Drills for actual movement speed increase

S

SLionheart

New User
Hi,
I'm 47 year old, 3.5+ NTRP tennis player who is quickly reaching the point where my movement speed has become the biggest limiting factor in making progress. I have been working on efficient footwork, and anticipation, getting prepped earlier etc. - these have helped tremendously. But end of day- I'm just not quick enough to get to short or out-wide balls. What recommenations would people have for improving literal movement speed?
I realize that's akin to asking how to run faster - but thought it might have more specific answers in tennis.

Thanks,
 
You should work on doing sprint training, with an emphasis on the start. There are a lot of good videos online these days about how to train to move faster. While increasing your overall strength in the weight room can help someone gain capacity for speed, it is not enough. You'll need to find a place where you can do acceleration drills and top speed runs. Two muscle groups that make people slow to accelerate are the calf muscles and the hip flexor muscles. The good thing is that a sprint workout can be done in a short period of time. You need to take appropriate rest between exercises so that you are training fast twitch muscles. The bad thing is at your age injury risks are higher; you should slowly work your way into them. Avoid injury first.

I'd start with things like jump rope and high knee marching to start. Most sprint drills are done at high intensity for short periods of time (less than 8 seconds). Acceleration drills can be done on a hill when someone is slow so that proper shin angles can be trained at slower speeds. Your heel shouldn't touch on each step when driving forward. Here's a sample sprint workout, but demonstrated by a guy who is fast.

 
SLionheart said:
Hi,
I'm 47 year old, 3.5+ NTRP tennis player who is quickly reaching the point where my movement speed has become the biggest limiting factor in making progress. I have been working on efficient footwork, and anticipation, getting prepped earlier etc. - these have helped tremendously. But end of day- I'm just not quick enough to get to short or out-wide balls. What recommenations would people have for improving literal movement speed?
I realize that's akin to asking how to run faster - but thought it might have more specific answers in tennis.

Thanks,
Click to expand...
didn't mention split-stepping... that makes a big difference in whether you can get to a wide ball (also are you splitting at the bisection of return angles?)
but IMO, more important than running speed, is making sure you're hitting consistently deep so it makes it difficult/risky for opponents to hit you into the corners
 
A properly-timed split step can provide the edge you need to develop / maintain your quickness in moving to the ball. A lot of 3.5 and some 4.0 players do not incorporate the SS in their game. The more competitive players usually do. Make sure that you are initiating the SS during your opponent’s forward swing or upward swing (serve) so that you are at the top of your SS hop when you hear or see their contact.

After you land the SS, you should usually get yourself off balance to give yourself a quicker start to intercept the ball. Note that elite sprinters are considerably off-balance for their first 2 or 3 steps of their sprint for an explosive start.

In addition to the SS you may also want to look into the Drop Step (Gravity Step), the Mogul Move and similar footwork patterns. The MM and similar actions will help you with a quicker recovery after being pulled wide. The should help to keep you from overrunning shots when you are moving quickly to intercept the ball.

While you are executing the SS, be sure to listen to the nature of your opponent’s contact. The sound of their contact provides useful info to help you react to their shot. The sound should give you son idea on how forcefully they have struck the ball. It should also give you and idea on how much spin they’ve imparted to the ball. It will also tell you how cleanly they’ve struck the ball. If they frame / mishit the ball, it should be readily apparent from the sound.
 
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SystemicAnomaly said:
A properly-timed split step can the edge you need to develop / maintain your quickness in moving to the ball. A lot of 3.5 and some 4.0 players do not incorporate the SS in their game. The more competitive players usually do. Make sure that you are initiating the SS during your opponent’s forward swing or upward swing (serve) so that you are at the top of your SS hop when you hear or see their contact.

After you land the SS, you should usually get yourself off balance to give yourself a quicker start to intercept the ball. Note that elite sprinters are considerably off-balance for their first 2 or 3 steps of their sprint for an explosive start.

In addition to the SS you may also want to look into the Drop Step (Gravity Step), the Mogul Move and similar footwork patterns. The MM and similar actions will help you with a quicker recovery after being pulled wide. The should help to keep you from overrunning shots when you are moving quickly to intercept the ball.

