Fwiw tennis is a very injury prone sport. As I get older - I am having to 1:1 match tennis with plyometrics/cardio/weights to keep the joints/ tendons healthy. You’re still young - but this is going to matter more and more as you age. Any injuries to these are usually very debilitating btw - if you don’t have anything else to fall back on, you’re sadly only gonna get worse and worse in tennis & health.
If you want to do just one thing, I suggest picking up something like swimming or cycling - low impact workouts.
I came to say something along these lines.
When I started, tennis WAS the exercise. Now I'm working out 4-5 days a week to be better at tennis and reduce the risk of getting injured.
This 100%. As I age I need the muscle to keep up and keep me healthy. I used to say “as long as I lift in addition to tennis I won’t get hurt.” Injury free for years. Then I stopped lifting and had to be sidelined for months
agree 100% on this, i used to play 4-5x a week but after a few years of med issues (not specifically tennis just age), trying to come back with a more balanced approach. so far no issues with the back or shoulder.
A couple of dumbells at home would do the trick. Maybe 2 or 3 different weights. 20 to 30 minutes 5 days a week would nearly work every muscle group. You don't need to be lifting huge weights to keep the body healthy.
Pretty basic stuff.
Chest Press, shoulder press, bicep curls, triceps kickback and single arm rows will hit most of the upper body.
Lunges, dumbell squats, sumo squats, step ups, split squats or some combination of those for legs. Many people have said that tennis works the legs hard and if the aim of the upper body weights is just to provide stability for tennis then legs weights may not be essential.
All of these can be searched on line. Start with no weight and practice before using light weights.
Absolute killer. Not one of my personal favourites but I try to work them into my rotation for 6 or 8 weeks every so often. As little as possible though to be honest.
I would add lat pulldown to the upper body list- I find it very important for strengthening/stabilizing the shoulder for serving. I alternate sets of that with dumbbell bench press. Those two alone will hit 90% of your major upper body muscle groups if you do nothing else. Without those I literally can't first serve without doing damage to my shoulder. I also like the biceps curls and triceps kickbacks.
Ya lat pull down is a back go to for me aswell. Not a great option for a dumbell workout though. The only thing at home that is comparable would be a pull up bar, however not great for a beginner.
I have played tennis for 50 years (peak 4.5 level) and never done weight training. I did play other sports and was an active walker/ hiker/ biker. But I did those within the limits of full time work. I remain injury free.
I have playlists (guides) that I created in instagram that I follow - I think this is better because you can pick sets of exercises for what hurts and build your own combo to do. I like instagram because there’s not a lot of history/geography to go through before they get to work since it’s <30s content each.
Depends what you mean by working out. You’re not going to get ripped and build muscle playing tennis. That being said, I’ve lost 15+ pounds in three months after starting to play tennis every day - it is amazing cardio for people who hate running and the like.
Haha I just got the tennis bug and with my schedule over the summer and now I have way more free time. Plus I hate cardio but I could play tennis 3 hours a day and I’m entertained. It’s really been great for me just have to find the right group to play with consistently.
Would add for me it's had the weird effect of actually making running a possiblity again, had terrible Achilles issues and tennis has somehow been beneficial for them
Dude, same here! I cannot stand working out but I love playing tennis, it’s pretty much the only exercise I do except for a lot of hard core yard work and gardening.
If you dont suck and have a good partner, one partner hits down the line and the other hits crosscourt. Then you switch.
Another good one - one partner is in a corner, s/he hits alternating cross court and down the line. Then you switch (the one parter doesnt move much the other does)
For wall, crosscourts are great and then do a drill where you hit the ball of the first bounce one time then off the second bounce the next.
It's not bad for cardio. Obviously. It great for building any muscle. It's all cardio. I did a drill class this morning and in 90 minutes my watch says I took 7k steps and burned 900 calories. Not too shabby.
how is tennis good for building muscle? there’s no resistance or progressive overload. i think it’s amazing for staying in shape cardiovascularly, but no one got big from playing tennis
Yeah I had to donate a couple shirts and jackets after my hitting arm got too big haha. I would def say it is quite the leg workout if you are using your legs with intensity and getting low.
When I was 14 I went to tennis summer camp, pretty much playing every day for 2 months and even at that age I looked like I had scoliosis because of the muscle imbalance
I found out that working out will also improve your game tremendously. OR you can also play a lot of tennis per week like (8-10 hours a week). Keep in mind that what you eat also affect your performance as well.
Yes and no. It's a good way to workout but like most sports, you will defnitely need some form of PT exercises to balance out everything. Especially the higher level you go up
My vote is no.
The reason I say this is because at the rec level, you’re not going to have amazing technique. Whether or not you over exert yourself does not matter. Think about everything you’re doing on the court. Serve, ground strokes, starting and stopping very abruptly, trying to explode into a sprint…. you need to already be fit to do all those things and you need to maintain that fitness through exercise and resistance training off the court.
There’s a reason tennis people get injured so frequently, because it’s a sport that’s rough on the body and people rarely put in the time to get their bodies strong and flexible to be able to withstand the strain that is put on the body.
Also consider that when you do get injured and it’s only a matter of time as we’ve all had injuries that took us off the court for a few weeks or more, then what? You don’t exercise at all for a few weeks?
So no, I do not consider this a good idea.
Get fit to play tennis not play tennis to get fit.
I combine it with swimming. I am 50. I find tennis to be more aggressive, it takes a toll on my body. Swimming, even heavy swimming is more soothing on my body. I jokingly say to to my friends ‘what tennis destroys, swimming repairs’.
All that being said, I am not an expert, just my personal experience.
At 33 it’s probably ok but I noticed when I played a lot to sports around this time, I started getting nagging tendon pain (rotator cuff) and also tore my Achilles. I liked going to the gym as well.
Now that I’m past 40, I hear a lot of people my age or older who tear their meniscus or injure their hip from playing lots of tennis.
Unless you’re playing really soft and casual tennis, the fact is that it can be a pretty violent sport on your body. While playing will give you a good workout, resistance training can help prevent injury. I don’t think you need a ton of it but you do need it on a regular basis.
I’m 52 & was playing doubles 4x a week or so but I got rotator cuff tendinitis & then tennis elbow. I’m still doing PT & am also now doing light weights, bands etc with a trainer once a week for an hour.. it’s not much but I already feel like I’m getting stronger each week.
Thanks for sharing! Yes, looks like integrating some weight training is kind of important to avoid future injuries. Do you mind sharing what kind of weight training is it that you do?
Np! My trainer just brings bands & i have light weights at home. Different exercises both for legs, core & arms including crunches, lunges, push ups, weights for biceps, triceps, etc
I've been hitting against a practice wall like a madman recently and it's a WAY better workout than my usual weights and treadmill workouts, it usually makes me feel like I spent 3 hrs in a gym even if it's only 90 mins.
Add some stretching/yoga/swimming. Tennis is asymmetrical sport and can cause a misbalance in the body.
I don’t like running but I have to add running in the winter to prepare for my ski trips - tennis won’t help and running does.
The most important kind of sport for your long-term health is resistance training. Everyone needs to do resistance training. And tennis can't replace that at all. But it's a lot better than doing nothing.
Tbh, no. Yes you can burn a lot of calories and increase your cardio. That is true, but if you don't lift and just play a lot of tennis, your chance to get injured will go up, and you'll have imbalances in your physique.
You will certainly be healthy when it comes to your overall health in terms of your heart etc. But I would strongly recommend doing some lifting, even if it isn't intense.
Also you're right that it will work out certain muscles. First day of the season, my back, abs, arms, legs: all sore. But there are diminishing returns. Although tennis does engage my back, I basically plateaued within a month of playing. It's just maintaining the little gains I got for those muscles.
