Tennis Workout Programs

What a tennis player does off the court to prepare himself physically for match play is just as important as the hours spent on court improving strokes. With a regular workout routine of tennis-specific exercises, players can improve their endurance, be more flexible, improve movement, gain strength in their arms and legs and avoid injuries.

  1. Cardio Workout

    • Cardio endurance is important for those long best-of-three set matches. This routine should be done three times per week. Start with a warm-up routine. Spend five minutes on a treadmill at five to six miles per hour. Once warmed up, do 10 minutes of jump-roping. Continue the workout with 30 minutes of interval training. This consists of two minutes on the treadmill at five to six miles per hour, 30 seconds at eight-and-a-half miles per hour, back to two minutes at five to six miles per hour and so on for 30 minutes. For the next eight minutes, run sideways either on the ground or a treadmill, switching sides every two minutes. End the workout with a cool down exercise. Do five minutes on the treadmill at five to six miles per hour.

    Letters Y, T, L, W

    • This workout strengthens the upper and lower back and shoulders. Start this workout with knees bent, hips lowered, back straight and leaning forward at a 45 degree angle. This position will be maintained throughout the workout. During the workout, the letters "Y", "T", "L" and "W" will be created with your body and arms. Each letter position is held for five seconds before relaxing. Start with your arms dangling. Then lift the shoulders up, pulling the shoulder blades together and down. Raise the arms up and forwards creating the letter "Y" with the arms and body. Hold and then bring the arms back to the starting position. Relax the shoulders. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions. To create the letter "T, from the starting position, lift the shoulders as before, raise the arms up and out parallel to the ground. Hold and then bring the arms back to the starting position. Relax the shoulders and repeat. For the letter "L", from the starting position, lift the elbows towards the ceiling with the arms bent at 90 degrees. Next bring the hands up to the ceiling. Hold, relax and repeat. The letter "W" starts the same way, however, the arms are held close to the body. Bend the arms at 90 degrees and rotate the forearms arms up and out. Keep the thumbs up; this looks similar to a "hitch hiking" position. Hold, then relax the shoulders and arms and repeat.

    Medicine Ball Throw

    • Stand three to four feet away from a wall. The feet should be shoulder width apart, knees slightly bend. Hold the medicine out in front of the body, waist high. Rotate the upper body away from the wall while taking the ball back behind the hips. As the hips and upper turn towards the wall, throw the ball against the wall. Catch the ball as it rebounds off the wall and repeat for several repetitions. Change sides and repeat for the same amount of repetitions. This exercise works the hips, legs, arms and upper body.