another problem

[Bobs tennis]

Unusually took a lesson yesterday and was told I have a big problem with breathing and slowing down. He had me breathing and slowing down between points also exhaling every time I strike the ball. I know I should do it but with this constant input it made a big difference. It may sound silly but he feels I hold my breath and cause myself a lot of tension. After the lesson I thought about this and remembered I was guilty of this in other sports I was involved. Any ideas of how to control this.....

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Unusually took a lesson yesterday and was told I have a big problem with breathing and slowing down. He had me breathing and slowing down between points also exhaling every time I strike the ball. I know I should do it but with this constant input it made a big difference. It may sound silly but he feels I hold my breath and cause myself a lot of tension. After the lesson I thought about this and remembered I was guilty of this in other sports I was involved. Any ideas of how to control this.....

I have the same problem, especially on my BH. If you grunt [it doesn't have to be loud], you will force yourself to exhale [it's hard to grunt while holding your breath]. One is taught this in martial arts.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

I have the same problem, especially on my BH. If you grunt [it doesn't have to be loud], you will force yourself to exhale [it's hard to grunt while holding your breath]. One is taught this in martial arts.

BTW: it's not silly. Holding one's breath definitely adds to tension which kills fluidity and racquet head speed.

 

[mad dog1]

Unusually took a lesson yesterday and was told I have a big problem with breathing and slowing down. He had me breathing and slowing down between points also exhaling every time I strike the ball. I know I should do it but with this constant input it made a big difference. It may sound silly but he feels I hold my breath and cause myself a lot of tension. After the lesson I thought about this and remembered I was guilty of this in other sports I was involved. Any ideas of how to control this.....

Learning to control and regulate your breathing is very important and often overlooked. Do you jog/run? If you do, you might be familiar with breathing patterns. Running is very useful to consciously practice breathing because unlike tennis where you are moving the upper and lower body as well as trying to process all the additional information about the incoming ball, spin, direction, speed, timing and spacing; in running, there's a lot less for your brain to process so you can think about breathing. This will help make breathing rhythmically more automatic so that when you get on he tennis court, you won't have to consciously think about it.

 

[mad dog1]

BTW: it's not silly. Holding one's breath definitely adds to tension which kills fluidity and racquet head speed.

And yes, I agree. It is definitely not silly.

 

[WisconsinPlayer]

There are a few different reasons you may hold your breath. For me in the past it would be because I needed more air, but I would try and "hold" my breath so I would slow down my breathing and look like I wasnt tired (which was stupid and caused me to recover more slowly due to not getting enough air).

 

[mcs1970]

Nice post S&V. While the over-the-top grunting can be annoying, I can definitely see why it is being used not just to distract the opponent. The natural advice is to just exhale at every shot but most of us forget to do it. Grunting might be a easier way to get one to exhale at every shot. Never thought about it that way.

 

[Bobs tennis]

I have the same problem, especially on my BH. If you grunt [it doesn't have to be loud], you will force yourself to exhale [it's hard to grunt while holding your breath]. One is taught this in martial arts.

That happens t be the place I was constantly told this.I did it so much in sparring that I could become dizzy. No wonder i never became a black belt. This is good because I also found I didn't get tired and racket head speed increased. You never knw what you'll get from taking a lesson

 

[Slicerman]

If you have the habit of holding your breath during your stroke, then try grunting as you hit the ball. Its actually a method that many pros and athletes use to stay relaxed. The compression of breath as your exhale/grunt also helps to engage the core muscles too.

 

[Crocodile]

Breathing and relaxation in tension is very important and so is playing without stress. We produce our best tennis when we are in a playful mood.
The best way to practice this is to have a bit of fun on the court and avoid taking things too seriously.

 

[Chas Tennis]

Recently my dentist - in discussing clenching teeth - said that he thought I could be doing that for the serve. He said that some athletic motions may work better if certain muscles are tensed. I clench my teeth to forcefully turn a wrench but have the opened mouth dumb look when I serve. Is the open mouth, seen often in serving, relaxed?

I'd like to know the basis for my dentist's comment. ?

Tennis consists of only a short time for actual tennis strokes and a long time in between. You could stop breathing during the actual stroke and would not miss much oxygen. If certain trunk muscles work better while tensed during short tennis strokes you could do that.

I have often heard about relaxed breathing but what research is there for breathing during the 1 second of a tennis stroke?

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Recently my dentist - in discussing clenching teeth - said that he thought I could be doing that for the serve. He said that some athletic motions may work better if certain muscles are tensed. I clench my teeth to forcefully turn a wrench but have the opened mouth dumb look when I serve. Is the open mouth, seen often in serving, relaxed?

I'd like to know the basis for my dentist's comment. ?

Tennis consists of only a short time for actual tennis strokes and a long time in between. You could stop breathing during the actual stroke and would not miss much oxygen. If certain trunk muscles work better while tensed during short tennis strokes you could do that.

