Undefeated season or bust! ~ Summer Training

[Kenny022593]

What's up everyone? I am still recovering from the broken ankle, but I am finally back! It feels good, man.

So, I just wanted to start a new thread since the other two were about my season at RIT and then the really weak one that I never followed up on about getting the "Ok" to start hitting again. This thread will be a log of my training over the summer to go undefeated next year during the season! It will be a long road, and it may not even be an achievable goal, but I am putting everything I've got into it.

I am playing in a tournament this weekend, so I will update during that. I really wanted to play the A draw, but I got the no go from my family and from my own brain telling me to be smart... I have played all of 1 competitive set since coming back so... I am not expecting much.

I will also update the thread with how my lifting and eating (lol) are going. I started up Babylover's variation of Starting Strength this past week and boy let me tell you... It is the real deal. Going on that 1 year bulk and getting hyooge!!!

But yeah, good to be back and I can't wait to see what the summer brings for tennis and strength gains!

 

[Kenny022593]

Figured I would separate the posts so the OP isn't too cluttered.

Today's Workout: (weight/rep/sets)
-Squats = 130x5x3
-Barbell Bench Press = 130x5x3
-Pendlay Row = 99x5x3
-Chin Ups = 3,1
-Chin Up Negatives = 6,5
-EZ-bar Curls = 50x8x3

The legs are getting back up there which I am so ridiculously happy about! SCREW ATROPHY!!! I make fun of myself for benching as much as I squat now though, it is pretty fun. The last rep of the last set on bench was somewhat assisted. My spotter had his fingers under the bar and that was that. The rows were pretty lame, IMO. I dropped the weight so I could try to correct my form, which I did for the most part, but I wish I could've done more. Chins have always been my achilles heel... So weak! All the way up until my senior year I couldn't even do one... lol. The negatives help though. I want to get up to 10 in a row by the end of summer.

The numbers show just how incredibly weak I am. :twisted: It should be a lot different at the end of summer, though!

Food for today: 2476cal/268carb/81fat/180protein
Still under maintenance, but I am working the calories up. Gonna go up to around 3000 and then see how my body reacts and if I am putting on weight or not.

Tomorrow is a deadlifting day! These things are fun, but if you screw up in the slightest on form... Bye bye lower back.

 

[Kenny022593]

Today's gym session went pretty well, imo.

Workout:
-Front Squats = 115x5x3
-Overhead Press = 85x5x3
-Deadlift = 170x5x1
-Dips = 10,6,4

I hit a 170 deadlift with more in the tank at the end of the 5 reps! Woo!! It has gone from doing 155x4x1 in a week and a half to the 170. Linear progression for the win!

I play tomorrow at 1:30. Will update after!

MSV Focus Hex 1.10mm ~ Primed and ready

 

[Kenny022593]

So, the tournament ended up going basically how I expected it to. I made it to the final, but lost to my friend who was the second seed. My ankle held up fine, but my legs were a different story. I want to say I expected them to give out by the final, but I didn't. I thought that they would be able to last to pull me through to the end, but they didn't. Oh well.

The first match I played was on saturday. I won 6-1, 7-6(7-2). I don't think that I played my best, but the second set got really intense because I came from 2-5 down. In all honesty, I don't remember the first set, but I know that I didn't let anything get to me and I just kept a cool appearance throughout the entire thing. I think I started the second set off with a poor choice in strategy. I decided to just start rifling everything that I could get a hold of and my opponent seemed like he wanted me to do that... He easily went up 0-3. I dialed back and started fighting and grinding and ended up coming back to take it in the tiebreak. When I was at 2-5 down I was serving and the first serve I hit was an ace right down the T. I don't consider myself to have a big serve at all so I let out a nice big "come on!" after that. I feel like the change in attitude from calm and cool to firey and pumped is what helped me over come my opponent too.

The match killed me though and I could barely walk after it. I couldn't even carry my bag. I was so happy to win my first match back, but I couldn't show it because of the pain in my legs. Like I said though, the ankle was fine. When I got home, I took an ice bath... I only lasted 5 minutes in that thing... haha. And then I soaked in epsom salts. I ended up falling asleep at 9... Was exhausted.

