Ancle/Leg weights for tennis training

[LovelyTennisNut]

* oops its ankle

Hello

Im about to buy some ankle/leg weights for every day dog walking and possible tennis practice. Does anyone have any experience playing/practicing tennis in leg/ankle weights?

Im thinking to play I would use a very low weight, but to run or walk I would use as heavy as possible.

Im positive after a while it will greatly increase my speed on the court

any thoughts?

[muggy]

I would give it a no for actual playing.

I think you don't want to get into a habit of having heavy feet, and being slow to set up your positioning. I think having quick feet is far more important than having stronger legs, which is what ankle weights would provide. Granted, stronger legs contribute to quickness, but you have to be able to use them. I say for walking they would be fine, if you want to improve leg strength through weights I think a better alternative would be to get a weight vest and do TRAINING, not play tennis. Or better yet, combine leg workouts at the gym and drills for quickness, agility, and leg strength.

I think it is very important to have game speed practice for tennis, as opposed to messing up all your timing to try and get your legs stronger. My opinion, but hey, we aren't all Rock Lee here.

[SystemicAnomaly]

Not sure if ankle weights are a good idea when engaging in impact exercises such as walking, running, jumping, or tennis footwork. It is possible that they place unsafe stresses on the feet, ankles, knees and hip joints.

Ankle weights are often recommended for performing leg raises or other non-impact leg exercises. However, when it comes to using ankle weights for impact exercises, there does not appear to be a clear consensus on its safety. Many doctors, physical therapists, coaches and exercise experts advise against such use. There are some sources that do recommend using them in this manner (however they may be in the minority, not sure). Some advocate using weighted vests or very light hand weights instead of ankle weights, but even this might be in dispute.

Best to do an exhaustive search on all of this before trying it yourself. In the past few years, there have been quite a few threads in the TW forums that have posed your questions. Try your own TW search and google search. The TW threads that I've looked at tend to advise against using ankle weights (but some say the vests may be ok).

Below, I've provided a few external sites on the subject. The last link actually does present a case for using ankle weights & weighted vests for some plyo exercises and training. However, they do advise not using ankle weights for your regular running workouts.

www.DrMirkin.com/public/Ezine050805.html

walking.about.com/od/beginners/a/WalkingMyths_2.htm

Wearing ankle weights & weight vests can help you run faster, BUT...

[Nellie]

Everything I have read says this type of weight training is bad. It is very stressful on your joints, and slows your down

[JamaicanYoute]

both my coach and my best friend's father (he's a doctor) have said not to use ankle weights. They place way too much stress in the wrong areas, esp the knees they mentioned. Find a weight that you can strap to your quads.

[Gmedlo]

Take a thera-band and tie it around your legs, shoulder-width unstretched. You'll have your feet moving quicker in no time at all.

EDIT: Wear longer socks or it will rip off all of your leg hairs.

[Automatix]

Such weights are good for other sports but certainly not tennis... you're not running fluently but you change your move direction very roughly and that puts to much stress on you joints... bad for your health...