With the cold weather of winter now upon us it’s important to warm-up properly. It is a good idea to get to the club a few minutes early to get yourself warmed up before you even walk onto the tennis court. Here are five warm-up exercises that can help prevent injuries:
1) Stretch your limbs. The benefit of a five-minute routine of flexing and stretching is invaluable. Without it your body will take longer to loosen up and be more at risk for injury. Develop a routine of stretching the major muscle groups, and then more specific the muscle groups involved in the motions of tennis. Memorize a routine so you don’t forget and exercise. You’ll be surprised how ready you’ll be to go all out on that first point of the match.
2) Run a little. It’s suggested that you walk on the court with a light sweat. Keep your jacket or sweater on during the run and the warm-up. Many injuries occur because of the lack of warm and blood flow to the muscles. Once you use your muscles and get them warm they become more efficient.
3) Shadow practice. Before walking on the court, remind your muscles what it feels like to hit all sort of balls. Walk through your serve, forehand, backhand, approach shots, volleys and overheads. Hit five pretend shots of each stroke. Do it in a smooth, slow motion. Watch your racquet as it flows through the backswing, forward swing and follow through.
4) Hit against a backboard. If you have access to a backboard use it!. Timberhill is looking into getting a Backboard for the summer time.
5) Warm up slowly. No one is exempt from injury – anybody can get tennis elbow, bursitis, or cartilage problems. Respect your body during warm-up. Even though you prepare properly before walking on the court don’t think your ready to pull out the stops. Hit your shots slowly at first gradually picking up speed. When you make your first shots it does give you confidence in you nest few shots. I have seen too many players who hit their first 25 shots in warm-up 100-mph and never make one. Then they say these go and lose the first set 6/0. Being slow and consistent during warm-up builds your confidence in your strokes and game. After the match don’t forget to warm down. If you are nursing an injury, take the time to ice it for a while. Warming down for a few minutes will also help prevent injury.
Remember that one of the most depressed human beings is the tennis addict with tennis elbow. Warm up properly!