What does recovery feel like to you?
- Thread starter Majik
- Start date
Tennis is A GAME WE PLAY FOR ENJOYMENT. Things you do for enjoyment should not cause you to be in pain for three days. First, no more playing for three hours. Start with a 90 minute maximum. Second, ignore posts about whether you're getting enough potassium or plutonium when you play. That's not going to leave you with three days of pain. If all else fails, consult your physician, and consider a different game.
kevoT
Semi-Pro
+1 but i'd put a 60 min limit. Be sure to get a really good warm up and get plenty of ice and stretching done.
Try to play 1 more time for 90 mins like the poster i'm quoting said, and see how you feel then. If you're still in pain after doing this, by all means go to your physio!
Larrysümmers
Hall of Fame
make sure you have a good warmup and cooldown stretch
fuzz nation
G.O.A.T.
I think that a moderate lifting routine can be a huge contributor toward general function and fitness on a tennis court. For me, the running around gets me better conditioned for, that's right, running around, but a whole lot of racquet swinging and trunk rotation can rack up some wear and tear.
Example: I tore and abdominal muscle while serving a couple winters ago and I'm pretty sure that it was because I'd been neglecting my work off-court for a couple of months. I've also been experiencing extra soreness lately in my arm, shoulder, and core, probably because I've been off my lifting routine.
I don't think that conditioning for tennis requires intense lifting and building a lot of extra muscle, but a reasonable workout schedule should certainly enhance both strength and endurance by a good margin. For me, that means I can swing at a ball over and over again with much less chance of wearing out and breaking down. I can play up closer to my potential.
It's usually easy for me to live with a lifting schedule where I take two days rest between lifting days. I also prefer to use only moderate weight with higher rep's so that the lifting sessions don't tear me up so much. I still get a good combo of strength and endurance from that sort of approach.
One note on general recovery: I've gotten into the habit of taking a few minutes to get a good basic stretch done immediately after I get off the courts - even before I get in the car to head home. Maybe I'll get one more stretch later on, but I've seen substantially better recovery and a lot less soreness and fatigue when I get that good stretch in right after I play.
Example: I tore and abdominal muscle while serving a couple winters ago and I'm pretty sure that it was because I'd been neglecting my work off-court for a couple of months. I've also been experiencing extra soreness lately in my arm, shoulder, and core, probably because I've been off my lifting routine.
I don't think that conditioning for tennis requires intense lifting and building a lot of extra muscle, but a reasonable workout schedule should certainly enhance both strength and endurance by a good margin. For me, that means I can swing at a ball over and over again with much less chance of wearing out and breaking down. I can play up closer to my potential.
It's usually easy for me to live with a lifting schedule where I take two days rest between lifting days. I also prefer to use only moderate weight with higher rep's so that the lifting sessions don't tear me up so much. I still get a good combo of strength and endurance from that sort of approach.
One note on general recovery: I've gotten into the habit of taking a few minutes to get a good basic stretch done immediately after I get off the courts - even before I get in the car to head home. Maybe I'll get one more stretch later on, but I've seen substantially better recovery and a lot less soreness and fatigue when I get that good stretch in right after I play.
charliefedererer
Legend
The following is a good set of pretty easy to do exercises at home to help prevent the type of soreness you are describing, and even to help prevent shoulder, elbow and wrist injuries: http://www.asmi.org/SportsMed/throwing/thrower10.html
For a wider range of exercises, consider the following: http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/tennis-weight-training.html
yellowoctopus
Professional
Agree that three hours of tennis is quite tough to pull on a regular basis.
From my experience, to help with better recovery:
- Work on flexibility (stretch, yoga)
- Work on efficient mechanics
- Work on stamina
- Work on strength
In that order or importance. Assumption here is hydration and nutrition is taken care of; otherwise, this would be the most important on the list.
Lately, I find that some of the recovery drinks also helped.
From my experience, to help with better recovery:
- Work on flexibility (stretch, yoga)
- Work on efficient mechanics
- Work on stamina
- Work on strength
In that order or importance. Assumption here is hydration and nutrition is taken care of; otherwise, this would be the most important on the list.
Lately, I find that some of the recovery drinks also helped.