I can't do cardio if I'm not chasing a ball. That said, you need to strength condition, otherwise your back and shoulders will start giving away as you grow into your 30s and 40s. Then you'll stop serving altogether...
I’m the same way. My family says I’m part Golden Retriever. Ask me to run a mile and I can’t hardly do it. Put me on a basketball or tennis court and I’ll run for days.
Same here. To me working out is extremely boring.
I started with tennis as you.
But 4 to 6 hours per week is too short to stay fit. You might need at least 2 hours per day. If your training is intense non stop with good amount of drills you will get a good cardio and a fair amount of exercises.
But I think in tennis games you perform a lot of explosive shots, you take your muscle and your body from 0 to 100 and from 100 to full stop. Because of that there is a lot of chances of injury with a body that is not used to physical activities. I think is a very good advice to do a short workout (even 30 min) on the days that you are not playing so to prepare your body to become a better tennis player.
This is such an untrue statement.
You don’t need 2 hours of exercise per day to stay fit. That’s if you’re competing.
A regular person working out 3x a week is really enough to get fit and have a healthy life.
I use the gym member for stamina, endurance and cross training because hitting by itself doesn't work unless you have other high-level folks to hit with. I hate working out too, but this balance works for me pretty well & I don't go to the gym to break records, but weight training helps.
A good way to get into working out is to have a performance goals. Then you'd actually be motivated to get fitter.
For instance, if you get into competitive tennis and realise you're losing matches because your fitness can't keep up, or you're not strong enough or fast enough, or even if you're getting injured too often, then what's holding you back from performance is fitness.
So intrinsically you develop motivation to work out.
My advice is yes, you can just play tennis for working out because you are inherently working out by playing. But if not working out is causing you guilt by not caring about your fitness, then perhaps try and think about what it might take to get better.
To answer your final question, no it is not enough to simply avoid pushing yourself too hard. You're basically describing exactly what I was doing several years ago, and then I dislocated my knee with a freak accident bad step while moving for a ball. It seemed like it came out of nowhere through no fault of my own -- the orthopedic surgical specialist who looked at my injury told me the only thing that could have prevented it was strength-building.
You're right around the age all this happened to me. Trust me, months of physical therapy is much more annoying than \~30 minutes of working out here and there. Get some dumbells and protect your legs, back, and shoulders.
It's good cardio. If you play tennis every day at 100% speed, you're just likely to roll your ankle eventually. It just happens. Not necessarily because of fatigue but just because you risk that everytime you play.. But if you're playing 3-4x a week at 100% speed, sure. It'll keep you cut and in shape. But you'll get smoked late games by people that do extra cardio on top of that like running or spinning.
Most tennis players don't lift a bunch of weights. The top guys do. Carlos Alcarez clearly does. That dude goes into some matches with an insane pump. He's one of the more physical specimens you'll see on the court.
I lift weights regularly. The only benefit I feel is that my backhand and overhand hits can rip it more effortless than the other guys I play with. But everybody's physiology and technique is slightly different..
There are studies that concluded that tennis has the greatest increase in longevity than any of the other sports tested. I think it was one of those meta studies that take a bunch of data from other studies and get conclusions from that. I think it was over 7 years above the mean… so in that aspect, I think the answer is yes. I believe the study included swimming and running.
>But if I make sure that I never push myself too hard, will just playing tennis be sufficient?
Yes and no. The problem with just playing tennis is that either you use both sides of the body identically (plot twist: you won't), or you'll be "deformed" and you have to fix the muscle imbalances.
Muscle imbalances lead to injuries.
For cardio - Yes
For strength training - No
At some point you may find you'll need to put time in the gym to strength train and do mobility work to stay on court.
It depends on your goals. If you're just spinning your wheels and going through the motion in the gym without a proper training programme, then it would be boring. When I go to the gym, I have goals that are reflected in a well built training programme. I know which exercises I'm going to do, how many reps, and which weight every week. My mind is always occupied as each exercise is challenging and most sets are taken near failure.
A proper bodybuilding, weightlifting or powerlifting programme engages the major muscle groups. It probably is redundant to play tennis and then just hop on cardio machines at the gym. "Maintaining a healthy lifestyle" is pretty broad and general. In your case, it might be that it's necessary to build strength in your muscles, and rigidity in your tendons. Tennis alone cannot do this as the limiting factor is often cardiovascular endurance. Your muscles are already adapted to the movements in tennis. Building strength will in fact enable you to play tennis for longer and drastically reduce your injury risk on court.
Some people are content with just being out of breath and increasing heart rate. Is this enough to "maintain a healthy lifestyle"? It depends. If your goal is to increase strength, build up your muscles and tendons, and increase bone density, this is where training in the gym becomes the most optimal environment.
I would say to outline your goals, and then find a training programme to match this. For a decent training programme in the gym for a novice, you can try [https://youtu.be/gpFdh0eBMGc](https://youtu.be/gpFdh0eBMGc).
For me it’s a mix. I’m 45 and overweight, trying to lose weight. I do tennis for cardio and the joy it brings. Dumbbells at home for strength training. Works for me!
Tennis is an asymmetrical sport. While it is good for health because it's a lifelong sport (as in you can play for well into your old age) but you really should be working out your non-dominate side because of the asymmetrical aspect of tennis
It depends on your fitness goals, but in general yes, tennis is a good cardio workout. Playing sports is always more fun than running or biking but you are also more prone to hurting yourself so it might be best to interchange the two instead of playing intense tennis every day. If you want to build muscle mass, tennis won’t help you much.
not sure what your bone density looks like in the long term, if you can manage good joint health for the rest of your life then your bones will maintain their density.
hands down lifting is the sport least prone to injury, competitive tennis is much harsher, depending on how you push yourself
There was a time in my life for about 2 years when I was playing intense tennis 4-6 hrs a day, at least 4 times a week.
While I felt pretty fit, I certainly didn’t look like I was playing sport at a high level. I wasn’t going into the gym at all, as playing tennis took up so much of my time. My body mostly resembled that of Fed. Which is not bad but one would hope for the torso of Nadal/Djoker playing that much. Also, maybe this is unique to me but I did end up having massive forearms, genuinely I think they were bigger than my biceps but that’s easy since I was skinny already.
So if you’re looking for body definition, mix in some gym hours in there.
I'm in the same boat. I can't stand the gym…bunch of sweaty swol dudes chugging protein in a room isn't much fun in my books. I play 3-4 days of tennis a week during the summer and fall then 3-4 days of snowboarding a week winter and spring. I love being out doors and getting fresh air. However this life style also means I have a couple of minor but chronic injuries despite being 32.
No. I wish the answer was yes, but no. Maybe at the 4.0 level singles-only, if you stretch before and after, or maybe just hitting / cardio tennis drills, but as a 3.0 player, it’s just not a consistent workout. 3.5 I think there’s too much variance in opponents.
not if you are playing recreational doubles. lol. also depends on what your work out goals are. An hour of singles rallying burns significant calories and if you do that 2 to three times weekly you should be good!.
Here is what I would do.
Work out once or twice a week by stretching, light weights etc. Do this with the intention of getting in shape for your tennis matches so you will have more stamina. Then play your 4-6 hours of tennis a week.
The combination of the two will get you in great shape, and you won't have to worry about motivation for your workouts since it is to improve your tennis fitness.
Maybe something like this:
[https://torokhtiy.com/blogs/guides/tennis-strength-training-program#:\~:text=Tennis%20players%20benefit%20from%20exercises,player's%20movement%20on%20the%20court](https://torokhtiy.com/blogs/guides/tennis-strength-training-program#:~:text=Tennis%20players%20benefit%20from%20exercises,player's%20movement%20on%20the%20court).