My second match and the final were yesterday at 9am and 1pm respectively. For the first match, I didn't think my legs were going to hold up, so I wrapped them like the trainer in high school did for me when I strained my right quad. It seemed to help and I didn't really feel too much pain at the end of the match. I played the 6th man for Nazareth college in Rochester and won 6-1 6-3. I executed my strategy to the fullest and was happy with how I played. I was hitting better in this match than my first match, but my backhand was still off and I couldn't time it right at all. I blame the dirt. Can't stand clay! Especially the stuff at my club... My opponent drop-shot/lobbed me a lot, which won him every point he did it. He should've done it more :-?. This match was a pretty good minus missing a lot of easy balls from both of us, but I thought, for me, it was a good win.

The final was against a friend who I have known for about 2 years? We know each other's games pretty well so I knew going in it was going to be interesting. By the time the match started though, my legs weren't having any of it. I thought that I could pull through, but... didn't happen. The first set was really really gross, IMO. We would get into a rally, but then I would miss the 4th or 5th ball by like a foot. I couldn't find a groove or get a foot hold at all. It was really getting to me and I was getting pissed. I cooled myself down and got back to 5-5 from 3-5 down. It wasn't enough though and he ended up taking the set 5-7. The second set was better. I broke him his first 2 service games, but he broke me in mine. After that, I just couldn't do squat. My legs were toasted. I decided that finishing the match would be better than just forfeiting, so I kept going, but you could tell that I wasn't there any more. Once again, I could barely walk, but it was worse than the match from saturday. I just disregarded everyone and went inside to get ice before I did anything else. It wasn't cramps, just sheer pain.

I'm not mad about losing the tournament, just disappointed that the 'healthy' parts of my body gave out. Oh well, it was my first tournament back and it was the B draw of it at that. It was for fun and a warm up for the real tournament in about a month. I'm taking today off, and if I feel ok tomorrow, I will be back at it. If not, then what is another day off?

 

[roddick_rulz]

Post Vids!

 

[Kenny022593]

Post Vids!

I should've taken some

Here are some videos that I took at the gym yesterday for form checks, though.

Squat 135 lb:
http://youtu.be/VQTGFxB5r9E

Pendlay Row 104 lb:
http://youtu.be/6wXIHZ46FGg

Was really pushing hard to get those squats up. Form looks like it was really crappy, but I felt it in my leg? So? It was my first time actually doing a plate on each side... ever. I used to never squat and just do leg press. Squats work your legs SO MUCH MORE! It is pretty ridiculous. If I had back problems though, there would be no way in hell that I would do squats.

 

[Kenny022593]

Today was a pretty darn good day. Hit the gym in the morning and pulled a 180lb deadlift for 5 reps. It isn't stalling out, so I am happy with that. The soreness in my legs is also going away... some what. It is still there, but it isn't as bad as before. I feel like weight training is kind of ruining my tennis training because of the soreness, but oh well. My body will eventually get used to pushing the weights around.

I got to play tennis on a private clay court too. My friend's friend owns it... If that makes sense.

http://i48.tinypic.com/nq2wk3.jpg

It was pretty nice. Way nicer than the 'dirt' at the local club. WAY NICER! The crap at the local club shouldn't even be called clay or har-tru. I still despise clay, but I think it is good to play on it because it is easier on my ankle.

With that being said, I hit and moved a lot better than I was expecting. My ankle is a bit sore, but the 'big tournament' is only a month away and I need to push myself. I will monitor it closely. I also fixed my backhand. I finally paid attention to it and found that I was cutting my swing off way too soon and not going over the shoulder. All in all, it was a solid hitting session from my friend and I.

I don't know what I am doing tomorrow, but I hope I can hit before I have to work! :-|

Also, what do you guys think would be a fair price to charge friends for stringing? The whole not getting paid for stringing at RIT pisses me off and I don't want to do that again.

