Is Running A Good Choice For Tennis Training?

tennis5 · Jan 5, 2012

I know that tennis involves many small steps in different directions,
and is quite different than running.

However, what if court time is limited.

Would running ( and say your kid is not on a soccer team) be a decent alternative?

Would running put too much stress on the same muscles used for tennis and lead to quicker injuries?

(I have heard that running the stairs is a very fast way to injury based on the USTA regional centers).

Or would you suggest a different type of conditioning?

donnymac10s · Jan 5, 2012

tennis5 said:
I know that tennis involves many small steps in different directions,
and is quite different than running.

However, what if court time is limited.

Would running ( and say your kid is not on a soccer team) be a decent alternative?

Would running put too much stress on the same muscles used for tennis and lead to quicker injuries?

(I have heard that running the stairs is a very fast way to injury based on the USTA regional centers).

Or would you suggest a different type of conditioning?

I strongly recommend jumping rope and various sprints within a 10ftx10ft area.. running is good for cardio and keeping weight down, but I don't think that it's tailored to the particular sport. Obviously, the player should be doing everything but if time/space does not permit it then I would stick to something that simulates tennis movement. Jumping rope is great because it teaches the player to keep the weight on balls of their feet and always bounding and exploding to the ball...

tennis5 · Jan 5, 2012

donnymac10s said:
I strongly recommend jumping rope and various sprints within a 10ftx10ft area.. running is good for cardio and keeping weight down, but I don't think that it's tailored to the particular sport. Obviously, the player should be doing everything but if time/space does not permit it then I would stick to something that simulates tennis movement. Jumping rope is great because it teaches the player to keep the weight on balls of their feet and always bounding and exploding to the ball...

Thanks, that is a great idea.

Can be done inside too.

donnymac10s · Jan 5, 2012

tennis5 said:
Thanks, that is a great idea.

Can be done inside too.

Yes, inside is great. The usual gym would have a rubberized floor area where the player can jump rope in front of the mirror (so s/he sees how his/her legs move) and then the player can insert mini-spider drills around a couple of cones (moving forwards, backwards and diagonally) as a way to change things up. 3-4 minutes of jumping rope; 1 minute sprint; 1 minute rest. rinse and repeat for 30-40 minutes; throw in some weights and abs and it should be a good 1 hour workout.

TennisCoachFLA · Jan 5, 2012

Running is important to improve the aerobic base. Every tennis kid over the age of 10 should run a few miles a week. Nothing crazy though.

As you said, this is different than tennis movements. Tennis has short bursts of quick movements followed by short rest periods. This should be emulated in a practice setting.

A tennis kid runs for improvement of overall aerobic capacity, and also does short burst, more anaerobic training. A balance must be struck. A tennis kid will of course not need the same aerobic capacity of a cross country kid.....but they definitely need a base level.

tennis5 · Jan 5, 2012

TennisCoachFLA said:
Running is important to improve the aerobic base. Every tennis kid over the age of 9 should run a few miles a week.

As you said, this is different than tennis movements. Tennis has short bursts of quick movements followed by short rest periods. This should be emulated in a practice setting.

A tennis kid runs for improvement of overall aerobic capacity, and also does short burst anaerobic training. A balance must be struck. A tennis kid will of course not need the same aerobic capacity of a cross country kid.....but they definitely need a base level.

A few miles? 3 or 7 miles?

Outside running or on a treadmill?

Thanks.

TennisCoachFLA · Jan 5, 2012

tennis5 said:
A few miles? 3 or 7 miles?

Outside running or on a treadmill?

Thanks.

2-3 miles would be about it.....just enough to keep the aerobic capacity solid. Either is fine, a cushioned treadmill is better than running on concrete. A cushioned track is even better. Soccer would be even better!

Balance is the key, tennis kids put a lot wear and tear on their legs and feet.

tennis5 · Jan 5, 2012

TCF - I am curious as you live in Florida all year.

When my son goes to warm weather areas, it is a bit of a shock.

Would you recommend as he warms up a few days before a tournament, to practice at 8 am when it is cool.
Or at noon, when it boiling, but most likely that is his match time during the actual tournament.

He did the early morning practice this summer,
but was blown away by a 12:00 singles, 2:00 singles, and 4:00 doubles in the heat during the tournament.

So, do you train for the actual conditions?
Or is that too much on the body, and you save that energy for the actual match?

