Speed and weight transfer help

[ROFLingpanda]

I have a lot of trouble with power, being very small and skinny (14 year girl, 4'10" and i weigh like 94ish ._.) i was told instead of hitting with power and having my consistency die, i hit with SPEED by swinging my arm faster
i found that swinging faster tires me out very quickly, and i know my weight transfer sucks.

I'm currently working on swinging faster and sometimes when i get too bored i swing a 2 lb dumbell as i would for a forehand

Could I get some tips on how to improve weight transfer or speed (of hits, not footwork)?
please and thank you

[Shashwat]

There's really nothing to say except to work on it and use your whole body with the fast racquet head speed. Idk, maybe try swinging a baseball bat?

[ROFLingpanda]

the problem with using my body is when i try, my consistency just dies, i get tired, or i just can't put the ball where i want to

[Jackie T. Stephens]

I'm 15 years old play 16 and unders and I'm only 117 pounds myself but my forehand has nothign but power but I go to the gym and work my arms thats why they look big on me lol. Look do about 100 push-ups a day 7 days a week. Do 10 then take a 2 minute break the next set and so on.

[TennisCoachFLA]

You need to find a trainer in your area that understands sports science. The entire body needs to be stronger, it all works together. Swinging a weight is only a tiny part of getting your entire body stronger and working in unison.

A good trainer will strengthen your core first of all. Your core...abs, back, and side muscles are where it all starts from. Once that is strong and flexible, the trainer will work the legs and arms as needed for tennis. Weight training should be sports specific. Every athlete needs to weight train, but in different ways depending on their sport and body type.

Please order the book "Athletic Development" by Vern Gambetta from Amazon. This guy lays it all out for you.

Once your body is strengthened, a good tennis coach can get your weight transfer right for maximum power.

I also suggest buying a few videos by Rick Macci, available form the USPTA's website. Coach Macci is a master at weight transfer for maximum power. You should see how well some of his 6 year old girls hit!

[redsoxrock930]

definitely work on your core muscles and lower back muscles. also you should be getting a lot of power from your legs.

Try a high rep low weight bench press, incline crunches with maybe a ten pound weight plate, rows and definitely some squats with weight, but on squats be careful not to injure your knees.

[ROFLingpanda]

definitely work on your core muscles and lower back muscles. also you should be getting a lot of power from your legs.

Try a high rep low weight bench press, incline crunches with maybe a ten pound weight plate, rows and definitely some squats with weight, but on squats be careful not to injure your knees.
i have no idea what this means, but ill try the books and videos tenniscoach mentioned.. ty

[BradBaughman]

Roflingpanda,your size and weight are usally a bonus or a minus.Theres a couple of ways to make a quick fix ,first off its truly about timing and technique these two are the foundations you will need to improve your power my son 11yrs old and weighs 85- 90lbs his strings are strung at 67lbs and have been since he was 7yrs old plus he uses a hitters raquet but is still able to compete quite comfortabally in the 16s with kid sometime twice his weight and end up matching them even in the area of power, because of his timing and technique, cause theres no way hes as strong as these older boys yet he competes with them.Depending where you live (state) there are a handful of coaches that know what there doing, put your state up and maybe i could guide you to one of them. best of luck Brad BTW weights will help but there not neccasary

[TennisCoachFLA]

Roflingpanda,your size and weight are usally a bonus or a minus.Theres a couple of ways to make a quick fix ,first off its truly about timing and technique these two are the foundations you will need to improve your power my son 11yrs old and weighs 85- 90lbs his strings are strung at 67lbs and have been since he was 7yrs old plus he uses a hitters raquet but is still able to compete quite comfortabally in the 16s with kid sometime twice his weight and end up matching them even in the area of power, because of his timing and technique, cause theres no way hes as strong as these older boys yet he competes with them.Depending where you live (state) there are a handful of coaches that know what there doing, put your state up and maybe i could guide you to one of them. best of luck Brad BTW weights will help but there not neccasary

Brad, nice advice...but...you are wrong about weight training. It is actually more important for the girls than the boys. The girls have 1/10th the testosterone on boys, and need to do a moderate weight program year round to maintain their strength. Girls lose power after a few weeks of not weight training. Vern Gambetta, a scientist with 40 years of research behind him, outlines this in his book, "Athletic Development"

This young lady is 14, well of age to be doing a weight training program under the guidance of an experienced trainer. In fact, at her age it is vital that she does it to compete at a top level.

[BradBaughman]

Tennis Florida the girls i work with hit a very heavy and driving ball yes i wish they did use some weights but they dont and they still hit big cause of the system we use ill shoot you some video of them.But weights are not neccasary to develope a huge ball but are "helpful i do agree"!

[BradBaughman]

Tennis florida coming from a boxing / wrestling back ground knowing and understanding how important leverage and technique are and if used properly can cause lots of power effortlessly I know this by what Deiton does with his skinney little but lol

[TennisCoachFLA]

Brad, I am talking about the very top junior levels. The top girls at 14 in South Florida all have mastered leverage and weight transfer so to be at the very top they need an advantage...weight training is that difference maker. The ones that do year round weight training are #s 1-5. The ones that do not are not top 5.

So it depends on what level this young lady is striving for.

[BradBaughman]

i agree level means a big difference i dont think (my guess) this girl is at a top level or she probably wouldnt be looking for help on this chat board, but someone at the level im assumming shes at it is all about the foundation technique and timing.

[redsoxrock930]

jesus brad, deit strings his sticks at 67! btw what does deit hit with, just curious, i hit with fxp radical at 59

[BradBaughman]

dunlop arrowgel 200, he uses a poly on the main and a synthetic on the crosses we are in the process of taking away some of his tention were heading down to 62 - 64lbs, i know thats tight and if you seen him hit he generates a lot of pace for his size (85lbs) and racquet (no power provided), thats why i know how important tech/timing are!

[redsoxrock930]

no i've never seen deit play, i dont play very many high level tournaments. like i said i'm just a kid who loves the sport.

[ROFLingpanda]

i started weights, not with a trainer but my brother works out and he's been pushing me to start using weights for some time. I'm in maryland, but i'm not looking for a coach or trainer (they're very expensive :s), so i turned to tennis forums.
i dont know about my rating , but i played singles 3 for my division 2 school this year, although my coach placed me on 2nd singles for some time- and season just ended 2 weeks ago. although i'm not striving to be at a professional level, I'm told my rating is about 3 and I am trying to get to the 4.0-4.5 level.
as for extra information about play, i've been playing competitive since freshmen year last year. I played a bit when i was younger, coming to a total of about 2 and a half years. I'm told I have very good footwork, though i'm working on improving that. my placement is okay when i'm not being pushed by topspin-happy-players. ball timing isn't much of a problem either although i hit the frame a considerable amount with my new racket. as for form, i think i need to put more effort in perfecting it

[ROFLingpanda]

on another note:
for Maryland tennis players around Montgomery County, David Ngbea is an excellent coach-- he coaches some of the top high school players in Montgomery County

[redsoxrock930]

so are you 14 and a sophmore?

[Bundey]

Try a multifiliment string, and string it low. Maybe you should post a video of yourself so we can actually see your technique.

[BradBaughman]

i started weights, not with a trainer but my brother works out and he's been pushing me to start using weights for some time. I'm in maryland, but i'm not looking for a coach or trainer (they're very expensive :s), so i turned to tennis forums.
i dont know about my rating , but i played singles 3 for my division 2 school this year, although my coach placed me on 2nd singles for some time- and season just ended 2 weeks ago. although i'm not striving to be at a professional level, I'm told my rating is about 3 and I am trying to get to the 4.0-4.5 level.
as for extra information about play, i've been playing competitive since freshmen year last year. I played a bit when i was younger, coming to a total of about 2 and a half years. I'm told I have very good footwork, though i'm working on improving that. my placement is okay when i'm not being pushed by topspin-happy-players. ball timing isn't much of a problem either although i hit the frame a considerable amount with my new racket. as for form, i think i need to put more effort in perfecting it

weights will help! but if you are going to use them use light weights and fast reps and give your self a good little recovery time between reps

[ROFLingpanda]

yeah i'm a 14 year old sophomore. i use babolat xcel power string strung at 58 because i dont like it when the strings move, but i love the strings. i get a lot more power with the xcel power strings than with the strings the nTour 2 had when i demo'd it (I have no idea what strings were on the demo racket)
I can't post a video though because i don't have a video camera or anything. I'll keep using weights though :]

[TennisCoachFLA]

yeah i'm a 14 year old sophomore. i use babolat xcel power string strung at 58 because i dont like it when the strings move, but i love the strings. i get a lot more power with the xcel power strings than with the strings the nTour 2 had when i demo'd it (I have no idea what strings were on the demo racket)
I can't post a video though because i don't have a video camera or anything. I'll keep using weights though :]

I think if you first work on your core muscles...abs, sides, back... you will see improvement. Grab a few rubber resistance bands, they are great for core work.

Then watch a few Rick Macci tapes, especially one called "The Modern Forehand". He shows how to "load and explode" which is really his technique for generating maximum power.

Good luck.