 

[ClarkC]

The first match I played was on saturday. I won 6-1, 7-6(7-2). I don't think that I played my best, but the second set got really intense because I came from 2-5 down. In all honesty, I don't remember the first set, but I know that I didn't let anything get to me and I just kept a cool appearance throughout the entire thing. I think I started the second set off with a poor choice in strategy. I decided to just start rifling everything that I could get a hold of and my opponent seemed like he wanted me to do that... He easily went up 0-3.

Why would you change your style of play after winning the first set 6-1?

 

[axel89]

Why would you change your style of play after winning the first set 6-1?

didn't want to grind out rallis most likely

 

[Kenny022593]

Why would you change your style of play after winning the first set 6-1?

didn't want to grind out rallis most likely

Axel is right. Like I said in my posts, I was having a lot of trouble with my quads and was in a lot of pain. I wanted to try and speed up points so I wouldn't have to keep grinding and could save my legs for the later matches.

 

[i3602u]

Depends on area you live but labor only $10-$20 is what you should charge. Also depends on what type of string you are stringing gut takes longer to string since you need to be more careful

 

[Kenny022593]

Today was a really rough day. Rough as in energy depleting, not emotionally rough. I woke up this morning just feeling really tired despite the 9 hours of sleep. I hit the gym despite that though and put up some decent numbers.

125lb x 5 x 3 Front Squat
85lb x 5 x 3 Overhead Press (the first set I only got 4, but my hands were too far apart, oh well)
190lb x 5 x 1 Deadlift

Then I did 15 straight dips.

The deadlifts were really shaky so I am going to stay at the 190lb mark for one more gym session then up it to 200. I was completely dead after the work out though. No energy whatsoever.

I hit for about 45 minutes today and I barely made it through 30 that is how gone I was. That being said though, I am finally getting back into it. I am constructing points and not just trying to blast away. My movement around the court is also getting a lot better. No soreness in my quads and I feel like I can make a good run at this next tournament. The only problem is, is that I don't get the same sense of enjoyment out of playing since coming back. :-? I don't know if it is because I can't push my limits as much or what, but it kind of sucks. Hopefully that feeling will go away once I get to 100%.

 

[The Wreck]

I should've taken some

Here are some videos that I took at the gym yesterday for form checks, though.

Squat 135 lb:
http://youtu.be/VQTGFxB5r9E

Pendlay Row 104 lb:
http://youtu.be/6wXIHZ46FGg

Was really pushing hard to get those squats up. Form looks like it was really crappy, but I felt it in my leg? So? It was my first time actually doing a plate on each side... ever. I used to never squat and just do leg press. Squats work your legs SO MUCH MORE! It is pretty ridiculous. If I had back problems though, there would be no way in hell that I would do squats.

Gotta get proper squat form. Not that it will make it easier, but still. Your hip joint should be parallel to your knee. AKA, don't stop when your thighs are straight; they should be slightly beyond that.

You may be doing that in the video, but it didn't look like it from my angle.

Keep up the good work lifting though. It'll pay off.

 

[Head Youtek]

Looks like you're making good progress. Congrats man! Btw what part of the country you living in? Best regards.

HY

 

[Kenny022593]

So the day after my last update, I hit with a former teaching pro who is currently on leave because he needs surgery. We hit on the crap dirt because it would be easier on his knee. I still hate the clay, but oh well. It was easier for him and easier on my ankle. My forehand is basically all back and better than it used to be. My backhand, not so much. I either hit it late or it is just a really weak ball.

Yesterday, I took the day off from tennis by accident. Was going to hit, but when I got back to my friend it was too late for him. I did get into the gym though. I al close to hitting 135lbx5x3 bench press. I want it really bad, but can never seem to squeak out that last rep.