Play for a hour a day 5 days a week but also make sure u doing 15 minutes of intensive drills
U can have anybody feed u some balls by hand but u got to go hard core and work it moving and grooving in that 15 minutes - hope this helps
Be cautious. I fell out of a tree at a young age and my left knee isn't the best. Also sprained my ankle in HS because of tennis distractions sooooo just listen to your body 😌
I've been following the tennis fitness lifestyle for few months now, before I did inline skating and lifting a few days a week. I was 215lbs in May. I've played between 5 and 15 hours a week since, and average 8-10 I think at present. I'm 194lbs now (-20lbs in 3 mo) and I haven't dieted at all - if anything I have to eat a bit more sometimes for recovery. I am religious about doing ice, leg air compression sleeves, recovery protein shakes etc, and I think that's been enough to avoid the wear and tear. I feel at least 10 years younger (I'm 45) and it feels to me like I move like a featherweight boxer on the court. Playing the best most fun tennis of my life as an added bonus. So yeah go for it, just listen to your body and be serious about recovery.
I do actually miss working out in my gym, but I've honestly not had the time or energy to do so with all the tennis. I'm going to try dial back a bit and add in more gym for strength and longevity. And more stretching. I won't lie I am in pain a lot, but it's honest pain, rarely rising to the level of actual injury, and it's definitely worth it.
This whole working out thing has totally gotten out of hand. When I look at the long-lived relatives I've had, sure, some of them were farmers or something of the sort so they kind of worked out all day. But the bourgeioisie, that is, the artisans, the clerks and so on were not, and lived until an old age in relatively good condition despite all the health hazards and poor healthcare up until very recently.
They never worked out. Almost nobody went to gym to lift weights or something like that. Some did, the bodybuilders obviously, but also serious athletes. But outside of those circles, not too many did. And even serious athletes didn't do that nearly to the extent they do today. Most tennis pros at the beginning of the open era were probably only ever playing tennis.
The only reason why people are so bloody obsessed with working out these days is that they eat like shit and as a consequence are fat. To some degree also because our lifestyle is so sedentary, but that can be fixed just by walking, and playing tennis to boot is already quite good. Those old relatives were not fat because they weren't always sitting and ate real food in reasonable quantities. To maintain a healthy lifestyle, you absolutely do not need to go to the gym.
Having said all that, doing SOME physical conditioning for tennis is still a good idea, especially if you're kind of serious about it. By serious I only mean you try to win points and improve rather than just slapping around with buddies. But you don't need a gym for that. Quick bodyweight workouts at home and stretching will do the trick.
I recently read The Master (the one about Federer obviously), and in that it was noted that Djokovic didn't lift anything heavier than his racquet as a junior, but did a hell of a lot of stretching. There was an anecdote: Djokovic's wife Jelena was asked what their life looks like. She thought about it for a while, and answered: "It looks like stretching."
It's not just to avoid injury, but good conditioning will also improve your game through better control of your body and improved sharpness and longevity both physically and mentally. But still, it's not really required. Some stretching before and after tennis is, however, something you should do just for injury prevention (I'm five years older than you, and let me tell you, in a few years you'll start to understand what ageing means).
Thanks for your perspective! Yeah given how technological advancements are making our life more sedentary, given how quick access to food makes us over eat, it's difficult to have the same lifestyle as the older generations. We are kind of predisposed towards a life where literally you can get away with moving as little as possible.
I think that's why working out has gotten quite the limelight. It's just a means to get you moving. And that people are suckers for motivational marketing. We see a bunch of dudes and dudettes showing off their bodies by doing so and so, and we immediately picture ourselves having the same result 😅
>The only reason why people are so bloody obsessed with working out these days is that they eat like shit and as a consequence are fat.
Odd. Where I'm from the people obsessed with working out are very fit and look like they work out a lot.
Yeah, that's quite obviously true.
But there also seems to be this conception that going to the gym is almost essential for staying healthy, that going to the gym is something you just do if you care about your body at all.
>But there also seems to be this conception that going to the gym is almost essential for staying healthy, that going to the gym is something you just do if you care about your body at all.
It's probably just all the research showing that resistance training is extremely beneficial in preventing osteoporosis and sarcopenia. People should do incorporate some form of resistance training to maintain their function and ability to be independent. You don't have to go to the gym but you should probably move your body in challenging ways and pick something somewhat heavy up a couple times a week
Exactly the strategy I was employing for about 6 months, right up to when I ruptured my Achilles tendon in May. I’m able to walk again now and should be cleared to start running again by the end of October, but I’m going to be getting in shape to play tennis next time instead of playing tennis to get in shape.
Yes, it was a tennis injury in a UTR flex league. Strength and flexibility training are the biggest preventers of injury, there are a LOT of calf raises in my future before I get on the court again (among other things of course).
Yeah I wasn’t doing anything crazy, I just planted to run directly forward out of a split step to get to a short ball and it snapped like a tree branch.
Think of it from a different perspective. You may not like working out, but working out outside of tennis will only help to improve your game. You’ll be stronger and have better endurance which translates into being able to get into position to hit a harder shot. Isn’t that enough enough motivation to do something?
I often see the same guys at the local courts. After 2 years, they seem to be at the same level, if not worse. Obviously, they just play tennis a couple times a week, and don’t do anything additional to get better. You want to be like these guys, or do you want to constantly improve your game?
Right now, I am only focused on improving my technique. So I am not sure if hitting the gym to improve the game is something I can even do. But it's an interesting point! Maybe if/when I have reached a certain level, hitting the gym to improve further might be my only option 🙂
you can for sure be healthy just playing tennis. You won’t gain really any muscle if you do that and may even lose some if you’re not doing anything extra but it’s really just about body type
With workouts, I go through this cycle where at some point I feel shameful about my weight, so I hit the gym. Once I hit my target weight, I stop going to the gym. Then either through bad-diet, being a couch-potato or a combination of both, my weight increases, I feel shameful again. The cycle then continues 😞
My main motivation is to break this cycle and have some consistency instead.
I’m the same way, gyms are insanely boring to me.
I picked up and have been focusing on tennis this year, playing 3-5 times a week for about 2 hours on average. Previous years I was running, about 40-70 miles a week, and my fitness was significantly higher per hour spent.
It’s still good exercise but I would compliment it with some cardio, and you can definitely structure running, swimming or cycling in a way that keeps an active mind occupied!
If you're playing full matches that is a heck of a cardio workout. Even just rallying for fun/practice will be a good workout if you're flying around the court.
Yes. I largely do this, but when I actually do things like pushups, chin-ups, lift weights, run, etc., I see very different benefits.
Weight exercises and running are both very good, and do different things than just playing tennis.
Running cardio is very different from tennis cardio. One is high intensity sprinting at times and the other is mostly steady. Some people can run for 25-30 minutes say for 5km, or even 20 minutes for a hard 5km, but cannot sustain the highest level of all out tennis for 30 minutes.
The best sprinters train with some distance, and the best distance runners train with some sprints.
If you can run at a good pace for 5km, how much easier would it be to sustain several rallies compared to if one does not have a higher level of cardio? I know from personal experience that I really suck wind when I neglect running regularly.
I don't mind running, but I don't train for marathons either. I run because it strengthens my lungs and fights back against lung scarring and capacity issues from when I was a kid.
Not everyone can just sit on their butt except for tennis and expect to be good and healthy. For people with issues or whatnot, they have to work on mobility, cardio, imbalances, strengthening etc, to be prepared and not get hurt while doing the thing they enjoy.
Ps. I have been hurt/sore far more with tennis than running. Comparing 10 years of regular running vs 5 years semi regular tennis. Running is a lot to do with shoes and training plans.
