band exercises are great for the shoulders because the work you do to control the motion fine-tunes and strengthens those muscles. For more on keeping your shoulders healthy, read this article from TENNIS Magazine, and click here for some sample exercises.
I’m a 55-year-old male who plays four to five times a week. I’m looking for some stretching and strengthening exercises that will help me stay injury-free. The wear and tear on the hard courts is starting to be an issue with my kness, back and shoulder, and I’d also like to address my core. Thanks.—Frank Redman
It’s great that you’re seeking to strengthen and stretch, Frank. Both are essential if you want to prevent injury and stay fit, and adding strength is particularly important as you get older. “Strength training and especially power training as we age has been shown to be really beneficial,” Kovacs says. He recommends you consult a qualified strength and conditioning coach or a physical therapist to start a regimen.
Another option would be to check out a book like Complete Conditioning for Tennis by E. Paul Roetert and Todd S. Ellenbecker, which comes with a workout DVD. It gives you exercises and tips to help you gain flexibility and strength and prevent injury throughout the body. For a more bite-sized guide, check out our rules for keeping fit as you get older.
Also, it might be time to ditch the hard courts. More forgiving surfaces like clay or grass will limit the pounding on your body. And no matter what courts you play on, Kovacs says, watch what you wear on your feet: “Really make sure that the shoes and any inserts or orthotics are replaced regularly and are of high quality.”
What are the best exercises to improve the serve, especially for beginners? Do I need a strong core or shoulder?—Aris Morales
You definitely need a strong core and shoulders. “But for a beginner,” Kovacs says, “probably what will give you the biggest return is developing some lower-body power.” Kovacs recommends you do plyometrics to gain power. That’s “anything that’s explosive and requires the athlete to get off the ground,” Kovacs says. So if you’re new to tennis and want to beef up your serve, get moving with things like jump squats, high knees and figure-8s.
