Would you recommend the AP belt for a player over 40 ?

[atatu]

Well, after reading the posts about the belt below, I really tried to focus on maintaining an athletic stance during my workout on Saturday and I must say I was hitting much better, but I did have to keep reminding myself to stay low. I'm 42 (today) and I'm wondering if the belt can really help me at this stage in my life, or is it really designed for juniors ?

 

[papa]

Cheer up atatu, you're going to get a lot older.

Rather than use the "belt", why not just make an ongoing effort to play lower keeping your back fairly straight.

 

[Marius_Hancu]

Check this thread for some interesting exercises:
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/viewtopic.php?t=25175
if you enjoy them, you might enjoy the belt too ....

 

[Phil]

I'd recommend that you save the $150 and practice the movement and positioning au naturel. A gadget isn't going to do much for your game in the LONG RUN. Short term, sure...

 

[VJH]

Atatu,

I am 35 and I really enjoy training with the belt. My buddy/frequent hitting partner Tom is 43 and just picked one up himself. As I've mentioned previously, we both live in Boston. Unfortunately, we are forced to play predominantly indoors from September - May. Court Time is $50 bucks an hour during prime time (meaning before or after work) at our club. If you can hit during regular business hours (9-5) you save 10 bucks an hour.

We generally hit for 1.5 hours whenever we get a chance. We needed that much time to play 2-3 sets or to feel like we had a good workout. That means every time we play, we are shelling out $75 bucks for a court. Divide that in half and our training sessions cost each of us $37.50. If you play a couple times a week that really ads up.

We've hit together a few times with both of us wearing belts. We are spent after 30 minutes or so. Not just a little winded....good old fashioned tired. We usually warm up for 10 minutes.....then we will put the belts on. Our goal is to hit with the belts on consistently for 5 minutes before taking a breather....We haven't made it yet. We can go 2-3 minutes then we have to take a minute or 2 of rest. We usually do 4-5 hitting sets like this before we are whipped. We use the remainder of our time to practice serves or play a set. Since getting the belts, we haven't reserved the court for more than an hour. We are getting more out of our shorter practice sessions.

Phil,

A while back, myself and 2 buddies treated ourselves to a workout with Pat Etcheberry (fitness trainer of Courier 'years back' and currently Hennin). He was pricey. It was an extravagant purchase (over $500/hour). He ran us through a myriad of different drills. If his goal was to break us, he was successful. His drills were difficult, because we had to execute them all in an athletic stance. If we stood up, there was Pat yelling at us. It was a pretty good session. The only problem was that as soon as we got back home, Pat wasn't there to yell at us when we weren't drilling correctly.

Soon, despite our best efforts, the workouts became less intense...We didn't have a constant reminder of when we were moving correctly or incorrectly. The element that I like best about the belt, is that you always know, via the feedback of tension or lack thereof, when you are drilling properly. If you can consistently keep your workouts supremely disciplined, meaning, you can continue to execute proper technique as you begin to tire with no feedback, verbal or otherwise, than you are a better man than I.

 

[Marius_Hancu]

A while back, myself and 2 buddies treated ourselves to a workout with Pat Etcheberry (fitness trainer of Courier 'years back' and currently Hennin). He was pricey. It was an extravagant purchase (over $500/hour). He ran us through a myriad of different drills. If his goal was to break us, he was successful. His drills were difficult, because we had to execute them all in an athletic stance. If we stood up, there was Pat yelling at us. .

Just what I was saying here:
Henin exercise for the athletic stance
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/viewtopic.php?t=25175
I am pretty sure it was recommended by Pat.
BTW, thanks for he price information

 

[VJH]

Marius....That does sound like an Etcheberry workout....A funny story about Etcheberry and Courier....Courier was once asked who Etcheberry would claim to be the harderst worker that he has spent time training........Courier's reply? "Hennin....That is after me....." Like Lendl before him, Courier knew exactly how important it was to translate his physical fitness regimen to the court. I've personally found that to be a difficult thing to always do....

 

[Phil]

Phil,

A while back, myself and 2 buddies treated ourselves to a workout with Pat Etcheberry (fitness trainer of Courier 'years back' and currently Hennin). He was pricey. It was an extravagant purchase (over $500/hour). He ran us through a myriad of different drills. If his goal was to break us, he was successful. His drills were difficult, because we had to execute them all in an athletic stance. If we stood up, there was Pat yelling at us. It was a pretty good session. The only problem was that as soon as we got back home, Pat wasn't there to yell at us when we weren't drilling correctly.

Soon, despite our best efforts, the workouts became less intense...We didn't have a constant reminder of when we were moving correctly or incorrectly. The element that I like best about the belt, is that you always know, via the feedback of tension or lack thereof, when you are drilling properly. If you can consistently keep your workouts supremely disciplined, meaning, you can continue to execute proper technique as you begin to tire with no feedback, verbal or otherwise, than you are a better man than I.

VJH - I can see this working-I did not say that it wouldn't, but I really think it's up to the individual to develop his muscle memory for such activities. I am not a better man than you-I am in fact, a very undisciplined person who has to constantly push himself in just about everything (other than eating and drinking and a couple other things). Discipline is just like a muscle-the more you use it, the more effective it becomes. I also take some pride in the fact that I don't buy the gadget when something else much simpler/cheaper works just as well or better. I try to avoid quick fixes. But different strokes for different folks. That's just me.

 

[VJH]

No offense taken Phil. I took to tennis late in life...(first picked up a racket at 25, now 35). Although I was a college baseball player, I've always felt like I've had a lot of "catching" up to do on the tennis court. At my level, I'm now playing folks that started playing as kids....

As a competitive son of a gun, I'm always looking for ways to give myself an edge on the court, or expedite my progress. Availability of time is finite so I always try to do more in less time.

You nailed it though when you said different strokes for different folks. My only other thought would be that if I can improve my movement, I'd like to do it for the long haul and not for just a temporary period of time......

There is one area that we are definitely on the same page. I enjoy a malted beverage (or several) with the best of 'em.