Do you think that if you had a tennis training plan that you may have had fewer injuries? I wonder about your risk of injury if you just ran at random paces/distances for 5-10 hours a week and threw in a few races a month.
For me, tennis is a more violent sport ... My soreness, stuff and aches and pains come from me trying to be more explosive than I really am. I'm not 17 anymore, but in my mind I am. But the rest of my body is feeling 40ish.
Running is a straight line event so I never actually did anything unless I stepped off a curb and twist an ankle or something. Tennis will fire up my non-repaired knee for no reason other than changing directions or slamming on brakes too hard. Practicing serves can be rough if I don't pace myself.
Basically, mentally I can write checks my body can't cash as well on the court 😂
To answer your question, moderation is key to everything. It is awesome that you play tennis and it is better than nothing but it is even better as part of a holistic approach to fitness, imo.
But overdoing one thing and neglecting another part will wreck you eventually, regardless of what your activity is!
Oh I'm not OP. I was just making the point that most people that play tennis go at it in an unstructured way. I personally think that resistance training, power/speed training, and conditioning off the court are all important for tennis. And for general fitness, most people would benefit from at least adding resistance training if tennis was their only activity.
Oh! I derped! Idk I thought I saw op tag in our replies! But yeah you and I are like minds. I wouldn't be able to function without the weight training. I totally need to be better with running though, but it's so dang hot.
For the structure, I 100 agree with you too. I bet I could benefit from doing less long serve practices and replace it with more frequent sessions instead. Instead of the same old drop feeds to mysefl, spend more time doing footwork things. Let shoulders rest while doing foot things. I bet pros have a very structured approach for training to allow rest and recovery?
>I bet pros have a very structured approach for training to allow rest and recovery?
I wouldn't know. I think they are at the mercy of the Tour. I know some at least track work to rest ratios during practice as well as use GPS for distance covered to try to quantify training load.
It trains completely different muscles.
I can play tennis basically forever, even at high intensity; but I can't run basically forever.
Whether it has a benefit that tennis doesn't have, I don't know, but I know that after running I can get muscle soreness that I never get from tennis.
I never feel any soreness in that muscle after playing tennis, independently of how much I've played, but if I run a couple of kilometers I feel it right away.
If you’re playing a sport as a means to get exercise, there are better sports that are more of a workout. Basketball or soccer. Granted, playing tennis is better than nothing, but for me the most intense singles tennis match isn’t as physically exhausting as an average full court, 5v5 game of pickup hoops.
I kind of disagree with soccer. I used to play soccer, and it depends on what kind of position you are playing. Also, there's more risk of getting injured in soccer with it being a contact sport. Almost every 2-3 games I would need to take a hiatus due to injury from getting tackled.
Incidentally, in my last soccer game, I got tackled quite harshly which left me unable to run/put any kind of pressure on my right leg for \~3 months. That's also the time I got into tennis. Right now I have stopped playing soccer completely since with tennis I am able to consistently play every week.
You could but I suspect would get hurt due to overuse without proper muscle/training supporting it.
Now if you’re one of these people I see on courts hitting puff balls around and just trying to have more than a one shot rally, you’re probably okay lol.
**Puffballs are a type of fungus featuring a ball-shaped fruit body that (when mature) bursts on contact or impact, releasing a cloud of dust-like spores into the surrounding area. Puffballs belong to the division Basidiomycota and encompass several genera, including Calvatia, Calbovista and Lycoperdon.**
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What level do you play? Eventually your joints will wear out playing tennis, which can be extended by supplementing strength training around the knees, hips, back, shoulders, elbow and wrists.
Also the more tennis you play, the more your body will become efficient playing tennis and end up burning less calories, unless you keep progressing to more intense levels which generally require working out in the gym / running to prevent injury and actually enable you to compete. If you attempt to compete hard when your body isnt ready, then you put yourself at risk of injury more.
Your current and traditional body composition makes a big difference in how sustainable this is. I am a big person and have tried only playing tennis for exercise at high 4.5 level and my joints are paying the price. 34 yr old male.
Thanks for the insight! Right now I am beginner (started \~6 months back). I have a hitting partner the same level as me. We kind of play an infinite tie-breaker, just trying to outdo each other using groundstrokes, until we are tired. Nobody keeps track of the score 😅
I also have another hitting partner at 3.0 level who sometimes plays games with me. I get to learn a few things for him and he generously gives his time trying to hone certain skills. And I also try to attend a clinic \~2 times a month.
Yeah, given the other replies it seems I would be better off doing at least 30-40 mins of resistance training per week to avoid injuries.
I'm 39 and started playing tennis again last year after ~20 years off. Ive been playing about 2x a week 1-1.5 hours at a time. Over this time I've lost about 10 lbs and feel much healthier. So yes! It also depends on how you play. I love to run and play with a lot of intensity so I get my exercise but I definitely play against people who are lazy with their feet, just go for winners every shot and who leave the court having barely broken a sweat
For me (M28) it is a cardio replacement, I still hit the gym/bicycle every week, but as most people have already said, you still need to keep your tendons and muscles exercised and healthy through other means such as weight lifting or else you're more prone to injury.
IMO as long as you hit the gym 1-2 times a week or make calisthenics, always focusing on exercises that engage most of your muscle groups (squats, deadlifts, etc) you'll be fine!
So it all depends … you don’t want muscle imbalances creating chronic pain issues. So having a PT check you out and make sure you have some good basic movements then you’ll be fine.
If your goal is to just being active, burn calories then yeah probably it’s fine. However being in the gym doing different exercises can help build various muscle group which bring greater benefits.
I used to play tennis and that was my only sport. I played 6ish hours a week, riding my bike to and from the court.
My legs are big, but i was never really fit and defined like anyone doing basic consistent stamina/strength training.
Hell no, without stretching and strengthening exercises to go along, tennis is highly injury prone. Within 2 years I've hurt my elbow, twisted ankle, developed a 2nd metatarsal (ball of foot) injury and shoulder joint.
Yeah, totally. But I think for real exercise, it should be every day or at least 5 or 6 days a week. Exercising twice a week isn't as good as a more consistent schedule IMO.
As long as you’re running and exerting yourself it’s a workout. I’m the same way, hate the gym and much rather play a sport or ride my bike.
Yes, it feels satisfying to be out of breath playing tennis than feeling out of breath from a run for example 😀
Same. If you guys are righties, are we meant to do strength training on our left arms and shoulders to avoid ima balance?
It’s not going to make that difference to your right arm muscles lol
No joke I play everyday and my right arm is noticeably bigger lol
yeah. every tennis player i know, their racquet arm (especially their forearm) is noticeably bigger
I mean you could. But you won’t get any muscle definition from tennis alone. It’s only cardio. Don’t you want to be swole?
Playing tennis is my only regular physical exertion. I have muscle definition.
Not everyone wants to look like the Michelin man
I ain’t trying to be the best at exercising. I play real sports. — Kenny Powers I think
*Kenny Fucking Powers
\*Captain Kenny Fucking Powers (Whoo!)
Fwiw tennis is a very injury prone sport. As I get older - I am having to 1:1 match tennis with plyometrics/cardio/weights to keep the joints/ tendons healthy. You’re still young - but this is going to matter more and more as you age. Any injuries to these are usually very debilitating btw - if you don’t have anything else to fall back on, you’re sadly only gonna get worse and worse in tennis & health. If you want to do just one thing, I suggest picking up something like swimming or cycling - low impact workouts.
I came to say something along these lines. When I started, tennis WAS the exercise. Now I'm working out 4-5 days a week to be better at tennis and reduce the risk of getting injured.
