Side effects of strength training

[Kobble]

I posted a while ago that I was going to add dips to my upper body routine. In the first week of adding them my chest has been noticeably more pumped and defined, but some problems have occurred in my game. On my backhand I ave been noticing a slight drop in power on my more powerful backhands. I figured out that I was gripping the racquet much tighter than I was before I started working out more seriously. Chins and dips are the staples of my upper body routine, and both require a firm gripping of the handles, rings, or bar. My body was starting to get into the habit of increasing its grip tension when exerting force. To combat it I decided to grip the racquet looser than normal, and presto, the power was back again. It only took an hour to work out the bugs so it wasn't so bad.

The real problem is my toss. My tossing arm is also feeling much tighter than it did before, and every toss is now feeling a little too tense. I have always had a shaky toss, and this must have exposed it even worse. This one is going to take a while to work out.

Stretching is really not the problem, because I perform a thorough upper body stretching routine daily. I am actually more flexible now than before.

If anyone tries to add strength training to their routine they better keep close tabs on their game, because it really stinks when you have to retrain something you already had down cold. However, I do feel like I have more control on my forehand, and it seems easier to stick the volleys as well. I will report any other positives or negatives I notice in the future.

[Camilio Pascual]

Humankinetics.com has many useful training books, tennis books, and other sports books.

[kevhen]

Yes, I think you need to be careful when mixing weight training with tennis. I think lighter, faster reps are better and you need to include some flexibilty training when weight training.

I have played my best tennis when not weight training. But I am lifting lighter now and now as often or as intense so I think both can be done together effectively.

[Dranguyengon]

I also played my best tennis while not weight training. Thats why i weight train in the winter. I seem to improve after because not only do you generate more power from the extra body weight, but you seem to have more balance.

[Tim Tennis]

Glad to see someone else does chin-ups. I also work out the triceps a lot and of course the stomach muscles. The last thing you want to do is build bulk so high reps is good but you still can get pretty tight. If I play the same day I worked out or the day after I will feel a little tight but after that the muscles quickly adjust to the stress I put on them to play tennis. During the season I will still work out but I don't push that hard. Since I am a member of a great YMCA, I will swim a lot to keep the muscles loose. I definitely think that strength training can greatly benefit your tennis game.

You got to love the game.