My personal fitness program is designed to enhance my speed, agility and cardio-vascular fitness, as well as to improve my skill level in the main parts of tennis.
Planning Section
Introduction
My personal fitness program is designed to enhance my speed, agility and cardio-vascular fitness, as well as to improve my skill level in the main parts of tennis. To improve these aspects of my performance I will be doing a six-week course involving, in particular, a circuit-training course, as well as numerous endurance runs and fitness techniques, some of which will be included in my circuit. A circuit involves a series of around 6-10 activities or exercises which each take place at a 'station'. I have 8 stations in my circuit, each focusing on improving separate aspects of tennis and fitness. The stations are done with very little rest in between, so as to overload the body successfully. They vary between those that increase my skill level and those that increase my fitness. On the days when I am not doing my circuit I will be doing a number of other things such as running, match practise and occasionally sessions of press-up, squat thrusts, burpees etc. to improve my muscular endurance.
Planning
The aim of my programme is to improve my technique and fitness for tennis. I will be aiming to improve all of my tennis shots, but in particular I want to improve my serve and backhand, as at present these are my weakest shots. My forehand is powerful and fairly accurate, so to improve it I am aiming to add topspin to the shot. My volleying is satisfactory, but though I rarely play at the net in a game of tennis, I still wish to improve my accuracy in volleying. My speed is my main attribute around the court, and although I feel tired towards the end of a match, my fitness is acceptable. Prior to the programme I have no injuries or health problems that I am aware of, so I will not need to adjust my circuit to accommodate any.
For much of my programme I will be working with a partner, which will increase my safety as they can call for or give help as necessary. I will be training at the Weald Tennis Club in Hassocks, who will provide me with tennis balls as well as courts and nets that are an appropriate size for my circuit, or at the school tennis courts where I will need my own balls; I will use my own tennis racket. The main risk of injury is from overusing my right arm and shoulder, which could cause overuse injuries such as 'tennis elbow'. To prevent these as best as possible I will be carrying out thorough warm ups before each session in my programme, and a thorough warm down at the end of each session.
The stations in my circuit will vary in length to accommodate my different levels of ability for each of the different stations exercises. The stations in the circuit are all designed in accordance with my weaknesses and other areas of my game that I want to improve on. They are all very different exercises, which helps to relieve tedium, as well as giving resting time from the more tiring activities whilst giving rest from the less arduous ones. Because I am fairly fit from playing tennis throughout the summer, and from games at school, I will not need to concentrate as hard on the fitness improving stations in my circuit, though I will be focusing just as hard when I am doing a session focused on improving my fitness. To improve my serve, backhand, forehand and volley shots I will integrate techniques that I have picked up from other tennis lessons, such as grip, swing, footwork effective ways of improving my aim.
In conclusion the factors of my performance that I will be improving, and how I will be improving them are as follows;
* Muscular Endurance - This is the ability of a muscle group to repeat a movement for a prolonged period. By doing my muscular endurance training, see page 5.
* Agility - This is the ability to change direction quickly and accurately, combining speed, balance, power and co-ordination. By doing an Illinois agility test every circuit training as well as in all other movement tasks which help to improve agility and pliometrics.
* Cardio-vascular Endurance - This is the ability to exercise the whole body for prolonged periods. This involves the cardio (heart) and the vascular (blood) systems. By doing fartlek runs in my circuit and endurance runs.
* Specific Skills: e.g. Forehand, Backhand, Volley - In my circuit I will do
* Flexibility - This is the range of limb movement around the joints. I will be improving this each time I do the stretching part of my warm up and down.
* Strength - This involves applying a force to overcome a resistance. I will not be working as much on strength as it is not vital for the game of tennis, but I will be monitoring my progress throughout the programme.
* Match Skills - These are the general tennis skills such as forehand and serves that are vital to the game of tennis. They are specific skills that I will be focusing on mainly in my circuit training, and on Sunday when I play matches.
The Circuit
My circuit consists of 8 stations, and will be carried out in the following way.
Cardiovascular warm-up --> Stretches --> Circuit --> Stretches (warm down)
I have used the distance between my house and the Weald Tennis Club as my cardiovascular warm-up; I cycle this distance in approximately fifteen minutes. Warm-up and stretching is important to prevent the body from injury, as the exercise will be very demanding on the body. The cardiovascular warm-up increases the heart rate and blood flow, makes muscles more flexible by warming them up, and makes ...