Thanks.

TennisCoachFLA · Jan 5, 2012

tennis5 said:
TCF - I am curious as you live in Florida all year.

When my son goes to warm weather areas, it is a bit of a shock.

Would you recommend as he warms up a few days before a tournament, to practice at 8 am when it is cool.
Or at noon, when it boiling, but most likely that is his match time during the actual tournament.

He did the early morning practice this summer,
but was blown away by a 12:00 singles, 2:00 singles, and 4:00 doubles in the heat during the tournament.

So, do you train for the actual conditions?
Or is that too much on the body, and you save that energy for the actual match?

Thanks.

I can't speak to how it would be done if a kid is only in FL. now and then. But we do it as follows.

The kid's and parents commit to setting the house temperature to 80 during the day and no lower than 74 for sleeping (the honor system!). We train during the heat of the afternoon, but in short bursts. Lots of hydration and electrolytes, monitor the kids pretty closely.

In the end once you hydrate and handle the electrolytes its mental. Some kids deal with the heat and humidity, others wilt.

tennis5 · Jan 5, 2012

TennisCoachFLA said:
I can't speak to how it would be done if a kid is only in FL. now and then. But we do it as follows.

The kid's and parents commit to setting the house temperature to 80 during the day and no lower than 74 for sleeping (the honor system!). We train during the heat of the afternoon, but in short bursts. Lots of hydration and electrolytes, monitor the kids pretty closely.

In the end once you hydrate and handle the electrolytes its mental. Some kids deal with the heat and humidity, others wilt.

We are just down for short bursts.

But, 80 degrees during the day in the house. Wow.

Thanks.

TennisCoachFLA · Jan 5, 2012

tennis5 said:
We are just down for short bursts.

But, 80 degrees during the day in the house. Wow.

Thanks.

I hear you. When we first moved here I kept the house at 70 degrees. Over time we went higher and higher. Now in the summer 80 in the house feels quite comfortable.

But on the other hand, it was 55 degrees when we took a walk last night and I had 2 sweat pants, a hooded sweatshirt and a down coat...and still was cold. The body adjusts one extreme or another, I am pretty sure 30 degrees would kill me!

Pro_Tour_630 · Jan 5, 2012

TennisCoachFLA said:
I hear you. When we first moved here I kept the house at 70 degrees. Over time we went higher and higher. Now in the summer 80 in the house feels quite comfortable.

But on the other hand, it was 55 degrees when we took a walk last night and I had 2 sweat pants, a hooded sweatshirt and a down coat...and still was cold. The body adjusts one extreme or another, I am pretty sure 30 degrees would kill me!

hahah at 50 we are playing tennis........... in shorts,

I would love to show you a photo of our team last year towards end of March, training outdoors while it was snowing,

TennisCoachFLA · Jan 5, 2012

Pro_Tour_630 said:
hahah at 50 we are playing tennis........... in shorts,

I would love to show you a photo of our team last year towards end of March, training outdoors while it was snowing,

It is amazing how your body adjusts. When we lived in PA when it would hit 45 or above we would play. It is 52 degrees here now and we are going to walk the dog bundled up like Eskimos.

Pro_Tour_630 · Jan 5, 2012

TennisCoachFLA said:
It is amazing how your body adjusts. When we lived in PA when it would hit 45 or above we would play. It is 52 degrees here now and we are going to walk the dog bundled up like Eskimos.

so the best weather for tennis is 78, find a place that is 78 all year round and I will move,

san diego

how about south of san diego in mexico, a lot cheaper and less people

Number1Coach · Jan 5, 2012

tennis5 said:
I know that tennis involves many small steps in different directions,
and is quite different than running.

However, what if court time is limited.

Would running ( and say your kid is not on a soccer team) be a decent alternative?

Would running put too much stress on the same muscles used for tennis and lead to quicker injuries?

(I have heard that running the stairs is a very fast way to injury based on the USTA regional centers).

Or would you suggest a different type of conditioning?

How old is the kid you are working with? Guessing the child is young say 6-9 yrs, bike if they fit, otherwise stadium stairs are a great way to get them going , example Stadium by us has 60 stairs, running up them 10x at 6 yrs old 3 days a week, then add on every so often as they get used to what they are doing, stay consistent to this by the age of 9 they could be at 50 -60 x 3 days a week . Caution build slowly if your looking for results when they matter! Stairs are low impact less injury..

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