I have often heard about relaxed breathing but what research is there for breathing during the 1 second of a tennis stroke?

Maybe tense is better if you're about to do something involving mostly strength? But a tennis serve is more about racquet head speed than pure strength.

Also, you may have an open mouth but you could still be holding your breath.

I don't think oxygen deprivation plays a significant role.

I haven't done any research. I do observe that almost everyone whose opinion I respect comments that holding your breath leads to tension which is bad for fluid motion.

 

[atp2015]

But a tennis serve is more about racquet head speed than pure strength.

Generating rhs does not require strength? I think it would...

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Generating rhs does not require strength? I think it would...

I didn't say it doesn't require strength [absolute comparison]; I said that racquet head speed is more important [relative comparison].

If someone has no strength, they will have a lousy serve.
If you compare stronger A with weaker B, B might still have a better serve due to technique.

 

[atp2015]

I didn't say it doesn't require strength [absolute comparison]; I said that racquet head speed is more important [relative comparison].

If someone has no strength, they will have a lousy serve.
If you compare stronger A with weaker B, B might still have a better serve due to technique.

Agreed, strength alone is not sufficient.

 

[Chas Tennis]

Does anyone have a link to any references bearing on this subject? Or can recall reading something interesting that might be searched? The OP?

 

[Bender]

Imagine trying to bench something heavy and inhaling or holding your breath while squeezing out those reps.

You'd faint and have the bar land on your ribs (or god forbid your throat).

So yes, breathing in sports is massively important. Don't ever think otherwise because you feel self conscious.

As S&V says, grunt a little if you must--I do that when I'm lacking for rhythm as well.

 

[shindemac]

Sports performance coach said not to hold breath when doing ... I assume they have studied this in school, and she works w pro athletes.

 

[Chas Tennis]

Searching- breathing during rapid athletic motions

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC164364/

http://breathe.ersjournals.com/content/12/2/e22

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16112543

others

The OP should study some information to generally inform himself on breathing difficulties for athletes. He should find a specialist for a firm diagnosis.

 

[Deleted member 23235]

Unusually took a lesson yesterday and was told I have a big problem with breathing and slowing down. He had me breathing and slowing down between points also exhaling every time I strike the ball. I know I should do it but with this constant input it made a big difference. It may sound silly but he feels I hold my breath and cause myself a lot of tension. After the lesson I thought about this and remembered I was guilty of this in other sports I was involved. Any ideas of how to control this.....

do what i do, and alot of the women do (shriekapova!)... grunt when you hit the ball.
non-tennis.. punch the bag, and do a little "tsss" every time you hit the bag...
try to breathe out from your belly (ie. not a shallow breath).
when you breath out, you naturally tighten your core, which helps (punch, hit, swing, etc...)

 

[snvplayer]

I have the same problem, especially on my BH. If you grunt [it doesn't have to be loud], you will force yourself to exhale [it's hard to grunt while holding your breath]. One is taught this in martial arts.

This is exactly what I do. For some reason, I don't exhale very naturally (maybe a problem with anatomy or muscular issue..) and grunting helps..
Exhaling engages diaphgragm which supports the core, and relaxes the muscles so that it's ready to work again..

It gets a little awkward if there is a female partner on the same side, but oh well...

 

[snvplayer]

Generating rhs does not require strength? I think it would...

I think strength can be somewhat relative and generic term. Bigger muscle may mean being able to lift heavier weight, but not necessarily swing faster.

At least my theory is that you can swing only as fast as your core and muscles anchored to the core (rotator cuff, trapezius, etc) are. If you think about a whip attached to a column, it's only strong as its anchor to the column is..

So, stronger you can make your core, the faster you can swing..

 

[snvplayer]

Recently my dentist - in discussing clenching teeth - said that he thought I could be doing that for the serve. He said that some athletic motions may work better if certain muscles are tensed. I clench my teeth to forcefully turn a wrench but have the opened mouth dumb look when I serve. Is the open mouth, seen often in serving, relaxed?

I'd like to know the basis for my dentist's comment. ?

Tennis consists of only a short time for actual tennis strokes and a long time in between. You could stop breathing during the actual stroke and would not miss much oxygen. If certain trunk muscles work better while tensed during short tennis strokes you could do that.

I have often heard about relaxed breathing but what research is there for breathing during the 1 second of a tennis stroke?

I think when you are about to exert as much force as possible, it's natural to tense up (inhale upto the point), but you've got to exhale...Don't pitchers wear mouthguard because they clench their teeth when they throw?

The reason you open your mouth during the serve might be because you are lifting your head up and there may be some anatomical issues related..But, mouth is open, intrabdominal pressure is lowered, which isn't ideal.

 

[Bobs tennis]

Interesting-I have been concentrating so much on my breathing that my strokes are getting smoother. I'm not thinking about my strokes and it just seems to smooth things out because my mind is busy thinking of breathing. Make sense....