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The Circuit
My circuit consists of 8 stations, and will be carried out in the following way.
Cardiovascular warm-up --> Stretches --> Circuit --> Stretches (warm down)
I have used the distance between my house and the Weald Tennis Club as my cardiovascular warm-up; I cycle this distance in approximately fifteen minutes. Warm-up and stretching is important to prevent the body from injury, as the exercise will be very demanding on the body. The cardiovascular warm-up increases the heart rate and blood flow, makes muscles more flexible by warming them up, and makes joints more flexible, again by warming them up. Along with the stretching it also helps you to become mentally prepared for the circuit. Swimming and jogging are both effective alternatives to cycling for this stage in the workout.
The stretching part of the warm up should be thorough and concentrate on all the muscles and joints used in tennis. It is designed to enhance both the range of movement around the joints and the efficiency of the muscles when performing the circuit. Each stretch should be held for at least 8 seconds and mild discomfort should be felt.
The Stations
Station 1- Illinois Agility Test
Station 2- Second Serve (accuracy) Test
Station 3- First Serve (power) Test
Station 4- Backhand Accuracy Test
Station 5- Forehand Accuracy Test
Station 6- Fartlek Fitness Training Course
Station 7- Volleying Accuracy Test
Station 8-Volleying Power and Accuracy Test
Station 1 is to test, and eventually improve, agility. Agility is extremely important in the game of tennis as in a rally changing direction at speed quickly can win, or save a point.
Gender
Excellent
Above Average
Average
Below Average
Poor
Male
<15.2 secs
5.2 - 16.1 secs
6.2 - 18.1 secs
8.2 - 18.3 secs
>18.3 secs
Female
<17.0 secs
7.0 - 17.9 secs
8.0 - 21.7 secs
21.8 - 23.0 secs
>23.0 secs
^ These are the results that I will be hoping to
achieve by the end of my course(the male ones).
Stations 2-5 are to test and, again, eventually improve all of my tennis shots. In station 2 I will be aiming to hit the ball into cornered off areas in the service box, I will record how many times I am successful in hitting the space. I have put the first serve practise after the second serve to try to simulate a match situation as well as possible. In a tennis match I would warm my serve up serving more slowly at first, serving the equivalent of second serves and only increasing the power as I get my slower serves in. After station 2, I should be more successful in station 3, as I would be in a match. Station 3 is simply attempting to get serves in at my regular first serve pace, and recording how many are successful. In station 4, my partner will hit me balls to my backhand side on the base line and I will attempt to hit it in cone circles either down the line or across court as my partner calls it. The same occurs for station 5 except this time my partner will feed balls to my forehand.
Station 7 is very similar to stations 4 and 5, however I will be standing close to the net in the service box and aiming at a variety of different points in the court. This is also harder as I have less time to react to where I have to place the ball. As a result, this station particularly improves my reaction time and coordination. In station 8, I stand in the same position, but this time I will be attempting to beat my partner on the other side of the court with a successful volley. To do this I must hit the ball in the singles court in a way that my partner will not be able to touch it with his racket before its second bounce. This will improve the power and accuracy of my volleys and will simulate a real game feeling in the station.
Finally, station 8 is to improve my stamina. I will use a double tennis court as the area where I will be running. As in most sports, tennis does not consist of non-stop sprinting. Fartlek involves all stages of speed, from walking to sprinting. In my Fartlek course I will start by walking from...
A --> B, I will then jog from B --> C, then I will run at 75% from C--> D, I will then sprint at 100% from D --> A. I will do this as many times as possible in 3 minutes, recording how many laps and to what letter I got to
At the end of the circuit is the warm down. This is the final part of the circuit and is where the body can rid itself of all built up lactic acid in the joints to avoid stiffness and aching the next day. The stretches should be held for slightly longer, and you should be able to stretch slightly further for each stretch.
As tennis is a non-contact sport, the only real safety consideration is injury by falling over or from pulling a muscle - being hit by a ball rarely causes injury! I will be playing on grass courts throughout and will postpone my circuit when the grass is too wet; when it rains and when dew starts to form, and so I should hopefully not injure myself in this way. I will be warming up, and down, thoroughly when practising so should hopefully not pull a muscle either. As I mentioned before, I will be working with a partner who can call for, or give help if necessary.