While you are executing the SS, be sure to listen to the nature of your opponent’s contact. The sound of their contact provides useful info to help you react to their shot. The sound should give you son idea on how forcefully they have struck the ball. It should also give you and idea on how much spin they’ve imparted to the ball. It will also tell you how cleanly they’ve struck the ball. If they frame / mishit the ball, it should be readily apparent from the sound.
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Split step never came naturally for me unlike most other people who played sports since very young. Timing is everything for a good split step. I guess you’d agree it’s as bad as no split stepping maybe even worse if it’s not timed well. I feel this is crucial especially on return of serve. So I probably asked you about this before but want to make sure once more, considering the idea is to be ready and stretched to pounce can I do a quick half squat timed perfectly with the serve contact instead of a full split step? Like this.


 
Curious said:
Split step never came naturally for me unlike most other people who played sports since very young. Timing is everything for a good split step. I guess you’d agree it’s as bad as no split stepping maybe even worse if it’s not timed well. I feel this is crucial especially on return of serve. So I probably asked you about this before but want to make sure once more, considering the idea is to be ready and stretched to pounce can I do a quick half squat timed perfectly with the serve contact instead of a full split step? Like this.


Click to expand...
I’ve taught the No-Hop SS alternative to older players or those with bad knees / joints. It’s usually not quite as explosive as a conventional SS but it can still make you somewhat quicker getting to the ball.

The timing for this is slightly different than the Hop SS. For this variation, you still want to time it to your opponent’s shot. But, in this case, you want to sink (lower the body by bending your knees) when you hear your opponent’s contact. You are still focused on their forward (or upward) swing to help you time your “sink”.

When you perform the sinking motion, make sure that your weight is primarily on the balls of your feet and not on your heels. You don’t want to be flat-footed when the opponent’s shot is leaving their strings.
 
SystemicAnomaly said:
I’ve taught the No-Hop SS alternative to older players or those with bad knees / joints. It’s usually not quite as explosive as a conventional SS but it can still make you somewhat quicker getting to the ball.

...

When you perform the sinking motion, make sure that your weight is primarily on the balls of your feet and not on your heels. You don’t want to be flat-footed when the opponent’s shot is leaving their strings.
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The point about getting/remaining on the balls of your feet is very important. Athletic coaches talk about taking the slack out of your muscles quickly before moving in a direction. When you are trying to accelerate quickly, you want to be able to push off without your foot collapsing and leaking power. In sprinting this is often called ankle stiffness. On slow motion video, you can see the heel touch the ground and leak power when slower people are accelerating. The collapse of the foot also leads to a player's push from the lower leg when moving toward a ball to be more vertical than horizontal.

I believe things like doing jump rope on the balls of the foot are good for building ankle stiffness through the whole calf/Achilles/Plantar fascia complex, and can help with achieving more athletic movements.
 
I start working with this machine.

Start out with manageable weight, then gradually increase until fail point.

Seems like it's helping.

132.gif
 
user92626 said:
I start working with this machine.

Start out with manageable weight, then gradually increase until fail point.

Seems like it's helping.

132.gif
Click to expand...
There’s another, more plyometric (explosive), way to use this machine. Best to use a moderate weight (resistance) for this variation. Start with your feet a bit lower on the platform than this. Push off the platform explosively so that your feet leave the platform (when your legs are fully extended). Your heels should leave the platform before the balls of your feet and toes do.

When you land, your toes & balls of your feet should touch down first. This will help your feet absorb some of the shock. Your knees should subsequently bend to further absorb the landing. Let you knees bend to a half-squat position (or more) and again push off explosively. Repeat sequence number of times w/o stopping. Rest and then do another set.

Here’s a single leg version that you can also perform:

 
I would often have student perform a couple of variations of the speed skater hop drill that the RacquetFlex coach demonstrates in the video above.

Instead of just moving L and R as the RF coach shows above, we would also move forward diagonally. We would perform this movement in one of the doubles alleys. Try to land each foot on (alternate) tram lines, if possible, or further. If you can’t make it all the way across the alley, at first, despair not. As you build up the power in your legs, you should be able to travel further across.

In the 1st variation, you should land and hold your position for a second or two — working on your balance as well as your explosiveness. Then explosively push off diagonally to the other side. Repeat this pattern until you’ve skated all the way from the baseline to the net. Turn around and do the same thing going back to the BL if you are up to it.

The 2nd variation uses the same basic movement pattern. Except you are only holding (the pose) on one side. So you will land on one side and then quickly jump back to the original side. So you are spending less than 1/2 second on one side but more than 1 second on the other side. Quick, Hold, Quick, Hold, etc. After moving from one end of the alley to the other, repeat the process but switch the side that you are holding.

FYI, skipping rope is considered low-level plyometrics. But it is no less important than other plyo excercises.
 
SystemicAnomaly said:
As you build up the power in your legs, you should be able to travel further across.
Click to expand...
Do you think it’s possible to build strength and speed by doing plyometrics only ie without lifting weights to build muscles first? For example if one does sprinting exercises only can they develop faster stronger legs over time? The reason why I’m asking is I enjoy plyometrics but not quite lifting weights. Also to save time.
I know it’s not recommended to do plyometrics without a certain amount of strength but I was wondering if the intensity could gradually be increased.
 
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At the 3.5 level yes definitely work on footwork and speed, but if you’re an intermediate technique and shot selection are probably still going to help you win more matches. You also probably haven’t played enough tennis to recognize the gamut of different ball trajectories and react accordingly

If you’re a 3.5 you’re not losing a majority of your points being unable to chase down winners in the corner. Heck, you’re most likely not getting into many rallies lasting longer than 4 balls. Your match play probably sees very few winners. You’re most likely doing things like

—committing errors on high balls because you didn’t prepare early enough and let the ball contact point get above your head
—not reacting to short balls early enough therefore letting them drop too low and hitting them into the net
—trying to swing too fast on balls you shouldn’t try to attack, therefore you hit long or into net

I appreciate your recognition of your weak points but tennis so many elements to it that I think it’s important to prioritize.

Before dedicating time to athlethicism, I would honestly worry mostly about having a solid forehand and backhand technique that you can apply to all sorts of different balls (high balls, low balls, slice, short balls, pace, etc.).

This isn’t to say that you can’t do some exercises on the side. But I’m just saying keep the main thing the main thing.

Tennis is primarily a skill based game. So work on the skills of hitting the ball properly and consistently
 
Curious said:
Do you think it’s possible to build strength and speed by doing plyometrics only ie without lifting weights to build muscles first? For example if one does sprinting exercises only can they develop faster stronger legs over time? The reason why I’m asking is I enjoy plyometrics but not quite lifting weights. Also to save time.
I know it’s not recommended to do plyometrics without a certain amount of strength but I was wondering if the intensity could gradually be increased.
Click to expand...
Strength is moderately important for tennis. One does not need to be exceptionally strong to play tennis but some level of strength development is important. Tennis puts more of a premium on agility, power, endurance (aerobic & anaerobic) and speed. Somewhat less importance on flexibility & strength. But this does not mean that flexibility & strength are unimportant.

Player development for Tennis Australia, the USTA and other such programs will work on both strength & power with their players. Collegiate and pro players typically work on both as well. But there may be a bit more emphasis placed on power, agility & endurance than on strength development.

Not sure that you can develop adequate muscular strength from doing plyo exercises alone. If the strength in your torso / core and other parts of your body is decent, you might not need to worry too much about strength development. But if you are relatively weak in some areas, particularly wrt complementary muscle groups, some strength development is likely needed.

Speed can be developed with plyometrics. Strength, not so much.


Check out The Six Principles here (pg 3):

 
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SystemicAnomaly said:
Strength is moderately important for tennis. One does not need to be exceptionally strong to play tennis but some level of strength development is important. Tennis puts more of a premium on agility, power, endurance (aerobic & anaerobic) and speed. Somewhat less importance on flexibility & strength. But this does not mean that flexibility & strength are unimportant.

Player development for Tennis Australia, the USTA and other such programs will work on both strength & power with their players. Collegiate and pro players typically work on both as well. But there may be a bit more emphasis placed on power, agility & endurance than on strength development.

Not sure that you can develop adequate muscular strength from doing plyo exercises alone. If the strength in your torso / core and other parts of your body is decent, you might not need to worry too much about strength development. But if you are relatively weak in some areas, particularly wrt complementary muscle groups, some strength development is likely needed.

Speed can be developed with plyometrics. Strength, not so much.


