Aerobic exercises

[tonygao]

when talking about workouts for tennis, I always find plyometrics,tabata workouts,core strenghth workouts etc, all emphasize on intensity.

I am just wondering if tennis players do any aerobic exercises at all? are aerobic exercises also beneficial for tennis players? such as siwmming, long-distance jogging, bicycling.

[LeeD]

Any and all exercise is beneficial to tennis, up to a point.
Worse is to lay on your deathbed, getting fed intravineously, and not moving.
Tune your workouts to your needs. Some people need quickness, some strength, some explosiveness, some endurance, we're all different and have differing needs.
For you specifically, I'd work on your first 3 steps, more explosivness first, then some endurance much latter.
Do boxing, basketball, karate, taichi, something that forces you to react quickly and decisively.

[Chas Tennis]

I don't know. I subscribe to the view that tennis is partly anaerobic and partly aerobic but have not looked into it.

You might look at these references and see what they have to say on heart rate and tennis.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaerobic_exercise

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...00250-0026.pdf

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2653872/

[SystemicAnomaly]

I came across a tennis science paper for high performance player development from the USTA some years ago on this very subject. I posted links to it in several threads in the past few years. It indicated that an elite singles player remained in the aerobic training zone for most of a match. About 40-60% of their energy needs comes from the aerobic system while the rest comes from 2 different anaerobic systems.
.

[Chas Tennis]

Originally Posted by SystemicAnomaly

I came across a tennis science paper for high performance player development from the USTA some years ago on this very subject. I posted links to it in several threads in the past few years. It indicated that an elite singles player remained in the aerobic training zone for most of a match. About 40-60% of their energy needs comes from the aerobic system while the rest comes from 2 different anaerobic systems.
.

Is this the link from one of your old posts? See page 40 -
http://assets.usta.com/assets/1/USTA...doc_437_23.pdf

[SystemicAnomaly]

Originally Posted by Chas Tennis

Is this the link from one of your old posts? See page 40 -
http://assets.usta.com/assets/1/USTA...doc_437_23.pdf

Thanks for digging that up. There was a couple of documents that I recall finding -- this looks like one of them. Page 40 of the pdf file is really page 32 of the manual according to the index. The last page of the Physiology section mentions that the player remains in the aerobic training range most pf the time. However, tennis is never 100% aerobic.

[r2473]

I read a reasearch paper that concluded that the only training tennis players should be doing is HIIT barefoot and squatting 2.5x their bodyweight.

I'll try to see if I can find it.

[WildVolley]

You can do aerobic exercise that incorporates tennis training if you do shadow swinging with a racket at the same time. When I don't have time to get to the courts, I do this in a small yard. I set my countdown timer and then do a pattern of split steps footwork and swings followed by rest periods. Of course, I do this barefoot.

But if you aren't squatting 2.5x your body weight you really shouldn't be playing tennis, it just isn't safe.

[tonygao]

yes, LeeD, I am doing some plyometrics to increase my first step reaction. but I also want to lose some weight and I used to believe the best approach is aerobic exercises. the problem is I can't manage to spend too much time on workouts. since I am doing plyometrics and streching, it's difficult to squeeze in any more.
I just hope HIIT can also help me lose weight, then I can totally forget about aerobics and put my time into good use.

[charliefedererer]

Building an aerobic base and then transitioning to more HIIT work sounds like a good idea.

The fat loss claims for HIIT may be exaggerated (you have to do a lot of HIIT to lose weight) but you can get similar weight loss from HIIT as aerobic work - as long as you do a lot of HIIT.

Don't forget that agility drills and even hitting sessions can be done intensively in a HIIT-like manner.




(You probably know the key to weight loss is to eat less fat and sugar - no junk food, snack food, fast food or high calorie drinks.)

[SystemicAnomaly]

Originally Posted by tonygao

... but I also want to lose some weight and I used to believe the best approach is aerobic exercises...

Cardio exercise, whether it aerobic or interval-type anaerobic (like HIIT), can burn a fair amount of calories. However, increasing muscle mass might actually be the best way to increase BMR to burn more fat/calories in the long run.