On the first day I will do each station for a minute. This is to judge my ability and fitness for the first time so I can then overload my body successfully in the days to come. In days 2 and 3, I will be doing each station for 2 minutes, or however long it takes (i.e. station 1). In days 4 and 5, I will be doing each station for 3 minutes. This is called progression and will stop me from staying at the same level of fitness in the duration of the programme. On day 6, I will be doing each circuit for 4 minutes.
The Principals of Training
Specificity - Making the training specific to the sport.
Progress - Progressing the training so you constantly stretch the body's performance boundaries.
Overload -You must make sure that the training overloads your body so that you improve to the maximum.
Reversibility -This occurs when you stop training, your muscles deteriorate roughly three times faster than they build so to maintain your level of fitness you need to consistently train.
Tedium -This is another word for boredom, to make the training more interesting, and therefore to increase the chance of actually training, tedium must be avoided by varying the activities
The principals of training are Specificity, Progression, Overload, Reversibility and Tedium. All of these are important factors to consider when trying improving fitness. Although the majority of my circuit focuses on improving skill levels as opposed to fitness I still aim to improve fitness, so I have to take these factors into account.
The effects of training are very specific, for example if we do sit-ups then it will be our abdominal muscles that improve, not our legs. This is the same for skills, if we want to improve in a game of tennis then practising dribbling a football will not be very productive, therefore we need to do exercises specific to tennis, like volley practise.
As you overload your body, it eventually adapts to the extra stress you are placing on it, so you are no longer overloading it. When this happens your fitness will not improve any more, and will stay at the same level of fitness until the exercise is made harder. To prevent this the exercise needs to be made progressively harder to ensure the body continues to improve.
To improve the fitness of our various body systems we need to overload them. This means we have to work them beyond their usual limit. This can be done by either exercising more often, more intensely, or for longer each time. In the same way that a body adapts to extra stress, it will also adapt to less stress. This is called reversibility; it only takes as little as three weeks for our bodies to become out of condition. This is why I will be playing tennis regularly outside, and inside of my programme, and why I am training almost constantly.
Tedium means the same as boredom, in sports context it means much the same as in other situations in life. In any sports programme tedium should be avoided, as it will reduce enthusiasm and effort, which in turn will reduce improvement. To avoid tedium you should vary the exercises in your programme, the more interesting you find the sport the more you can get away with having similar exercises.
Muscular Endurance Training
To improve my muscular endurance I will be doing a series of exercises focussing on most major muscle groups in my body. Although tennis does not need a huge amount of muscle, only muscles in the shoulders and legs needing to be larger than normal, I feel that I will benefit in my game, and in my everyday fitness if I exercise a wider range of muscles. I will do progressively more every week. The following table shows what I will do.
Week
Press Ups
Sit Ups
Squat Thrusts
Burpees
Chin Ups
20 x 3
20 x 3
20 x 3
25 x 3
3 x 3
2
20 x 5
20 x 5
20 x 5
25 x 5
3 x 5
3
25 x 3
25 x 3
25 x 3
30 x 3
5 x 3
4
25 x 5
25 x 5
25 x 5
30 x 5
5 x 5
5
30 x 3
30 x 3
30 x 3
35 x 3
7 x 3
6
30 x 5
30 x 5
30 x 5
35 x 5
7 x 5
Between each exercise I will have a minutes rest. Between each set of sets I will have a drink and five minutes rest. This will be followed by a 12 minute run at the end of the session if I can still stand up.
Nutrition
Throughout the 6 weeks of my programme I will be keeping as good a diet as possible. This will involve eating a minimum of 5 portions of fruit or vegetables a day, as well as cutting down on sugary and fatty foods, eating carbohydrate and protein high foods such as pasta, bread, fish and nuts. As I am a vegetarian I cannot eat meat but will be eating a lot of fish to compensate for this. Protein foods such as fish and nuts are good for building and repairing bones and muscles, so they are vital for improving my muscular endurance. As well as fats and carbohydrates they are also a good energy source, carbohydrates being the best source and fats the least effective. This is why I must eat a lot of carbohydrates and proteins, and less amounts of fat.
The Programme
My Basic Fitness Before The Programme
I have no injuries prior to the programme.