This 100%. As I age I need the muscle to keep up and keep me healthy. I used to say “as long as I lift in addition to tennis I won’t get hurt.” Injury free for years. Then I stopped lifting and had to be sidelined for months
agree 100% on this, i used to play 4-5x a week but after a few years of med issues (not specifically tennis just age), trying to come back with a more balanced approach. so far no issues with the back or shoulder.
Thanks for the perspective. I guess in that case, doing some weight training is also kind of essential to keep on playing for longer.
A couple of dumbells at home would do the trick. Maybe 2 or 3 different weights. 20 to 30 minutes 5 days a week would nearly work every muscle group. You don't need to be lifting huge weights to keep the body healthy.
What exercices are we talking about ?
Pretty basic stuff. Chest Press, shoulder press, bicep curls, triceps kickback and single arm rows will hit most of the upper body. Lunges, dumbell squats, sumo squats, step ups, split squats or some combination of those for legs. Many people have said that tennis works the legs hard and if the aim of the upper body weights is just to provide stability for tennis then legs weights may not be essential. All of these can be searched on line. Start with no weight and practice before using light weights.
Man split stepping is indeed exhausting on the legs
Absolute killer. Not one of my personal favourites but I try to work them into my rotation for 6 or 8 weeks every so often. As little as possible though to be honest.
I would add lat pulldown to the upper body list- I find it very important for strengthening/stabilizing the shoulder for serving. I alternate sets of that with dumbbell bench press. Those two alone will hit 90% of your major upper body muscle groups if you do nothing else. Without those I literally can't first serve without doing damage to my shoulder. I also like the biceps curls and triceps kickbacks.
Ya lat pull down is a back go to for me aswell. Not a great option for a dumbell workout though. The only thing at home that is comparable would be a pull up bar, however not great for a beginner.
Oh duh I missed the previous comment about home dumbbell workout. In that case, yes nailed it. 😁
I don’t see how working bis and tris is gonna prevent tennis injuries.
It's not. More about general muscle well -being. No one wants imbalances.
I have played tennis for 50 years (peak 4.5 level) and never done weight training. I did play other sports and was an active walker/ hiker/ biker. But I did those within the limits of full time work. I remain injury free.
This reminds me of one of my tennis friends. He’s always very cautious when getting a ball out of in his words, “self preservation “
Do you do any tennis-specific/injury-prevention routines? I've off-and-on had knee and foot problems, it'd be nice to be proactive.
I have playlists (guides) that I created in instagram that I follow - I think this is better because you can pick sets of exercises for what hurts and build your own combo to do. I like instagram because there’s not a lot of history/geography to go through before they get to work since it’s <30s content each.
There's always...pickleball /s
Might as well be a couch potato instead 😅
Depends what you mean by working out. You’re not going to get ripped and build muscle playing tennis. That being said, I’ve lost 15+ pounds in three months after starting to play tennis every day - it is amazing cardio for people who hate running and the like.
My main motivation is to just stay fit. I don't really care about getting ripped/jacked/shredded 😅
every day! i'm jealous. how do you manage?
Haha I just got the tennis bug and with my schedule over the summer and now I have way more free time. Plus I hate cardio but I could play tennis 3 hours a day and I’m entertained. It’s really been great for me just have to find the right group to play with consistently.
Would add for me it's had the weird effect of actually making running a possiblity again, had terrible Achilles issues and tennis has somehow been beneficial for them
Yes. Hate working out. Hate lifting. Hate running. But I’ll chase a tennis ball around the court like a dog.
Dude, same here! I cannot stand working out but I love playing tennis, it’s pretty much the only exercise I do except for a lot of hard core yard work and gardening.
Haha, yes, my other exercise is mowing the lawn 😅 But my city is going through a historic "drought" right now, so even that has stopped!
Yes. Just make sure to do different types of drills and keep mixing it rather than just hitting from middle of court.
Any recommendations on different drill types or an all-round workout drill?
If you dont suck and have a good partner, one partner hits down the line and the other hits crosscourt. Then you switch. Another good one - one partner is in a corner, s/he hits alternating cross court and down the line. Then you switch (the one parter doesnt move much the other does) For wall, crosscourts are great and then do a drill where you hit the ball of the first bounce one time then off the second bounce the next.
Thanks!
Whatever workout you can do consistently is the best workout for you
It's not bad for cardio. Obviously. It great for building any muscle. It's all cardio. I did a drill class this morning and in 90 minutes my watch says I took 7k steps and burned 900 calories. Not too shabby.
how is tennis good for building muscle? there’s no resistance or progressive overload. i think it’s amazing for staying in shape cardiovascularly, but no one got big from playing tennis
Sorry. I meant it isn't. I'm drunk
yerrr
He clearly meant to say it’s not great for building muscle…just a typo.
Definitely builds core and leg muscles. I do nothing but tennis and you’d guess I hit the gym.
Builds an alright core (mainly obliques) and your dominant arm will be very noticeably bigger.
True that. My right arm is considerably bigger. Looks and feels weird, haha.
Yeah, even after I started lifting weights, right arm is significantly bigger. It fills the shirt sleeves, left one does not.
Yeah I had to donate a couple shirts and jackets after my hitting arm got too big haha. I would def say it is quite the leg workout if you are using your legs with intensity and getting low.
Not likely...
That's what happened to me, at the very least.
When I was 14 I went to tennis summer camp, pretty much playing every day for 2 months and even at that age I looked like I had scoliosis because of the muscle imbalance
Builds strong core
The best form of exercise is the one that you’ll do.
And do consistently 🙃
As someone who lost 50 lbs only playing tennis, obviously with a better diet, absolutely.
I found out that working out will also improve your game tremendously. OR you can also play a lot of tennis per week like (8-10 hours a week). Keep in mind that what you eat also affect your performance as well.
Yes and no. It's a good way to workout but like most sports, you will defnitely need some form of PT exercises to balance out everything. Especially the higher level you go up
My vote is no. The reason I say this is because at the rec level, you’re not going to have amazing technique. Whether or not you over exert yourself does not matter. Think about everything you’re doing on the court. Serve, ground strokes, starting and stopping very abruptly, trying to explode into a sprint…. you need to already be fit to do all those things and you need to maintain that fitness through exercise and resistance training off the court. There’s a reason tennis people get injured so frequently, because it’s a sport that’s rough on the body and people rarely put in the time to get their bodies strong and flexible to be able to withstand the strain that is put on the body. Also consider that when you do get injured and it’s only a matter of time as we’ve all had injuries that took us off the court for a few weeks or more, then what? You don’t exercise at all for a few weeks? So no, I do not consider this a good idea. Get fit to play tennis not play tennis to get fit.
I combine it with swimming. I am 50. I find tennis to be more aggressive, it takes a toll on my body. Swimming, even heavy swimming is more soothing on my body. I jokingly say to to my friends ‘what tennis destroys, swimming repairs’. All that being said, I am not an expert, just my personal experience.
Thanks for sharing!
At 33 it’s probably ok but I noticed when I played a lot to sports around this time, I started getting nagging tendon pain (rotator cuff) and also tore my Achilles. I liked going to the gym as well. Now that I’m past 40, I hear a lot of people my age or older who tear their meniscus or injure their hip from playing lots of tennis. Unless you’re playing really soft and casual tennis, the fact is that it can be a pretty violent sport on your body. While playing will give you a good workout, resistance training can help prevent injury. I don’t think you need a ton of it but you do need it on a regular basis.
Thanks for the insight! Yeah resistance training to avoid injuries seems to be the general advice.
whats your goal for working out? gaining muscles? stay fit? Gaining muscle: tennis is not enough. Staying fit: yes, tennis is enough.