Today I hit the gym again and did front squats, OHP, and deadlifts. I decided to start to go lower on my front squats. It wasn't too bad today in all honesty. Since the weight is going up though, I am having trouble keeping the bar from rolling down. I have to look up a prevention method for that. I moved my OHP weight up to 90lbs today and did 3 sets 5 reps, 4 reps, 4 reps. It is getting better. My shoulders and traps have always been pretty weak. I busted out a 195lb deadlift today though for 5 reps! Next deadlift session I will hit that 200 mark and be halfway to my goal!

Hitting today was pretty crappy, though. My friend who also broke his ankle (he did it in the fall season) rolled his ankle again so we only got about 30 minutes of hitting in. I just really need to re-evaluate what I am doing tennis wise and go from there. I am not really having fun doing it and I am beginning to hate the sport I love. I don't know what to do... I am also hitting with some really crappy string.

But I need advice guys from what I just said. What do I do? I want to get better, but the sport is just becoming less and less fun for me. Do I find new people to hit with? What?

Looks like you're making good progress. Congrats man! Btw what part of the country you living in? Best regards.

HY

I am in NY, btw.

 

[andfor]

.............I just really need to re-evaluate what I am doing tennis wise and go from there. I am not really having fun doing it and I am beginning to hate the sport I love. I don't know what to do... I am also hitting with some really crappy string.

But I need advice guys from what I just said. What do I do? I want to get better, but the sport is just becoming less and less fun for me. Do I find new people to hit with? What?

Based on the title of your thread I'm really not surprised you have come to this. When I read it, I shuttered and thought, that's unrealistic and totally outcome focused. This is the type of thought pattern that leads to tight play, disinterest and burnout. When it's all about the W or the L, a crash at worst or re-evaluation at best is usually going to come.

You need to be more process focused. Look for little improvements every day. It can be anything. Focus on 100% effort and having the best attitude every practice, every point, every day. Don't worry about what others think, gain satisfaction in knowing you're working your hardest every practice and match. You need to read or get the tapes to Jeff Greenwald's Fearless Tennis. http://www.jeffhgreenwald.com/ This guy is the real deal. Read his stuff and you'll be a new tennis player and person for it. Seriously. Also, Dr. John Murray has a great website, a mental strength test, news updates, articles and advice. These resources offer far more than I can give you here.

Remember its a marathon, not a sprint. Enjoy the journey. As you get older the journey will change and your tennis experience will be over shadowed by job, family and other things. This is all good. Enjoy your tennis now while you have it. It's a game, have fun with it.

Good luck. I like your blog and keep it up the good work.

 

[Kenny022593]

Based on the title of your thread I'm really not surprised you have come to this. When I read it, I shuttered and thought, that's unrealistic and totally outcome focused. This is the type of thought pattern that leads to tight play, disinterest and burnout. When it's all about the W or the L, a crash at worst or re-evaluation at best is usually going to come.

You need to be more process focused. Look for little improvements every day. It can be anything. Focus on 100% effort and having the best attitude every practice, every point, every day. Don't worry about what others think, gain satisfaction in knowing you're working your hardest every practice and match. You need to read or get the tapes to Jeff Greenwald's Fearless Tennis. http://www.jeffhgreenwald.com/ This guy is the real deal. Read his stuff and you'll be a new tennis player and person for it. Seriously. Also, Dr. John Murray has a great website, a mental strength test, news updates, articles and advice. These resources offer far more than I can give you here.

Remember its a marathon, not a sprint. Enjoy the journey. As you get older the journey will change and your tennis experience will be over shadowed by job, family and other things. This is all good. Enjoy your tennis now while you have it. It's a game, have fun with it.

Good luck. I like your blog and keep it up the good work.

Thank you for the advice. To clear the title up, it was really just meant as a joke because throughout my injury my coach and I would keep joking about how next year I would come back, play #1 and go undefeated. She would sometimes check in on my old thread, so I thought why not use that as the title. I see what you are saying though. It is a big goal and would be a tough one at that. I will definitely read and look into Jeff Greenwald's stuff as well as the others you have posted.

As for the tennis, my past few sessions have went decently. I have run out of string, so I was stuck using a 1.32mm poly and OGSM hybrid.... sucks man. My friend gave me a set of 1.08mm Hexonic though so I should be good until I decide to order more Focus Hex.