Bleep Test Score: measures cardio-vascular fitness = 11.7
Illinois Agility Test Score: measures agility =16.0secs
Press-ups in 30 seconds: measures muscular endurance = 26
Sit-ups in 30 seconds: measures muscular endurance = 26
Grip diameter Test: measures strength Left = 43
Right = 52
Standing Broad Jump: measures explosive power = 7 ft 9"
Fartlek Level Reached: measures cardio-vascular fitness =
Resting heart rate (RHR) prior to the programme = 62bpm
Working Heart Rate (WHR) prior to the program (jogging) =138bpm
(sprinting) =169bpm
Recovery Rate prior to the programme = 80secs
Week
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Rest Day
Whole Circuit x1
Endurance Run. Up to 5 miles.
Pliometrics.
Rest Day.
Circuit Training x1. Finish with 12 minute run.
Muscular Endurance. Finish with 12 minute run.
Tennis Match.
2
Rest Day
Whole Circuit x2
Endurance Run. Up to 6 miles.
Pliometrics.
Rest Day.
Circuit Training x2. Finish with 12 minute run.
Muscular Endurance. Finish with 12 minute run.
Tennis Match.
3
Rest Day
Whole Circuit x3
Endurance Run. Up to 7 miles. Pliometrics.
Rest Day.
Circuit Training x3. Finish with 12 minute run.
Muscular Endurance. Finish with 12 minute run.
Tennis Match.
4
Rest Day
Whole Circuit x4
Endurance Run. Up to 8 miles. Pliometrics.
Rest Day.
Circuit Training x4. Finish with 12 minute run.
Muscular Endurance. Finish with 12 minute run.
Tennis Match.
5
Rest Day
Whole Circuit x5
Endurance Run. Up to 9 miles. Pliometrics.
Rest Day.
Circuit Training x5. Finish with 12 minute run.
Muscular Endurance. Finish with 12 minute run.
Tennis Match.
6
Rest Day
Whole Circuit x6
Endurance 10-mile run. Pliometrics.
Rest Day.
Circuit Training x6. Finish with 12 minute run.
Muscular Endurance. Finish with 12 minute run.
Tennis Match.
Week
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Rest Day
My circuit went well and I feel that over the weeks this will definitely improve my game
I did a five-mile run and then did 5 minutes of fast pliometrics training to overload myself, which was exhausting.
Rest Day.
The circuit was, again, easy. I ran just under 3 kilometres.
This session was the hardest session so far, but I felt it was the most rewarding.
I lost my match in 2 sets:
3-6
4-6
2
Rest Day
This was better as I repeated the circuit and so did more work.
I ran five miles again and did another 5 minutes of pliometrics. This was just as exhausting as last week.
Rest Day.
Because I did the circuit twice this was a better day. I ran slightly less than last week though.
Again very hard, but very rewarding.
I won my match in 3 sets:
7-6
6-7
6-2
3
Rest Day
This continues to be a good training session as it improves many factors of my game.
I ran less this week, just 3 miles and did the pliometrics for 3 minutes. It was slightly easier, and I felt it still improved my fitness.
Rest Day.
I completed the circuits successfully and ran the same as on previous weeks.
I am finding that although I am doing more each week, it is remaining equally as hard, therefore I am improving.
I won my match in 2 sets:
6-2
6-0
4
Rest Day
This has become the most beneficial day in my opinion. It is very hard work.
I decided to take an extra rest day as I was tiring myself out.
Rest Day.
I ran 4 km this week but didn't do the circuits.
I am noticing a definite improvement as I am not struggling now at the stage where I couldn't continue on week one.
I won my match in 2 sets:
7-5
7-5
5
Rest Day
I am becoming more successful in the circuits as the weeks go by as shown in my 'circuit results table' below
Taking this day off improved the rest of the weeks training last time so I did the same again.
Rest Day.
Today my circuits went the best they have done so far. I ran 2km.
I am still finding this the most exhausting session of the week, though I am very happy with my progress.
I lost my match in 3 sets:
6-2
2-6
5-7
6
Rest Day
Whole Circuit x6
Endurance 10-mile run. Pliometrics.
Rest Day.
Circuit Training x6. Finish with 12 minute run.
Muscular Endurance. Finish with 12 minute run.
Tennis Match.
My Health After The Programme
I still have no injuries.
