For the majority of tennis players, traditional ‘aerobic training’ is useless. That’s a pretty bold statement, I know. But hear me out.
In tennis, successful players need to be skillful. They must possess technical mastery across a number of strokes. They require a strategy. And tactics to implement said strategy.
Even though I have a bias towards being very prepared from a physical standpoint (as long time readers of Mattspoint would know), technique and tactics are still top priority.
One of those ways is to use med balls for non-throwing scenarios. I know, for the most part, med balls are used for throwing purposes (and made for this reason as well). Throwing allows us to have a shorter deceleration phase and extend the propulsion phase - akin to doing a jump squat instead of a barbell squat for the development of lower-body power.
Here’s the thing, it’s kind of a mess out there, isn’t it? From the latest & greatest exercises to outdated information - and promises of quick results - the tennis fitness world can be a confusing place.
The truth is, there’s no one best exercise or one best program or one best [insert training fad of the week].
Instead, what we are left with are principles. Scientific principles to be exact. Like specificity and progressive overload and adaptation. So if a program is built on this type of foundation, improvements are almost ensured. If not...well, the reverse is probably true.
Don’t believe me? Consider for a moment what my clientele looks like: