ok.. just a question!

[pimpstar]

hi guys.. i know you guys think this post is stupid! but im actually serious about this post and want you to help me answer it.. on tv u see someone like andy roddick or joachim johansson hitting serves at 140mph constantly... i mean these guys arent the strongest and most certainly not the biggest person in the world.. i mean i know they got the right technique.. but wouldnt a person who does 500 situps aday, benchpresses 400lbs, squats about 400lbs.. can hit a serve that fast as well? because of all the muscles they need to serve are trained (abs, shoulder, bicepts, legs).. if not y and if yes does that mean people like triple h can belt hit a 140mph serves? because i mean he bench about 160kgs, sit ups about 1000/day, squats about the same too.. if yes y isnt he a tennis player? is that the fact because he cant control the serve or because they still cat hit the serve eventhough theyre stronger then tennis players? please i need a response.. i mean if u see people like triple h wrestles.. u see him run he's pretty fast! and flexible too!

 

[Rickson]

I was a powerlifter with a 345 lb bench press and I can tell you right now, my serve is nowhere near Roddick's serve speed. I have no doubt that I could outlift Andy in just about any weight lifting exercise, but lifting heavy weights and serving fast are 2 completely different things. You can train your muscles for raw power(lifting heavy weights) or you can train your muscles for another type of power(speed), so simply being a powerful weightlifter doesn't necessarily mean you'd have a powerful serve.

 

[Nadal2]

No, when you're training your muscles to lift big weights it's not a quick movement. You don't accelerate like you do with a tennis serve. You're not training your muscles to be able to move as quickly as you would with a serve.

 

[pimpstar]

ok then.. thanks for all your reply.. is there any chance of training for both type of muscle? and how do you train for the speed power? i know that you suppose to do weight lifting and situps for raw power! how about speed? what do you suppose to do with it? I heard sit ups is for both?

 

[Mikael]

It depends how you train...

You could take a single exercise, like the pushup, and use it in 3 different ways for the three different types of strength: pure strength (raw strength), explosive strength, and endurance strength.

If you do pushups straight until you can do no more in one sitting, then you are training for endurance. If you clap your hands, or maybe even clap them twice after you push off the ground, then you are training for explosive strength. Finally, if you only perform a few pushups, but with weights on your back, you'd be training for pure strength.

If you want to know more on the subject then your best bet is to head over to a site such as www.bodybuilding.com or dragondoor and read some articles they have on strength. There are loads of information on the internet.

 

[Jayzzz]

Focusing on explosive weightlifting movements should increase power in the serve and groundies. Exercises like power cleans, deadlifts, push presses, squatting, snatches, hang cleans, etc. will develop tremendous explosive power especially in the lower body/trunk area where the power is generated. Compound movements is where it's at!

 

[callitout]

The concept isnt entirely wrong that a stronger player will all other things being equal be able to serve harder. The problem is that flexibility is often lost as players get bulky. But we have indeed seen each generation of players getting bigger than the previous by a couple of inches and a few pounds of muscle. Guys football sized even with no fat on them arent gonna have the flexibility required to hit a serve as hard as Roddick, but eventually we'll see a guy four inches taller than Roddick and 25 lbs heavier who hits harder no question about it. Fed hits it hard and he's skinny but he's 6' 1, he's not 5' 9 like Laver. Generally players are getting bigger and training to get stronger because theres a huge advantage to size and strength if you can maintain flexibility.

 

[Datacipher]

ACtually Pimp, while it sounds good to use explosive movements and plyometrics to improve explosive power, the scientific jury is still out on whether or not this can truly improve explosive power and to what point. It is probable that in an untrained person that doing these exercises could help the person reach his potential, however, in a trained athlete, any benefit may be mostly psychological. Some trainers and scientists believe that this trend in training is the biggest scam going.

I won't bother gettting into the complex physiological mechanisms, however, in general, your ultimate speed/power is limited genetically. This is why some individuals have fast feet or hands and others will never have them, these individuals have a high percentage of fast twitch muscle fibers and have trained their nervous system to fire them efficiently. It is also partly why an individual like HHH despite massive steroid likly cannot serve a ball as fast as a pro, or throw a pitch as fast as a pro, or drive a golf ball farther than a pro. Oh, incidently, while I"ve never met HHH (I've met other pro wrestlers), he looks quite slow to me. You have to realize that world class sports like tennis require EXTREMELY fast hands and feet to excel. HHH may look "fast" compared to a 500 lb out of shape man, his movements actually look very slugish to me.

Now, I used this training for years with the athletes and hockey players I worked with when I was a personal trainer. We got great results. Having said that, no matter how hard or in what way you train, you cannot make somebody a Carl Lewis, a Roy Jones JR, a Billy Wagner or a Roddick. The best you can do is help them reach their potential.

 

[Brian Purdie]

I think one of the most underutilized tools of the gym are the torso rotation machines. These work the back and abs and deep muscles called the psoas'. This is a machine that requires quick torso movement against a weight, not unlike that of a service motion if you picture it with a little imagination. It is often overlooked in the gym and should be a key item in any tennis players workout.

 

[GrahamIsSuper]

I am 5'9, weigh 150 lbs, and have consistantly been recorded 100+ on average. Speed comes from technique, not raw power. You'll notice several things about Roddick's and JJ's serves....namely:

Massive knee bend/upward movement : Both of them coil up like springs, then explode upwards at the ball with their legs, one of the most important parts of the serve.

Lots of Wrist: Both of them don't use a locked wrist. Power doesn't come from the arm on a serve, it comes from form and racquet acceleration.

While weight lifting is good to prevent injuries etc, I personally feel its excessive use in tennis will have a negative impact on your game, as it makes you bulkier, instead of lithe.

 

[Brian Purdie]

While weight lifting is good to prevent injuries etc, I personally feel its excessive use in tennis will have a negative impact on your game, as it makes you bulkier, instead of lithe.

I have to disagree. Tiger Woods is both exceptionally well built and very flexible. I have friends who can't touch their fingers together behind their back because of so much muscle. That's out of touch with tennis, but a mild build like Haas can prove to be an asset because it does allow for great flexibility

 

[GrahamIsSuper]

While weight lifting is good to prevent injuries etc, I personally feel its excessive use in tennis will have a negative impact on your game, as it makes you bulkier, instead of lithe.

I have to disagree. Tiger Woods is both exceptionally well built and very flexible. I have friends who can't touch their fingers together behind their back because of so much muscle. That's out of touch with tennis, but a mild build like Haas can prove to be an asset because it does allow for great flexibility

You just said the exact same thing as I said.....

 

[JohnThomas1]

I was sure that the old theory of gaining too much muscle and slowing was shot. Evander Holyfield bulked up thru a very scientific muscle gain program and gained power without losing speed. His weight gain was substancial too. Tiger Woods has indeed bulked up as well. Sprinters have been adding muscle and getting faster for years. Endurance athletes i think are the ones who get less benefit. Agassi gained a lot of strength (And a bit of weight?) thru weight training and it sure didn't hurt him. The benefits directly related to tennis wise would be interesting actually, tennis is both explosive and a small bit endurance related.

 

[Brian Purdie]

oh, sorry

 

[Aus Mosis]

Hey pimp, screw triple H, he can't even defeat Chris Benoit. If you want a person who is totaly built, maybeeee Batista, or even Brock Lesnar for example.