The past few days have been really windy, but like I said, the hitting sessions have gone fairly well. Today I hit with my friends mom's boyfriend... Confusing. He is over 55 and a 5.0. Aka, plays in 5.0 tournaments and has success. I want to get back into serving and volleying and get better at it and he is one of the guys that is known to be a very good serve and volleyer. So I asked him to give me some tips and he agreed. After the hit I felt way more comfortable at the net and coming in off the serve and hitting that first volley. Just need more practice. My backhand finally decided to come out today too. Was hitting it pretty solid, just not as deep as I would like it. I have a problem generating a lot of pace off of that side, but I figure as long as I play a moderately hard hitter, I should be fine. I have my slice too in case I don't.

The gym has been going really well too! I HIT MY 205LBx5x1 DEADLIFT TODAY!!!! F*** YEAH! I was so pumped after I got it and just wanted to jump around screaming in the gym and celebrate, but I didn't. Even though it isn't that much weight, I see it as a big milestone because I couldn't even do leg exercises one month ago. Going to the gym has been kind of the saving grace and keeping me happy as of late. There is something about giving it all you have pushing the weight that just gets me. Even more so than tennis.

 

[TennisKid1]

Great blog, it is really fun to read up on your progress and how the hitting has been coming along for you. You play college tennis i presume?

 

[Kenny022593]

Great blog, it is really fun to read up on your progress and how the hitting has been coming along for you. You play college tennis i presume?

Yes, I play for Rochester Institute of Technology. I just finished my first year at the school, but I broke my ankle in our first match of the spring season so I was red shirted. RIT is D3 btw.

My coach is at Wimbledon right now too... She is so lucky!

 

[floridatennisdude]

So, it seems that you are devoting a lot of time to getting stronger. Is this at the encouragement of a coach, trainer, or just something you want to do?

I only ask because your workouts are so opposite of what I do. I do more high rep, low weight to exhaustion stuff and compliment it with bands, Hi Intensity cardio, and yoga. What is your strength training philosophy?

 

[Kenny022593]

So, it seems that you are devoting a lot of time to getting stronger. Is this at the encouragement of a coach, trainer, or just something you want to do?

I only ask because your workouts are so opposite of what I do. I do more high rep, low weight to exhaustion stuff and compliment it with bands, Hi Intensity cardio, and yoga. What is your strength training philosophy?

It is more just for me. When I was in 8th grade I weighed 228lbs at my heaviest. I dropped down to 155 and ever since then I have been floating around 162-167. Always pretty weak. It doesn't help that I am tall and lanky. I just want to get stronger and bigger. My goal is to hit 195~ and then drop back down to 180.

My coach actually doesn't like lifting. When I got there in the fall she told me to stop lifting because lifting "ruins flexibility." I figure, if I train flexibility and stretch after hitting and lifting then I will be fine.

 

[floridatennisdude]

It is more just for me. When I was in 8th grade I weighed 228lbs at my heaviest. I dropped down to 155 and ever since then I have been floating around 162-167. Always pretty weak. It doesn't help that I am tall and lanky. I just want to get stronger and bigger. My goal is to hit 195~ and then drop back down to 180.

My coach actually doesn't like lifting. When I got there in the fall she told me to stop lifting because lifting "ruins flexibility." I figure, if I train flexibility and stretch after hitting and lifting then I will be fine.

I would disagree that lifting "ruins flexibility". Not working on flexibility "ruins flexibility" in my book.

If you are serious about your tennis, I'd mix in a yoga routine once a week. It has paid dividends for me. Your school's rec center might do a free class or you can find some simple workouts online. If I had college to do all over again, I would totally have done yoga at the rec center. Always cool to see flexible women.

 

[USERNAME]

Lifting ruins flexibility, HA! What a load of crap. I lift whatever I can do for 10-14 reps during the season for chest, back, bis, tris, and shoulders, plus whatever I can push 18-20 times for legs. The key is to find the right weight so you won't tear yourself up doing strong lifts!
And good for you OP on losing the weight and still wanting to better yourself, I admire people that have it in them to make a change.

