There are countless ways that tennis players can get into shape. From running workouts to weight training, on-court drills and more.
All have their pros and cons. And all can be utilized at different times of the year + at different stages of a player’s development.
Recently, plyometric and jump training has resurfaced as a popular training modality amongst tennis players. You’ll see many performing hurdles, line hops and other types of jumping variations. It’s proposed that this training method will take advantage of certain deficiencies in elastic abilities, power endurance and neuromuscular development.
There’s one type of plyo/jump method that we use year-round (to some extent) and that has proven to be invaluable - in-place jump circuits.
What’s an In-Place Jump Circuit?
An in-place jump circuit is essentially what it sounds like. It’s a type of circuit training whereby you perform various jumping exercises within - more or less - the same spot, with brief periods of rest between exercises and sets.
Whether it’s during preparatory periods - or even on tour between events (or part of extended warm-ups) - we use these regularly to improve a host of factors.
While in-place jumps can be plyometric, often, they are not. Recall that a plyo activity needs to fulfill certain criteria and many in-place jumps (and jumps in general) are more ballistic in nature (rather than plyometric).
Below I’ll share a video of an in-place jump circuit that we employ on a weekly basis with our tennis players. But before that, here are the benefits.
Benefits of In-Place Jump Circuits
1 - Less Intense than Other Plyos
Firstly, in-place jump circuits don’t have the same type of ground reaction forces as other forms of jump activities like horizontal bounding and leaping. Because of this, we generally classify them as low to moderate intensity jumps. But just because they aren’t as intense as other forms of jumps + plyometrics, doesn’t mean they aren’t critical (they are…keep reading).
2 - Exercise Variety
Because they’re not as intense, they lend themselves to many different variations. Some movements use smaller amplitudes that might target more of the lower leg (and ankle complex in particular). Other jumps, on the other hand, may be deeper - which in turn target the knee and/or the hip (plus surrounding musculature). Getting a variety of jumps into each circuit ensures we’re getting enough variability to tackle all 3 joints + multiple muscle groups.
3 - Multiple Movement Planes and Directions
We can perform jumps on two legs, on one leg or contralaterally (like skater jumps - vid below). We can perform these jumps with a vertical, rotational or frontal plane emphasis - all of which are axis and planes players will encounter on the tennis court. Not to mention that perform jumps in different planes/directions ensures we’re not stressing the body in a repetitive manner (it’ll get enough of that on the court). This may help reduce injury risk.
4 - Specific to Certain Tennis Situations
The depth of the jump will affect ground contact times - and in tennis, there’s such a variance here (split-steps are more reactive / faster while changing direction after a wide ball exposes the leg to deeper ranges + is slower); so it’s key we target a host of scenarios. Skaters above would fall under the deep/slow category while vertical leaps (vid below), would be on the reactive/faster end of the spectrum.
5 - Individualized Work to Rest Ratios
They can be used with various work to rest ratios depending on the time of year, the goal of training and the individual’s needs. For example, during general preparation blocks, we typically perform shorter work intervals and longer rest periods. This will provide us a better chance of preparing the body to handle jumping and landing while at the same time, it won’t fatigue the athlete for multiple sets. As we get closer to competition, rest times will usually decrease as we’re aiming to improve power endurance.
6 - Easy to Progress
In-place jump circuits can progress in multiple ways. We can increase the intensity by aiming to be more explosive. We can create more challenging exercises (see wideouts vid below). And we can play around with work to rest ratios. For instance, we could increase the work intervals and decrease the rest intervals (they could even match what a player will experience on the court). This, in turn, could work on aerobic / anaerobic abilities in a ‘power-oriented’ manner.
7 - Prepare the Body to Handle More Intensity
In-place jumps also act to prepare the various systems for more intense / advanced plyometric activities that should be implemented down the road. This has 2 primary factors to it - first, it helps to prep the muscular / neuromuscular systems in a progressive manner (because they are lower in stress compared to bounding or reactive hops). And secondly, they will improve coordination so that those more advanced plyometrics can be learned + progressed at faster rates.
8 - Take Up Minimal Space
Lastly, these circuits are great in group settings as they do not take up a lot of space and they are self-regulating in nature. I’ve worked in academy settings where I’ve had 20+ kids doing fitness at the same time. Not to mention the ages & body types varied + every player was essentially at a different stage of physical + mental development…yet they all still benefited in one way or another.
I will leave you with an introductory circuit (vid below) I have nearly every tennis player I coach perform during a general preparation period. Try it!
If you’d like a more organized program that progresses in-place jumps (with detailed guidelines) - along with other forms of plyometrics, med ball throws, agility and weight training - I suggest checking out out my new resource, Tennis Strength Basics. It’s on sale during Wimbledon 2022 - just enter code SW19 to save!
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