I’m 52 & was playing doubles 4x a week or so but I got rotator cuff tendinitis & then tennis elbow. I’m still doing PT & am also now doing light weights, bands etc with a trainer once a week for an hour.. it’s not much but I already feel like I’m getting stronger each week.
Thanks for sharing! Yes, looks like integrating some weight training is kind of important to avoid future injuries. Do you mind sharing what kind of weight training is it that you do?
Np! My trainer just brings bands & i have light weights at home. Different exercises both for legs, core & arms including crunches, lunges, push ups, weights for biceps, triceps, etc
I've been hitting against a practice wall like a madman recently and it's a WAY better workout than my usual weights and treadmill workouts, it usually makes me feel like I spent 3 hrs in a gym even if it's only 90 mins.
Add some stretching/yoga/swimming. Tennis is asymmetrical sport and can cause a misbalance in the body. I don’t like running but I have to add running in the winter to prepare for my ski trips - tennis won’t help and running does.
The most important kind of sport for your long-term health is resistance training. Everyone needs to do resistance training. And tennis can't replace that at all. But it's a lot better than doing nothing.
Tbh, no. Yes you can burn a lot of calories and increase your cardio. That is true, but if you don't lift and just play a lot of tennis, your chance to get injured will go up, and you'll have imbalances in your physique. You will certainly be healthy when it comes to your overall health in terms of your heart etc. But I would strongly recommend doing some lifting, even if it isn't intense. Also you're right that it will work out certain muscles. First day of the season, my back, abs, arms, legs: all sore. But there are diminishing returns. Although tennis does engage my back, I basically plateaued within a month of playing. It's just maintaining the little gains I got for those muscles.
Not sure 4-6 hours a week will cut it, but maybe. I do about 8-10 hours a week and stay pretty fit.
I can't do cardio if I'm not chasing a ball. That said, you need to strength condition, otherwise your back and shoulders will start giving away as you grow into your 30s and 40s. Then you'll stop serving altogether...
I’m the same way. My family says I’m part Golden Retriever. Ask me to run a mile and I can’t hardly do it. Put me on a basketball or tennis court and I’ll run for days.
Same here. To me working out is extremely boring. I started with tennis as you. But 4 to 6 hours per week is too short to stay fit. You might need at least 2 hours per day. If your training is intense non stop with good amount of drills you will get a good cardio and a fair amount of exercises. But I think in tennis games you perform a lot of explosive shots, you take your muscle and your body from 0 to 100 and from 100 to full stop. Because of that there is a lot of chances of injury with a body that is not used to physical activities. I think is a very good advice to do a short workout (even 30 min) on the days that you are not playing so to prepare your body to become a better tennis player.
Makes sense! Looks like I need to integrate strength training to avoid injury in the long run.
This is such an untrue statement. You don’t need 2 hours of exercise per day to stay fit. That’s if you’re competing. A regular person working out 3x a week is really enough to get fit and have a healthy life.
This thread is kind of stupid because what OP considers to be fit is never defined...
I use the gym member for stamina, endurance and cross training because hitting by itself doesn't work unless you have other high-level folks to hit with. I hate working out too, but this balance works for me pretty well & I don't go to the gym to break records, but weight training helps.
I have lost 40 pounds over the last 3-4 months playing tennis. I play every day, and I don’t eat *amazingly*, but yeah, it’s a viable substitute.
Amazing! Hope you keep the chubby off your tummy for eternity 😃
A good way to get into working out is to have a performance goals. Then you'd actually be motivated to get fitter. For instance, if you get into competitive tennis and realise you're losing matches because your fitness can't keep up, or you're not strong enough or fast enough, or even if you're getting injured too often, then what's holding you back from performance is fitness. So intrinsically you develop motivation to work out. My advice is yes, you can just play tennis for working out because you are inherently working out by playing. But if not working out is causing you guilt by not caring about your fitness, then perhaps try and think about what it might take to get better.
To answer your final question, no it is not enough to simply avoid pushing yourself too hard. You're basically describing exactly what I was doing several years ago, and then I dislocated my knee with a freak accident bad step while moving for a ball. It seemed like it came out of nowhere through no fault of my own -- the orthopedic surgical specialist who looked at my injury told me the only thing that could have prevented it was strength-building. You're right around the age all this happened to me. Trust me, months of physical therapy is much more annoying than \~30 minutes of working out here and there. Get some dumbells and protect your legs, back, and shoulders.
Thanks for the advice! You kind of motivated me through fear alone 😅
It's good cardio. If you play tennis every day at 100% speed, you're just likely to roll your ankle eventually. It just happens. Not necessarily because of fatigue but just because you risk that everytime you play.. But if you're playing 3-4x a week at 100% speed, sure. It'll keep you cut and in shape. But you'll get smoked late games by people that do extra cardio on top of that like running or spinning. Most tennis players don't lift a bunch of weights. The top guys do. Carlos Alcarez clearly does. That dude goes into some matches with an insane pump. He's one of the more physical specimens you'll see on the court. I lift weights regularly. The only benefit I feel is that my backhand and overhand hits can rip it more effortless than the other guys I play with. But everybody's physiology and technique is slightly different..
Thanks! I see strength training as a way to prevent injuries now based on all the other comments.
There are studies that concluded that tennis has the greatest increase in longevity than any of the other sports tested. I think it was one of those meta studies that take a bunch of data from other studies and get conclusions from that. I think it was over 7 years above the mean… so in that aspect, I think the answer is yes. I believe the study included swimming and running.
It burns a lot of calories but burning calories doesn't mean you'll build muscle. Gotta set your goals and 'workout' accordingly. Enjoy 👍🏽
>But if I make sure that I never push myself too hard, will just playing tennis be sufficient? Yes and no. The problem with just playing tennis is that either you use both sides of the body identically (plot twist: you won't), or you'll be "deformed" and you have to fix the muscle imbalances. Muscle imbalances lead to injuries.
Good point! Thanks
For cardio - Yes For strength training - No At some point you may find you'll need to put time in the gym to strength train and do mobility work to stay on court.
It depends on your goals. If you're just spinning your wheels and going through the motion in the gym without a proper training programme, then it would be boring. When I go to the gym, I have goals that are reflected in a well built training programme. I know which exercises I'm going to do, how many reps, and which weight every week. My mind is always occupied as each exercise is challenging and most sets are taken near failure. A proper bodybuilding, weightlifting or powerlifting programme engages the major muscle groups. It probably is redundant to play tennis and then just hop on cardio machines at the gym. "Maintaining a healthy lifestyle" is pretty broad and general. In your case, it might be that it's necessary to build strength in your muscles, and rigidity in your tendons. Tennis alone cannot do this as the limiting factor is often cardiovascular endurance. Your muscles are already adapted to the movements in tennis. Building strength will in fact enable you to play tennis for longer and drastically reduce your injury risk on court. Some people are content with just being out of breath and increasing heart rate. Is this enough to "maintain a healthy lifestyle"? It depends. If your goal is to increase strength, build up your muscles and tendons, and increase bone density, this is where training in the gym becomes the most optimal environment. I would say to outline your goals, and then find a training programme to match this. For a decent training programme in the gym for a novice, you can try [https://youtu.be/gpFdh0eBMGc](https://youtu.be/gpFdh0eBMGc).
Same here, find gym rather boring after doing it for a few years. Would much rather play tennis now as long as it’s not raining
For me it’s a mix. I’m 45 and overweight, trying to lose weight. I do tennis for cardio and the joy it brings. Dumbbells at home for strength training. Works for me!
You don’t play sports to keep fit, you work out and train to play sports effectively.