 

[floridatennisdude]

Lifting ruins flexibility, HA! What a load of crap. I lift whatever I can do for 10-14 reps during the season for chest, back, bis, tris, and shoulders, plus whatever I can push 18-20 times for legs. The key is to find the right weight so you won't tear yourself up doing strong lifts!
And good for you OP on losing the weight and still wanting to better yourself, I admire people that have it in them to make a change.

I wouldn't say it's a "load of crap". It's no mystery that bodybuilders aren't the most flexible folks in the world. Your workout regime sounds like it encourages higher rep and leaner muscle mass. The OP is trying to continuously go for PRs. That could harm flexibility. That's why I think he needs to balance his workouts with some yoga types of workouts.

 

[Kenny022593]

I figure I will post now instead of after I hit today since I didn't post yesterday.

I hit the gym today and busted out a 155x5x3 back squat. Felt good. The one thing that I noticed today is that I am still not using my right leg as much as my left. It is just a mental thing I guess and something I will have to work on. I upped my bench weight to 140, still weak but I don't care. I did 5 reps, 4 reps and then 2 reps . I am progressing though so hopefully within two more tries I can hit 140x5x3. I was super tired today in the gym, though. I am going to try and get some more sleep and go from there.

Now, yesterday I hit with my friend who is going to be a sophomore in HS. He played first doubles and fourth singles on my old HS team this year. I see a lot of myself in him. He has that same drive that I did at his age and he is basically playing the same positions. His first year on the team he played first exhibition, and this year he played what I said above. The same thing I did, but he is doing it a year ahead of me. I want to help him get better and I want him to beat the kid who is playing first right now because in all honesty, the current #1 doesn't deserve it.

The only problem is that my friend's serve is fairly weak and his volleys are very weak, but he is still growing so the serve should come in. He has a solid ground game and I hope that over the summer if he takes lessons, they will fix his volleys.

We played 2 sets, though and it went really well. For both of us. I started out really shaky with a decent amount of double faults and stupid missed first volleys, but I got it together. I finally found my backhand again and I hope it sticks. I was also hitting flat serves, and yes I go full out against my opponents even if they are lower level, pretty damn well which is something that I never do. Movement is getting that and I am becoming more comfortable reaching and lunging and pushing for that extra step to the ball. My ankle brace is breaking though and I will need to get a new one. Is ASO the best bet, or is there a cheaper brand that I can go for? I am currently using an aircast.

http://www.bormed.com/images/airsport2.jpg

 

[floridatennisdude]

^^^im partial to Active Ankle, but the ASO is a good product.

I'd go with what your doctor recommends and not skimp because of price. It's your body you are talking about. It's worth a few extra bucks.

 

[USERNAME]

I wouldn't say it's a "load of crap". It's no mystery that bodybuilders aren't the most flexible folks in the world. Your workout regime sounds like it encourages higher rep and leaner muscle mass. The OP is trying to continuously go for PRs. That could harm flexibility. That's why I think he needs to balance his workouts with some yoga types of workouts.

Off season I bump down to 8-10 reps and I still stay flexible after putting on a bit of size and a good amount of strength. I think when you start stronglifts you'll lose a noticeable amount of flexibility but staying at the mid-rep range will give ya great results in all departments.

 

[floridatennisdude]

Off season I bump down to 8-10 reps and I still stay flexible after putting on a bit of size and a good amount of strength. I think when you start stronglifts you'll lose a noticeable amount of flexibility but staying at the mid-rep range will give ya great results in all departments.

You bump down to 8-10 reps in the off season? Your legs must be totally dead by the end of a season.

 

[USERNAME]

You bump down to 8-10 reps in the off season? Your legs must be totally dead by the end of a season.

Wow. 8-10 reps with heavier weight brah... Gotta get my beach body back, skinny as hell after the season. And no my legs are quite fine.