I know I need to improve my fitness but I hate running!

[ATXtennisaddict]

How do you all deal with that? I like to play tennis and run during the game. But not just run run run on the road etc.

I need some suggestions. One of the reasons I lose games is because my fitness is not up to par I'd say. I could use some more speed and endurance.

Maybe I should make a trip out to some courts, do the whole "run to first line, go back, run to 2nd line, go back etc" Start off slow like that. Then hit on the wall. Then repeat drill.

 

[MegacedU]

Jump rope and try to get access to an elliptical trainer at a gym. Jump roping is an excellent way to burn fat and improve footwork and the X-trainer is a good cardio work out, just like running. But you wont be out of breath gasping for oxygen like you would if you were running.

 

[ATXtennisaddict]

Jump rope and try to get access to an elliptical trainer at a gym. Jump roping is an excellent way to burn fat and improve footwork and the X-trainer is a good cardio work out, just like running. But you wont be out of breath gasping for oxygen like you would if you were running.

Not a bad idea...dang it, I was going to quit the gym. I keep paying the monthly fee but I hardly go now because all my free time is spent playing tennis or something...jump rope sounds pretty neat.

 

[dmastous]

I've hated distance running all my life. I stopped playing soccer when I heard a soccer player runs 20 miles in a game. (I was young, I believed it ).
There's a big difference between running and what you do in tennis. Tennis is more starts & stops. Sprint to a spot and glide back. The best type of training for tennis (road work wise) is wind-sprints.
I used to do these on a tennis court or in a racquet ball court.
Start by jogging from the back fence to the net, then sprint back to the back fence.
Then jog to the net and sidestep quickly back to the back fence.
Then jog back to the net and sidestep the other way to the back fence.
Finally, jog back to the net and backstep to the back fence.
Then go back to the beginning with the sprint.
This is the best leg work I've found to prepare for the type of running you will do on a tennis court.

 

[chess9]

Run one day per week, but make it a long, slow run. (LSD) Try to do at least 3 miles, but preferably 5 until your fitness improves. If you have to walk some at first, fine.

Add one day per week of bike training. Do one hour on the bike with a warm-up, cooldown, and 40 minutes of hard riding.

Do one day per week of rowing. Slowly build from 5 x 500 to 5 x 2000 after a month. Great workout for upper and lower body.

Jump rope 3 days a week for 15 minutes.

Oh, I forgot to add: Do some weights at least one day per week. Preferably 3 days per week until you get fit.

If you VARY the routine, it won't be routine. Before you know it, you won't be like all those 30 somethings who look like they eat donuts 24/7. j/k of course because you didn't say you were fat.

Are you young enough and healthy enough to train hard? If so, then I'm sure you'd rather be strong than weak. Kick yourself in the butt and you'll do it. By discussing the problem you've taken the first big step in the right direction.

-Robert
________
EXPERT INSURANCE

 

[Midlife crisis]

I'm in much the same boat. I've successfully run half-marathons in the 1:30 range with as little as ten miles per week average of training in the two months leading up to the event.

You can effectively build up your cardiovascular fitness by cycling. Hopefully, cycling will be more fun to you than running, as it is for me. I do he majority of my fitness training by cycling, and polish off my running capabilities by warming up well and then running very intensely when I run.

For instance, a typical week will have me riding two hours per day on Monday, Wedneday, and Friday, and three hours on Saturday. On Tuesday and Sunday, I'll run three to five miles. For a three mile run, I'll warm up with a slow mile, then do 4 X 400 meters and 4 X 200 meters, then cool down with a half mile jog. For a file mile run, I'll run three miles steadily, then do 8 X 200, 8 X 100, and then 8 X 50, jogging another half mile to cool down.

This works fantastically well, because the fitness is generated from a non-impact sport and the running training is short and intense, which mirrors the physical demands of tennis.

 

[chess9]

Midlife:

You animal!
Yes, that's a nice cross-training regimen. Tennis is so hard on the body, the cycling is nice counter-point. You don't need a lot of long runs for tennis to stay fit either. Your intense 3 miler sounds perfect the way you do it. I run 3 miles 4 days per week right now, with one 10 mile run a week. At my age and bad fatitude that keeps me fit. I still get a big kick out of chasing down balls the high school kids think I won't get....Anyway, the only reason I'm still doing all that is because I might want to do a particular Half Ironman race this year. I'm pretty committed to taking the year off from long races to build my strength and speed and have some bloody FUN for a change, but, the monster beckons....

-Robert
________
Ipad guides

 

[MegacedU]

Not a bad idea...dang it, I was going to quit the gym. I keep paying the monthly fee but I hardly go now because all my free time is spent playing tennis or something...jump rope sounds pretty neat.

Yeah, it's pretty chill. Go buy one, and once you get good at it, try doing tricks. You can post videos and you and I can battle it out for the master of the jumprope.

