YOUR GAME FITNESS

EXTRA EFFORTS: World No.1 Andy Murray understands that a varied approach to fitness can help improve on-court results. THE EXTRA EDGE Every player is seeking something extra to help during the toughest matches. NATHAN & GISELLE MARTIN provide six training essentials to help give you an edge.

reparation and being as forehand, backhand, volley and Skipping a different perspective on willing to create overheads. It’s not only a great This very simple but effective what needs to change and helps effective change when warm-up, but it also prepares the warm-up is possibly one of the identify strengths. To make the it comes to fitness mind. Former world No.1 Justine best exercises. It is way better most of this, be prepared can be the x-factor Henin would spend a good 15 than a stationary bike as it is and willing to listen and make Pneeded to improve results. minutes prior to every match more specific and challenges some changes. Commit to some, or ideally all, of shadowing. Other players learnt co-ordination and stimulates these training essentials to help to get out of her way in the gym, the neuromuscular system. This achieve your best on court… especially when she was ‘hitting’ was always Steffi Graf’s favourite For more information on effective Endurance training a wide forehand. Henin would exercise – she would skip on a warm-up programs, visit The lack of a good cardio base have her game face on and use soft gym mat (do you know how tennisfitness.com/free-warm-up. is like building a house on shadowing to warm-up her body, hard that is?) and sometimes skip There is also some great tennis- weak foundations. Adequate switch on her brain and open up up to 30 minutes at a time. Can specific deceleration drills at cardio fitness enables athletes the muscle memory channels. you skip for two minutes without agilityfootwork.tennisfitness.com/ to maintain peak performance Five sets of 30-45 seconds with making an error? during long matches, recover 20 seconds rest between, aiming quickly between points and to build up the intensity with Deceleration drills hold concentration throughout each set, is recommended. Most players only concentrate a match. Performing a cardio- on acceleration, yet deceleration Rest days focused program at the drills are important too. It is so important to have regular beginning of a season is great but Accelerating and being explosive rest days – and this means full STAR unfortunately it won’t cut it – this on court is more difficult if TRAINERS continually needs to be built on. rest! Most players feel they need a player is not decelerating NATHAN AND GISELLE MARTIN, of Run, swim, cycle or play another to hit every day so they don’t lose effectively. Being unable to ‘the feel’, yet resting the body is Tennis Fitness, have been in the health sport consistently for 30 minutes decelerate well results in not and fitness industry for 20 years. They or more, one-two times a week, at important to help it recover and setting up shots properly and travelled on the WTA Tour for numerous 70 per cent intensity. develop. This is the time when being caught out of position, years and also worked at the Sanchez physical gains are actually made. which puts pressure on Casal Tennis Academy in Barcelona, Spain. They’ve worked with Sam Stosur, Shadowing Switching the mind off tennis and overloaded joints. This is one of the most under-rated focusing on something else is just Svetlana Kuznetsova, Jennifer Capriati, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Monica Seles, pre-match warm-up methods. as important. This is healthy as it Seeking and accepting Martina Navratilova, Casey Dellacqua Try and shadow for two-three mentally freshens and refocuses honest feedback and Lleyton Hewitt. For further minutes prior to playing matches, the mind. Players often find they Getting feedback from other information and for previous articles, alternating between all shots such hit better after a rest day. coaches and players provides visit tennisfitness.com.

70 AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE