taking care of an aging, but active tennis body

[LeeD]

My idea of surfing.... after surfing 26 years, 5 days a week....
Checking it out, 10 guys in the water, picking 2 waves out of 6 wave sets.
Paddling out, you punch thru 37 rows of whitewater, before you make it to the channel (OceanBeachSF beachbreak), then barely escape thru 3 set waves that break just outside the channel.
In the lineup, stinkeyes from 8 surfers, 2 are your old friends who greet you warmly. 10 more paddle out to the lineup.
Going for the first wave, after sitting outside waiting thru 7 sets, 3 guys turn around in front of you, while you're just about to glide in. 2 pull out, one drops in and goes straight off adoph, falling off the back of his board.
You push thru another 3 sets, or 20 rows of whitewater.
You sit outside while the tide goes too high, the sets don't break outside anymore, and the pack disintegrates.

[LuckyR]

Welcome to post 70s California surfing...

[r2473]

Originally Posted by LeeD

Yeah, it's been a tough last 20 years.....most years snowboarding at least 20 days, windsurfing 120, surfing maybe 20,

Originally Posted by LeeD

My idea of surfing.... after surfing 26 years, 5 days a week....

I ski 7 days a week all winter or roughly 10 days total.

[LeeD]

Wish I could ski 10 days total, any time frame, but.... I don't have ski boots, and my tib/fib has 6 pins, a plate, and some wire right where modern ski boots end. Used to wear the NordicaPolaris, the super high boot that was soft and flexy, but they don't make them anymore, and mine fell apart. I motocrossd with Scott red and blue plastic boots, the one's Hannah pioneered because he also had tib/fib problems.

[LeeD]

Lucky for me, I was surfing from 1965 thru 1985, mostly 5 days a week, so I got some of the pre '70's crowd nonsense.

[Sentinel]

Originally Posted by r2473

'Life begins on the other side of despair.' ~ Sartre

'Suffering is the origin of consciousness' ~ Dostoevsky

Suffering was an invention of Rafa. As such all quotes about suffering, surfing and despair are his copyright.

[SystemicAnomaly]

Didn't realize that the OP was posted twice. Here is my reply in that other thread (post #2 in the thread).

Forget the static stretching after your pre-tennis warmup. Instead, do those stretches at home or work prior to heading off to the courts, if you feel that you need it. The static stretches will actually reduce muscle performance (strength, speed, etc) for some 30-60 minutes. I do not believe that there is any immediate benefit from pre-exercise static stretching.

Now at 60, I find that 10-20 minutes of cardio (on a stationary bike) prior to tennis helps immensely. Incorporate some dynamic stretching as part of your warmup at the court. Do some static stretching at the courts after tennis (and again when you get home, if so inclined). While stretching may not offer much, if any, short-term benefit, it can improve flexibility in the long run. Note that stretching, according to a number of studies has demonstrated no effect on the alleviation of muscle soreness or DOMS.

[TheCheese]

I'd imagine making sure that you have solid technique would also be a big one. If you have wonky technique that's putting a lot of strain on your arm because you're not using your whole body, you'll get hurt a lot more often.

I'd imagine bad groundstrokes are going to hurt your arm. Bad footwork might hurt your hips or knees (for example, if you always use closed stance and twist around your planted foot). And a bad service motion or ball toss might put a lot of strain on the back.

Also, if you can try and keep relaxed when you hit it should take away some of the harshness of the impact from the ball, since your arm won't be absorbing all of the shock.

Also, perhaps changing your style of play would help. If you're a grinder, it's going to be tougher on your body.

[Maui19]

I'm 57, and I don't have the kinds of aches and pains some of you 40 year olds are talking about. There are a few things that are key for me.

First, I keep my legs in shape. I run most of the year (not at the height of summer though), 3.5-4 miles three or four times a week. I play golf, walking the course carrying my bag. When it's hot, I ride my bike for 30-45 minutes at a brisk pace (20-22 mph).

I also do pushups every day. 20 reps 3 time a day. It doesn't sound like much, but it really keeps the shoulders feeling good.

Sometimes I hit the gym, but not regularly.

Other than that, I play tennis and practice hard. Sometimes I am a little stiff in the morning, but that goes away completely after I've been moving for 5 mins or so.

[Will Wilson]

Originally Posted by SystemicAnomaly

Didn't realize that the OP was posted twice. Here is my reply in that other thread (post #2 in the thread).

Forget the static stretching after your pre-tennis warmup. Instead, do those stretches at home or work prior to heading off to the courts, if you feel that you need it. The static stretches will actually reduce muscle performance (strength, speed, etc) for some 30-60 minutes. I do not believe that there is any immediate benefit from pre-exercise static stretching.

Now at 60, I find that 10-20 minutes of cardio (on a stationary bike) prior to tennis helps immensely. Incorporate some dynamic stretching as part of your warmup at the court. Do some static stretching at the courts after tennis (and again when you get home, if so inclined). While stretching may not offer much, if any, short-term benefit, it can improve flexibility in the long run. Note that stretching, according to a number of studies has demonstrated no effect on the alleviation of muscle soreness or DOMS.

Agree with this completely, along with plenty of hydration. This helped me eliminate annoying muscle pulls / strains and, combined with icing my knees, made me able to continue playing singles at a pretty high level. I've also found that riding a bike as cross training really helps my knees. I also think that as we get older, using poly is just not worth the added strain on the arm.