 

[Midlife crisis]

Midlife:

You animal!
Yes, that's a nice cross-training regimen. Tennis is so hard on the body, the cycling is nice counter-point. You don't need a lot of long runs for tennis to stay fit either. Your intense 3 miler sounds perfect the way you do it. I run 3 miles 4 days per week right now, with one 10 mile run a week. At my age and bad fatitude that keeps me fit. I still get a big kick out of chasing down balls the high school kids think I won't get....Anyway, the only reason I'm still doing all that is because I might want to do a particular Half Ironman race this year. I'm pretty committed to taking the year off from long races to build my strength and speed and have some bloody FUN for a change, but, the monster beckons....

-Robert

Robert,

Best of luck with your half-ironman. It's a lifetime goal for me to qualify for and do Hawaii Ironman, but I seemed to have been blessed (?) with super high body density. My last swim instructor had me holding **THREE** float boards against my chest to practice kicking. After about five feet of thrashing, I was totally under water. After I surfaced, he said "I've never seen anyone do that before. . ."

I can only hope to find a cold-water Ironman so I can wear a 50 mm thick wetsuit. Sure, I'll look like the Michelin man, but at least I won't drown!

How does it feel to run that much and still play tennis? I'm finding it pretty hard to recover from a joint perspective even though I'm probably running less than six miles a week in two three-mile runs and playing tennis four times a week. I feel like I'm on the verge of a plantar problem or ankle sprain.

 

[ATXtennisaddict]

Yeah, it's pretty chill. Go buy one, and once you get good at it, try doing tricks. You can post videos and you and I can battle it out for the master of the jumprope.

Nah,I won't let you have the chance to show off!

 

[courtrage]

I feel like I'm on the verge of a plantar problem or ankle sprain.

WTF! i wont even get out and do like a mile a day and these old guys are running like forrest gump just kidding guys...i'm really impressed with your work ethic...

i had heel pain till today! didnt notice when i was a teenager much even though it was there, but i'm sure you guys know how that is :-\

yesterday before and after playing i did these calf stretches a friend recommended (he had heel spurs/pain and the dr told him to do this)....now walking around at work i have less/no issues...
face a wall with your feet one behind the other (like walking a tightrope) a decent distance apart. put your hands on the wall and lean forward like doing a pushup while keeping your back leg straight and do 10 each side..then do it with your back leg bent...i got a real good stretch from that..i use do a similar way but never got quite teh stretch as i did when i did it this way...

 

[Kevin T]

I'm in the "hate running/cycling" group as well. The only time I actually enjoy longer runs is when I hit the trails. I just play other sports. I play tennis and squash twice weekly, try to squeeze in a day of racquetball, surf whenever the waves are dandy and skateboard if I can't surf. I used to play a lot of outdoor basketball/streetball during grad school but I've lingered away in the last few years. I mix in 2 days of weight lifting which is pretty much just for maintanance and that makes for a full week. If I can't be outside working out, I won't do it unless it's squash, basketball or racquetball and I even prefer outdoor racquetball and basketball. Putting me in a gym or health club is like putting a lion in a cage. I get anxious and moody.

 

[Midlife crisis]

WTF! i wont even get out and do like a mile a day and these old guys are running like forrest gump just kidding guys...i'm really impressed with your work ethic...

I can remember when my father was about my age, and I thought "He's OLD!" He couldn't/wouldn't play sports with me. He never exercised much, smoked when he was younger, and died of cardiac arrest at age 66, only 22 years older than I am now.

I'm also firmly in denial that I'm having a midlife crisis. There is NO way that I'm letting my son take a set from me, two-hand dunk on me, beat me in a 10k, outride me up a hill, or hit a home run off me until he's at least 18. That's my motivation and he knows it, so when he thinks I'm slacking, he'll needle me and say "I'm getting you the next time out. . ." It's enough to make me hit the gym for two-a-days!

More seriously, the very close group of friends that I grew up with, went to high school with, went to college with - we all kinda got married and had kids at about the same time so when we all get together and play softball or something, it's clearly apparent that they have gotten old, while my wife and I haven't. I want that, forever. :mrgreen:

 

[courtrage]

More seriously, the very close group of friends that I grew up with, went to high school with, went to college with - we all kinda got married and had kids at about the same time so when we all get together and play softball or something, it's clearly apparent that they have gotten old, while my wife and I haven't. I want that, forever. :mrgreen:

i am thinkin along those lines now trying to keep the future in mind...that being said, i'm only 27 so i may be thinkin too much ;-)

 

[legolas]

eliptical trainer, i hate running too

 

[Midlife crisis]

i am thinkin along those lines now trying to keep the future in mind...that being said, i'm only 27 so i may be thinkin too much ;-)

Believe me, it is never too early to start. The more you can bankroll earlier on, the more slack you can give yourself later on. Every one of my friends who are my age are on some sort of diet and exercise plan, and some of them are also starting with the blood pressure medications too. When we have a Super Bowl party, they're all dejectedly eyeing the quadruple chocolate fudge cake but I indulge all I want. That's spending a little bit of the interest I earned from that early bankroll!