Diary of a Racketaholic

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by Power Player

lol..yeah. I have pretty low Bf too, visible abs is how I usually can gauge that if I dont get it measured.. Just a lot of muscle is giving me the extra weight. I am barely lifting too - literally once a week and just doing pushups, so I have no idea why I am retaining the muscle..there could be worse problems..lol.

I've skipped the gym for a few months now. It seems to aggravate my TE which is just about gone now. Hopefully I'll get back at it next year.

[Boricua]

Been experienciencing some elbow pain with the APD GT. Also, I am looking for a bit more heft and control to deal with heavy hitters and also a frame where I can drive the ball more.
I used in the past the RDIS 100 MP. The VCore 97 Tour (330 model) has similar specs to the RDIS and should have better feel because of the Micro Core technology.. So forget about the new APD that is coming out and let's go for the VCORE Tour 97. I will try full bed of Luxilon 4G and also Yonex Poly Tour Pro black, both at 53/50.
Have to get stronger as the 97 is a pretty heavy racket, at least compared with the APD.

[JackB1]

Originally Posted by Power Player

Ok I have 3 links. First for the ADD in us all, here are my strokes in regular and slo mo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ottAYQ0BABY

Next here is me hitting with my friend who was a 5.0 as a junior. He hits with a lot of spin so just making clean contact is difficult. He also has great angles on his shots :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMkB-gjq_4Q

I was pretty wiped out and hungover, but the weather was great. When I am tired I will bail out sometimes in longer rallies and go big, like the last shot in the vid. lol.

Here is his perspective so you can maybe get an idea for his spin. He wants to drop some weight and get his feet more active, but he has real fast hands and smooth strokes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaiV67zOvkQ

I got a lot of his nice angle shots in there. What is really nice about his ball is that when he hits that angle, the spin just takes it even further away so you basically have no chance.

How did you do the slowmo? What program did you use nice you got the videos off the phone?

[mad dog1]

Originally Posted by Power Player

lol..yeah. I have pretty low Bf too, visible abs is how I usually can gauge that if I dont get it measured.. Just a lot of muscle is giving me the extra weight. I am barely lifting too - literally once a week and just doing pushups, so I have no idea why I am retaining the muscle..there could be worse problems..lol.

i just remembered that the camera adds 10#s!

[Power Player]

Originally Posted by JackB1

How did you do the slowmo? What program did you use nice you got the videos off the phone?

I ended up dragging the videos into my PC and using the windows video editor. Grabbed the footage and copied it. highlighted the copies and made them 1/4 speed. Definitely try this as slo mo is awesome for seeing what you need to fix.

Slowed down my friends backhand and I saw what he does that I have to do. He brings the racquet back and then points it up before dropping it back down. I think once I start doing that, I will have fixed my hitch. His backhand is so smooth and he can literally put it anywhere at any time. His main thing is he just got back into tennis and needs to drop weight so he can get light on his feet again. He has the potential to be a 5.0 again because he just has such nice hands and hits shots that you do not see at 4.5 or lower. Its just consistency right now, and that is fixed with practice, better footwork..etc. almost every ball he hits is out of my strike zone..to be able to do that the whole time is rather impressive, as I play a lot of guys who cant hit with enough spin and just give me strike zone balls over and over to tee off on.

Originally Posted by mad dog1

i just remembered that the camera adds 10#s!

damn you are harsh man..lol. Mikeler will never post vid now..haha. I have very little body fat though. Should I play shirtless to prove this next time? haha..just kidding, that is the worst thing you can do in a tennis vid imo. It violates many unwritten rules.

I am built like a runningback, not a tennis player. That is for sure.

I was wondering if video like this helps people see if a stick is too light..too heavy..etc. Maybe i I get a 3rd blade, I could lead up one and see. I feel like the higher head speed is a good thing though, and the blade is the best serving stick I have had. Im seriously thinking about grabbing a pink one for $99 if I dont go with the new black. I'd save $100.

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by Power Player

I ended up dragging the videos into my PC and using the windows video editor. Grabbed the footage and copied it. highlighted the copies and made them 1/4 speed. Definitely try this as slo mo is awesome for seeing what you need to fix.

Slowed down my friends backhand and I saw what he does that I have to do. He brings the racquet back and then points it up before dropping it back down. I think once I start doing that, I will have fixed my hitch. His backhand is so smooth and he can literally put it anywhere at any time. His main thing is he just got back into tennis and needs to drop weight so he can get light on his feet again. He has the potential to be a 5.0 again because he just has such nice hands and hits shots that you do not see at 4.5 or lower. Its just consistency right now, and that is fixed with practice, better footwork..etc. almost every ball he hits is out of my strike zone..to be able to do that the whole time is rather impressive, as I play a lot of guys who cant hit with enough spin and just give me strike zone balls over and over to tee off on.



damn you are harsh man..lol. Mikeler will never post vid now..haha. I have very little body fat though. Should I play shirtless to prove this next time? haha..just kidding, that is the worst thing you can do in a tennis vid imo. It violates many unwritten rules.

I am built like a runningback, not a tennis player. That is for sure.

I was wondering if video like this helps people see if a stick is too light..too heavy..etc. Maybe i I get a 3rd blade, I could lead up one and see. I feel like the higher head speed is a good thing though, and the blade is the best serving stick I have had. Im seriously thinking about grabbing a pink one for $99 if I dont go with the new black. I'd save $100.

I'll just try and eat light that day! We both are built like running backs minus the NFL speed. I'm also a wuss, so getting hit would not be my bag of tea either.

[Power Player]

Getting hit and laying people out is the best part! (former football and lacrosse player here).

I'm faster than most guys I play tennis with, but I ran high school track against some D1 and NFL players in the 100, and it was extremely humbling.

[bad_call]

PP - think i need portrayed "normal" speed to be 1.5-2x than filmed speed. also a morphing tool to diminish the "muffin top". i don't understand why it looks like that in pics and vids cause it's just not so!!

[JackB1]

BTW great strokes PP and thanks for FINALLY posting them

I now see what you've been referring to as a "hitch" in your backhander.
But is it really a problem? I think if you go to a more sw grip on your left hand, it makes it harder to stick that elbow out.

But overall very nice strokes. You make me look like I am hitting in slow motion. Lol. One minor thing I saw was that you sometimes let the off arm fall straight down by your side prematurely on your forehand. It should never drop down like that. I think I noticed that on the first video.
But overall I was very impressed. And I agree with the others...you won't benefit from more spin. Stick with the 18x20 and leave the 99s for the rest of us.

[Fuji]

Hey PP, if you're looking for more blades let me know. I have a trio I'm looking to get rid of for dirrrrrt cheap!

-Fuji

[PED]

PP, just watched the vids, footwork looks great.

Nice easy power off both wings and great follow through.

Well done

[mad dog1]

Originally Posted by Power Player

damn you are harsh man..lol. Mikeler will never post vid now..haha. I have very little body fat though.

nah, man, the comment wasn't intended to be harsh. it's just fact. camera adds 10#s. since you're all muscle, it's 10#s of muscle that it's adding. likewise if it's fat. you're a stout, sturdy dude, not a marshmellow man.

[Power Player]

Thanks for checking out the vids fellow holics. I will definitely have more since this really helps me out a lot, and the iphone 5 just makes it really easy with this bungee cord trick. I will try to film if I do get a 99S demo and maybe we can see the difference.

Yeah Jack, I see that I still do that sometimes on the forehand. Thats my forehand thing to fix, and I just have to point the racquet head up on the backhand before I swing to contact. More like a pendulum - like my forehand.

The hitch just feels off and can affect my rhythm/confidence in a match.

Believe it or not, this is the flattest I have hit in a while. Gads and my theory is that the control sticks with tighter patterns force you to flatten your shots out and I really am buying in to this bigtime. Its not for everyone, but it works for me.

Fuji, what gripsize are your Blades and are they on spec? I'd possibly be interested in grabbing one more and getting modfathery on it.

Mad dog, its all good, I was kidding. BobFL used to call me The Hulk..lol. The good thing to see from my view is that I am light on my feet again, and that is the secret to better tennis IMO.

[mad dog1]

Originally Posted by Power Player

BobFL used to call me The Hulk..lol. The good thing to see from my view is that I am light on my feet again, and that is the secret to better tennis IMO.

the Hulk...haha!

yeah, you be very light on your feet for such a muscular guy. i've always believed that once you've developed a reasonably smooth and repeatable stroke, then to LeeD's point, it's all about footwork and getting in the right position to deliver that stroke so less stroke practice and more work on footwork and movement.