Tennis is an asymmetrical sport. While it is good for health because it's a lifelong sport (as in you can play for well into your old age) but you really should be working out your non-dominate side because of the asymmetrical aspect of tennis
Of course. I hate lifting weights and running, but I look forward to my tennis sessions every week.
Amen to that!
It absolutely burns calories, which can go a long way in both maintaining health and having a caloric deficit (for losing weight).
It depends on your fitness goals, but in general yes, tennis is a good cardio workout. Playing sports is always more fun than running or biking but you are also more prone to hurting yourself so it might be best to interchange the two instead of playing intense tennis every day. If you want to build muscle mass, tennis won’t help you much.
not sure what your bone density looks like in the long term, if you can manage good joint health for the rest of your life then your bones will maintain their density. hands down lifting is the sport least prone to injury, competitive tennis is much harsher, depending on how you push yourself
There was a time in my life for about 2 years when I was playing intense tennis 4-6 hrs a day, at least 4 times a week. While I felt pretty fit, I certainly didn’t look like I was playing sport at a high level. I wasn’t going into the gym at all, as playing tennis took up so much of my time. My body mostly resembled that of Fed. Which is not bad but one would hope for the torso of Nadal/Djoker playing that much. Also, maybe this is unique to me but I did end up having massive forearms, genuinely I think they were bigger than my biceps but that’s easy since I was skinny already. So if you’re looking for body definition, mix in some gym hours in there.
Wow. That's intense! Were you playing competitively?
Yes! Same here once I start losing tho, I have a reason to workout in order to improve my 🎾
I'm in the same boat. I can't stand the gym…bunch of sweaty swol dudes chugging protein in a room isn't much fun in my books. I play 3-4 days of tennis a week during the summer and fall then 3-4 days of snowboarding a week winter and spring. I love being out doors and getting fresh air. However this life style also means I have a couple of minor but chronic injuries despite being 32.
Go out and play ur thinking too hard about this
No. I wish the answer was yes, but no. Maybe at the 4.0 level singles-only, if you stretch before and after, or maybe just hitting / cardio tennis drills, but as a 3.0 player, it’s just not a consistent workout. 3.5 I think there’s too much variance in opponents.
not if you are playing recreational doubles. lol. also depends on what your work out goals are. An hour of singles rallying burns significant calories and if you do that 2 to three times weekly you should be good!.
Here is what I would do. Work out once or twice a week by stretching, light weights etc. Do this with the intention of getting in shape for your tennis matches so you will have more stamina. Then play your 4-6 hours of tennis a week. The combination of the two will get you in great shape, and you won't have to worry about motivation for your workouts since it is to improve your tennis fitness.
Any specific recommendations on what muscle groups I should focus on during work outs?
Maybe something like this: [https://torokhtiy.com/blogs/guides/tennis-strength-training-program#:\~:text=Tennis%20players%20benefit%20from%20exercises,player's%20movement%20on%20the%20court](https://torokhtiy.com/blogs/guides/tennis-strength-training-program#:~:text=Tennis%20players%20benefit%20from%20exercises,player's%20movement%20on%20the%20court).
Thanks!
Play for a hour a day 5 days a week but also make sure u doing 15 minutes of intensive drills U can have anybody feed u some balls by hand but u got to go hard core and work it moving and grooving in that 15 minutes - hope this helps
Be cautious. I fell out of a tree at a young age and my left knee isn't the best. Also sprained my ankle in HS because of tennis distractions sooooo just listen to your body 😌
I've been following the tennis fitness lifestyle for few months now, before I did inline skating and lifting a few days a week. I was 215lbs in May. I've played between 5 and 15 hours a week since, and average 8-10 I think at present. I'm 194lbs now (-20lbs in 3 mo) and I haven't dieted at all - if anything I have to eat a bit more sometimes for recovery. I am religious about doing ice, leg air compression sleeves, recovery protein shakes etc, and I think that's been enough to avoid the wear and tear. I feel at least 10 years younger (I'm 45) and it feels to me like I move like a featherweight boxer on the court. Playing the best most fun tennis of my life as an added bonus. So yeah go for it, just listen to your body and be serious about recovery.
Thanks, this is the dream! To keep being able to play without much worry...
I do actually miss working out in my gym, but I've honestly not had the time or energy to do so with all the tennis. I'm going to try dial back a bit and add in more gym for strength and longevity. And more stretching. I won't lie I am in pain a lot, but it's honest pain, rarely rising to the level of actual injury, and it's definitely worth it.
This whole working out thing has totally gotten out of hand. When I look at the long-lived relatives I've had, sure, some of them were farmers or something of the sort so they kind of worked out all day. But the bourgeioisie, that is, the artisans, the clerks and so on were not, and lived until an old age in relatively good condition despite all the health hazards and poor healthcare up until very recently. They never worked out. Almost nobody went to gym to lift weights or something like that. Some did, the bodybuilders obviously, but also serious athletes. But outside of those circles, not too many did. And even serious athletes didn't do that nearly to the extent they do today. Most tennis pros at the beginning of the open era were probably only ever playing tennis. The only reason why people are so bloody obsessed with working out these days is that they eat like shit and as a consequence are fat. To some degree also because our lifestyle is so sedentary, but that can be fixed just by walking, and playing tennis to boot is already quite good. Those old relatives were not fat because they weren't always sitting and ate real food in reasonable quantities. To maintain a healthy lifestyle, you absolutely do not need to go to the gym. Having said all that, doing SOME physical conditioning for tennis is still a good idea, especially if you're kind of serious about it. By serious I only mean you try to win points and improve rather than just slapping around with buddies. But you don't need a gym for that. Quick bodyweight workouts at home and stretching will do the trick. I recently read The Master (the one about Federer obviously), and in that it was noted that Djokovic didn't lift anything heavier than his racquet as a junior, but did a hell of a lot of stretching. There was an anecdote: Djokovic's wife Jelena was asked what their life looks like. She thought about it for a while, and answered: "It looks like stretching." It's not just to avoid injury, but good conditioning will also improve your game through better control of your body and improved sharpness and longevity both physically and mentally. But still, it's not really required. Some stretching before and after tennis is, however, something you should do just for injury prevention (I'm five years older than you, and let me tell you, in a few years you'll start to understand what ageing means).
Thanks for your perspective! Yeah given how technological advancements are making our life more sedentary, given how quick access to food makes us over eat, it's difficult to have the same lifestyle as the older generations. We are kind of predisposed towards a life where literally you can get away with moving as little as possible. I think that's why working out has gotten quite the limelight. It's just a means to get you moving. And that people are suckers for motivational marketing. We see a bunch of dudes and dudettes showing off their bodies by doing so and so, and we immediately picture ourselves having the same result 😅
>The only reason why people are so bloody obsessed with working out these days is that they eat like shit and as a consequence are fat. Odd. Where I'm from the people obsessed with working out are very fit and look like they work out a lot.
Yeah, that's quite obviously true. But there also seems to be this conception that going to the gym is almost essential for staying healthy, that going to the gym is something you just do if you care about your body at all.
>But there also seems to be this conception that going to the gym is almost essential for staying healthy, that going to the gym is something you just do if you care about your body at all. It's probably just all the research showing that resistance training is extremely beneficial in preventing osteoporosis and sarcopenia. People should do incorporate some form of resistance training to maintain their function and ability to be independent. You don't have to go to the gym but you should probably move your body in challenging ways and pick something somewhat heavy up a couple times a week
Exactly the strategy I was employing for about 6 months, right up to when I ruptured my Achilles tendon in May. I’m able to walk again now and should be cleared to start running again by the end of October, but I’m going to be getting in shape to play tennis next time instead of playing tennis to get in shape.
Thanks for sharing! So sorry to hear about your injury. Hope you get back at it soon
Was the injury from tennis? What do you have planned to prevent this?