Check out The Six Principles here (pg 3):

Click to expand...
Damn! There's no shortcut, eh? Those weights will need to be lifted. I'm sure I'm weak in legs and core.
 
Curious said:
Damn! There's no shortcut, eh? Those weights will need to be lifted. I'm sure I'm weak in legs and core.
Click to expand...
You could use the leg press machine with heavier weights in a conventional manner and also plyometrically, as I described, with moderate weights.

Squats are an excellent leg workout as well. Do half squats with relatively heavy weights. And, if your knees & ankles are ok, you can perform full squats with moderate weights. For a plyo version, you can perform jump squats with little or no added weight.
 
Curious said:
I think people overlook this. They think it’s all in the legs. I’d add hip adductors, abductors as well especially for lateral speed ( think shuffling, crossover steps ).
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Japanese sports science researchers did a full body scan of Asafa Powell, the famous Jamaican sprinter and former 100m world record holder. His psoas muscles (a group of hip flexor muscles that extend through the body cavity and attach to the spine and diaphragm) were huge compared to the average human, something like 4x the cross section. Sprinters develop these muscles because of the very high knee drive. Developing all the hip flexors makes sense as they will allow you to reposition your legs faster.

Doing hip flexor exercises and sprinting drills may be beneficial beyond sports, because the ability to reposition your legs quickly diminishes with age and could lead to falls. Young people will stumble and their legs will reflexively move to catch themselves. Old people will often stumble and then face plant because they've lost the ability to quickly move the leg into position.
 
Curious said:
Do you think it’s possible to build strength and speed by doing plyometrics only ie without lifting weights to build muscles first? For example if one does sprinting exercises only can they develop faster stronger legs over time? The reason why I’m asking is I enjoy plyometrics but not quite lifting weights. Also to save time.
I know it’s not recommended to do plyometrics without a certain amount of strength but I was wondering if the intensity could gradually be increased.
Click to expand...
I'd say you can definitely build strength and speed without lifting weights, but it is probably not the optimal method. Almost all the top guys today are spending some time in the weight room. In the past, Carl Lewis didn't spend much time lifting weights, especially once he was in the competition season. When I was sprinting in high school, I wasn't lifting weights. I found I could immediately do about 2.5x my body weight in the deadlift (with straps) without any weight training because sprinting develops the rear chain (back/glutes/hams).

So I'd say do the plyos and sprinting if you like to do them. You'll get a training benefit for tennis. You could also do some isometric exercises if you don't have access to weights.
 
SLionheart said:
Thank you all so much- I really appreciate the tips.
I don’t have a split step yet, so will have to get started on that. I like the idea of the no-hop.

I have incorporated the mogul step and really like it.

Will get the jump rope out tomorrow.

Thanks again!
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If not rope, just jump on a thick mattress ( that's what I do in my basement. Initially I could only 2-300, but with training I can do 2k. Disclaimer, I am very heavy and old).
 
socallefty said:
For most 47 year olds, losing 20 lbs is the answer to this question - especially in the US.
Click to expand...
This, unless you are in really good shape already. Carrying extra weight is killing the speed, trying to get faster with extra weight will be killing your knees, etc.

But if not applicable, and you are actually lean with low fat — great for you!
 
See my article in this forum and seriously dig my references in there. The most important is the clip Federer-Wawrinka, US Open 2013, practice, 18 min.

Marius Hancu: References for Moving in the Roger Federer Style​


Also move and do as Diego Schwartzman does here after 3:44


Ean Meyer's lessons are based on watching Federer in play, and extracting several principles to be used in instructing tennis players in the area of movement.
They can be found at Youtube with a search for:
ean meyer tennis footwork
Study religiously

Some of them are:

Watch it in its entirety, esp the part about The Base.

Tennis Footwork Tip: Master The Split-Step & The Flow Split-Step

Tennis Footwork Tip: The 4 Movement Zones

See the two attachments.

Tennis Movement: Move Like a Pro and Defend Your Base

Tennis Movement Tip: Beat The Ball To The Bounce

Tennis Movement: Move Like The Pros With Stutter Steps

Tennis Strategy: Taking The Ball Earlier

A more complete collection:

Tennis Tips with Ean Meyer




:-)
 
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