[Fuji]

Originally Posted by Power Player

Thanks for checking out the vids fellow holics. I will definitely have more since this really helps me out a lot, and the iphone 5 just makes it really easy with this bungee cord trick. I will try to film if I do get a 99S demo and maybe we can see the difference.

Yeah Jack, I see that I still do that sometimes on the forehand. Thats my forehand thing to fix, and I just have to point the racquet head up on the backhand before I swing to contact. More like a pendulum - like my forehand.

The hitch just feels off and can affect my rhythm/confidence in a match.

Believe it or not, this is the flattest I have hit in a while. Gads and my theory is that the control sticks with tighter patterns force you to flatten your shots out and I really am buying in to this bigtime. Its not for everyone, but it works for me.

Fuji, what gripsize are your Blades and are they on spec? I'd possibly be interested in grabbing one more and getting modfathery on it.

Mad dog, its all good, I was kidding. BobFL used to call me The Hulk..lol. The good thing to see from my view is that I am light on my feet again, and that is the secret to better tennis IMO.

You have mail waiting!

-Fuji

[Boricua]

In the last stage of his pro career Agassi was pretty pumped up, he hit the weights with Gil Reyes alot. But, he still was pretty fluid in his movements and strokes despite the extra muscle mass. I think this gym work helped him extend his career and he still is in great shape.
So, I suppose that for PP it works in a similar way.

[PED]

Boricua, continuing the discussion from the other thread: given your love of apd's, I would advise you to give this one a try.

Doubles freely admits he prefers his Heads. I like Heads as well but I've owned every version of the apd (maybe one day I'll learn)

The apd stringbed may be erratic compared to a Head or control oriented stick but IMO, the new apd has moved the game on: the stick is so much more solid overall and the response for me on the stringbed was very predictable

It's certainly not Yonex like in its feel but I think you'll really like what they've done with the apd. The key is that it's an APD and a much improved one at that

[mad dog1]

as long as you continue to stretch regularly, you can add muscle with little to no negative effect to flexibility and range of motion. in this case, the addition of muscle is a positive until it starts affecting your speed, quickness and endurance due to the weight of the additional muscle mass.

[Boricua]

Originally Posted by PED

Boricua, continuing the discussion from the other thread: given your love of apd's, I would advise you to give this one a try.

Doubles freely admits he prefers his Heads. I like Heads as well but I've owned every version of the apd (maybe one day I'll learn)

The apd stringbed may be erratic compared to a Head or control oriented stick but IMO, the new apd has moved the game on: the stick is so much more solid overall and the response for me on the stringbed was very predictable

It's certainly not Yonex like in its feel but I think you'll really like what they've done with the apd. The key is that it's an APD and a much improved one at that

I hope you are right. At this time its hard for me to think clear as my elbow is aching a bit and it got aggravated yesterday with the 2011 APD GT. By experience, I think it will go away if I stay away from the 2011 APD. I am curious about the 2013 APD but I have read mixed reviews about it. Some say its a big improvement, others say its minor.

I still remember when the 2011 APD came out and many said it was much better than the Cortex version and I have my seriuos doubts about that. So, I am a bit skeptical as if this 2013 APD is really much better than the 2011. Maybe I will find out later on.

For now, I will try the VCORE Tour 97 as it should be better for my elbow and its mass will help against big hitters. Also, I will get more control. Eventually, I could get the new APD when I sell or trade the 2011 APD.

[PED]

Originally Posted by Boricua

my elbow is aching a bit and it got aggravated yesterday with the 2011 APD GT. By experience, I think it will go away if I stay away from the 2011 APD. I am curious about the 2013 APD but I have read mixed reviews about it. Some say its a big improvement, others say its minor.

Alot of the reviewers it seems aren't Bab users and that makes a difference IMO.

The apd13 seems more dampened to me and arm friendly over the GT. I had both the plus and normal GT so I've got a good idea of what they feel like.

The new handle makes it more solid overall. The new apd impressed me enough to go out a buy a 2012 PD, the PD has all the upgrades like the handle but it swings a bit quicker.