Bleep Test Score: measures cardio-vascular fitness = 13.6
Illinois Agility Test Score: measures agility = 15.0secs
Press-ups in 30 seconds: measures muscular endurance = 42
Sit-ups in 30 seconds: measures muscular endurance = 40
Grip diameter Test: measures strength Left = 46
Right = 55
Standing Broad Jump: measures explosive power = 8 foot
Fartlek Level Reached: measures cardio-vascular fitness =
Resting heart rate (RHR) post programme = 57bpm
Working Heart Rate (WHR) post programme (jogging) =128bpm
(sprinting) =156bpm
Recovery Rate prior to the programme = 68secs
These results are the most important indication of how my basic levels of fitness have improved. In the table below you can see that in all areas I have improved substantially, showing that my programme was successful as far as improving the basic factors of fitness is concerned. I am particularly pleased with how both my cardio-vascular fitness and agility have increased, as these, out of all the main factors of fitness, are the most important for tennis, and the ones in which I focused on most.
Test
Factor Of Fitness Being Tested
Pre-Programme Level
Post-Programme Level
Overall Improvement
Bleep Test
Cardio-vascular fitness (continuous running)
1.7
3.6
.9 levels
Illinois Agility Test
Agility
6.0 seconds
5.0 seconds
.0 second
Max Press-Ups/minute
Muscular Endurance (Biceps, Triceps, Deltoids)
26
38
2 press ups
Max Sit-Ups/minute
Muscular Endurance
(Abdominals)
26
40
4 sit-ups
Grip Diameter - Left
- Right
Strength
43
46
3
52
55
3
Standing Broad Jump
Explosive Power
7ft 9"
8ft
3"
Fartlek Course
Cardio-vascular fitness (stop-start running [game simulation])
RHR
Cardiovascular Capabilities - Heart and Lungs.
62bpm
57bpm
5bpm
WHR - jogging
- sprinting
38bpm
28bpm
0bpm
69bpm
56bpm
3bpm
Recovery Rate
80 seconds
68 seconds
2 seconds
My Heart Rate
The results below show how both my resting and working heart rates and my recovery rate improved during the six weeks.
Week
RHR/bpm
WHR/bpm
(after jogging)
Recovery rate/seconds
0
62
38
80
62
36
80
2
61
36
76
3
60
32
75
4
59
29
73
5
58
30
69
6
57
26
69
These results show that I was fairly fit to begin with, but I still managed to increase all my resting, working and recovery rates quite substantially.
Results
Each stations result is recorded in a different way. In station 1, the Illinois Agility Test, I will take my average time from any that I complete in 2/3/4 minutes and record that. Again, in station 2 I will see how many second serves I can put into two designated areas as possible in the time, and then divide that by the amount of minutes I did that station for. Station 3 is much the same; I will record how many first serves that go into the service box in 2/3/4 minutes and then divide that by the amount of minutes. I am doing this so that I can compare my results through the weeks without becoming confused due to more serves going in on the later weeks, because I had more time and therefore did more serves. Stations 4, 5, 7 and 8 are the same again. Station 6 is going to be the most arduous station and I will see how many laps (and letters) I can complete in five minutes no matter what the week.
Station
(Testing Day)
Week 1
(tues/
thurs)
Week 2
(tues/
thurs)
Week 3
(tues/
thurs)
Week 4
(tues/
thurs)
Week 5
(tues/
thurs)
Week 6
(tues/
thurs)
Best
(tues/
thurs)
(seconds taken)
6.7
6.1/ 16.3
6.0/ 15.8
5.0/ 15.4
6.7/ 15.5
5.4/ 15.8
5.6/
5.7
5.0
2
(successful
2nd serves/
minute)
6
5/
7
8
0
2
9
2
3
(successful
st serves/
minute)
3
3
6
6
8
9
9
4
(successful backhand
shots/minute)
4
4
5
7
2
5
8
8
5
(successful forehand shots/minute)
7
5
6
9
2
9
7
9
6
(laps+letter)
7
(successful
[aimed] volleys/
minute)
2
3
6
4
3
9
7
9
8
(successful
[beating
opponent] volleys/minute)
5
7
6
8
3
7
1
3
I am very pleased with these results, when I compare my testing day results with my best results (far left and far right columns respectively) then there is always a vast improvement, as I have shown below.
Station No.
First Week
Overall Best
Difference
6.7
5.0
.7 secs faster
2
6
2
6 more 2nd serves in
3
3
9
6 more 1st serves in
4
4
8
4 more backhands in
5
7
9
2 more forehands in
6
7
2
9
7 more volleys in
8
5
3
8 more volleys past 'opponent'
PE Coursework Summer 2002
~1~
Josef Butler-Biggs
