A Balance between tennis and fitness?

[kevinace]

So summer is here, and I've finally gotten around to some jogging. I'm 15, I can run a mile in 7 minutes and so on.

Should I play tennis and do workouts for fast twitch muscles as well as slow twitch?

Or should I just play tennis, because I've heard that playing tennis makes you more fit for the game than any other workout will.

Thanks in advance,

Kevin.

 

[charliefedererer]

Adding some running to your tennis will make you fitter and should help your tennis as well.
The more sprint work you do, the more tennis specific your running will be.
But playing tennis is going to help you with the anticipation part that is necessary to get to a ball faster.
So on court make sure you are doing that split step each time your opponent strikes the ball to get off to a quick first step. And make the commitment that you can and will get to every ball, and will recover quickly to get to the next one as well.

 

[mike53]

Running 7 minute miles is great for your heart but it probably won't do much for your tennis game unless you are wanting to improve by losing weight.

 

[fuzz nation]

When I'm on a heavy tennis schedule, I don't want to hammer on my legs with any more running when I'm away from the courts. Riding a bike twice a week is a great contributor to my overall tennis fitness because it's great for my legs and endurance with pretty much zero impact. That makes my knees smile. I can go easy on a ride if I'm a little tired or I can lean on the taller gears and also do sprints or hill climbs if I have more gas in the tank.

I'm also better off when I'm lifting twice a week, too. It keeps my core and shoulders a lot more up to speed, especially when I start flying around and getting stretched out of position. I also feel quicker in heavier doubles when I'm keeping after the weights.