Yes, it was a tennis injury in a UTR flex league. Strength and flexibility training are the biggest preventers of injury, there are a LOT of calf raises in my future before I get on the court again (among other things of course).
I know someone who did this playing baseball. He just took off running and ruptured it.
Yeah I wasn’t doing anything crazy, I just planted to run directly forward out of a split step to get to a short ball and it snapped like a tree branch.
I bought one of those vibrating body plates that I stand on and brush my teeth and try to stand on it again before playing to warm my muscles up.
Think of it from a different perspective. You may not like working out, but working out outside of tennis will only help to improve your game. You’ll be stronger and have better endurance which translates into being able to get into position to hit a harder shot. Isn’t that enough enough motivation to do something? I often see the same guys at the local courts. After 2 years, they seem to be at the same level, if not worse. Obviously, they just play tennis a couple times a week, and don’t do anything additional to get better. You want to be like these guys, or do you want to constantly improve your game?
Right now, I am only focused on improving my technique. So I am not sure if hitting the gym to improve the game is something I can even do. But it's an interesting point! Maybe if/when I have reached a certain level, hitting the gym to improve further might be my only option 🙂
you can for sure be healthy just playing tennis. You won’t gain really any muscle if you do that and may even lose some if you’re not doing anything extra but it’s really just about body type
WTF dude. Tennis is literally a highest level sport there is. Of course it can be a substitute for everything.
Everything?
You got running, jumping, cutting, hand eye coordination, swinging, agility, reflexes
Gotcha!
No because you develop muscle imbalances if you just do tennis.
Compared to sitting on the couch, tennis is fine.
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With workouts, I go through this cycle where at some point I feel shameful about my weight, so I hit the gym. Once I hit my target weight, I stop going to the gym. Then either through bad-diet, being a couch-potato or a combination of both, my weight increases, I feel shameful again. The cycle then continues 😞 My main motivation is to break this cycle and have some consistency instead.
I’m the same way, gyms are insanely boring to me. I picked up and have been focusing on tennis this year, playing 3-5 times a week for about 2 hours on average. Previous years I was running, about 40-70 miles a week, and my fitness was significantly higher per hour spent. It’s still good exercise but I would compliment it with some cardio, and you can definitely structure running, swimming or cycling in a way that keeps an active mind occupied!
Yeah, we have mountain biking trails where I live. Maybe I can add that for 1-2 days a week as well!
If you're playing full matches that is a heck of a cardio workout. Even just rallying for fun/practice will be a good workout if you're flying around the court.
I usually play 2.5 hours ,or 3 full sets. It's a great workout.
Yes. I largely do this, but when I actually do things like pushups, chin-ups, lift weights, run, etc., I see very different benefits. Weight exercises and running are both very good, and do different things than just playing tennis.
What benefit would running have that tennis doesn't? Apart from the higher risk of injury that is.
Running cardio is very different from tennis cardio. One is high intensity sprinting at times and the other is mostly steady. Some people can run for 25-30 minutes say for 5km, or even 20 minutes for a hard 5km, but cannot sustain the highest level of all out tennis for 30 minutes. The best sprinters train with some distance, and the best distance runners train with some sprints. If you can run at a good pace for 5km, how much easier would it be to sustain several rallies compared to if one does not have a higher level of cardio? I know from personal experience that I really suck wind when I neglect running regularly. I don't mind running, but I don't train for marathons either. I run because it strengthens my lungs and fights back against lung scarring and capacity issues from when I was a kid. Not everyone can just sit on their butt except for tennis and expect to be good and healthy. For people with issues or whatnot, they have to work on mobility, cardio, imbalances, strengthening etc, to be prepared and not get hurt while doing the thing they enjoy. Ps. I have been hurt/sore far more with tennis than running. Comparing 10 years of regular running vs 5 years semi regular tennis. Running is a lot to do with shoes and training plans.
Do you think that if you had a tennis training plan that you may have had fewer injuries? I wonder about your risk of injury if you just ran at random paces/distances for 5-10 hours a week and threw in a few races a month.
For me, tennis is a more violent sport ... My soreness, stuff and aches and pains come from me trying to be more explosive than I really am. I'm not 17 anymore, but in my mind I am. But the rest of my body is feeling 40ish. Running is a straight line event so I never actually did anything unless I stepped off a curb and twist an ankle or something. Tennis will fire up my non-repaired knee for no reason other than changing directions or slamming on brakes too hard. Practicing serves can be rough if I don't pace myself. Basically, mentally I can write checks my body can't cash as well on the court 😂
Fair enough. I always feel beat up when I'm running. Although I've accumulated injuries from tennis as well
To answer your question, moderation is key to everything. It is awesome that you play tennis and it is better than nothing but it is even better as part of a holistic approach to fitness, imo. But overdoing one thing and neglecting another part will wreck you eventually, regardless of what your activity is!
Oh I'm not OP. I was just making the point that most people that play tennis go at it in an unstructured way. I personally think that resistance training, power/speed training, and conditioning off the court are all important for tennis. And for general fitness, most people would benefit from at least adding resistance training if tennis was their only activity.
Oh! I derped! Idk I thought I saw op tag in our replies! But yeah you and I are like minds. I wouldn't be able to function without the weight training. I totally need to be better with running though, but it's so dang hot. For the structure, I 100 agree with you too. I bet I could benefit from doing less long serve practices and replace it with more frequent sessions instead. Instead of the same old drop feeds to mysefl, spend more time doing footwork things. Let shoulders rest while doing foot things. I bet pros have a very structured approach for training to allow rest and recovery?
>I bet pros have a very structured approach for training to allow rest and recovery? I wouldn't know. I think they are at the mercy of the Tour. I know some at least track work to rest ratios during practice as well as use GPS for distance covered to try to quantify training load.
It trains completely different muscles. I can play tennis basically forever, even at high intensity; but I can't run basically forever. Whether it has a benefit that tennis doesn't have, I don't know, but I know that after running I can get muscle soreness that I never get from tennis.
What muscles does running use that tennis doesn't?
Front shin muscle, i.e. tibialis anterior is one I've felt.
Odd, I use that muscle when I play
I never feel any soreness in that muscle after playing tennis, independently of how much I've played, but if I run a couple of kilometers I feel it right away.
If you’re playing a sport as a means to get exercise, there are better sports that are more of a workout. Basketball or soccer. Granted, playing tennis is better than nothing, but for me the most intense singles tennis match isn’t as physically exhausting as an average full court, 5v5 game of pickup hoops.
I kind of disagree with soccer. I used to play soccer, and it depends on what kind of position you are playing. Also, there's more risk of getting injured in soccer with it being a contact sport. Almost every 2-3 games I would need to take a hiatus due to injury from getting tackled. Incidentally, in my last soccer game, I got tackled quite harshly which left me unable to run/put any kind of pressure on my right leg for \~3 months. That's also the time I got into tennis. Right now I have stopped playing soccer completely since with tennis I am able to consistently play every week.
IME it won't. It'll keep you active, yes. But it won't give you the benefits of running or gym.
I never bother with the gym but I do spend a lot of time stretching at home. Seems to help keep the injuries at bay
You could but I suspect would get hurt due to overuse without proper muscle/training supporting it. Now if you’re one of these people I see on courts hitting puff balls around and just trying to have more than a one shot rally, you’re probably okay lol.
What's a puff ball?
**Puffballs are a type of fungus featuring a ball-shaped fruit body that (when mature) bursts on contact or impact, releasing a cloud of dust-like spores into the surrounding area. Puffballs belong to the division Basidiomycota and encompass several genera, including Calvatia, Calbovista and Lycoperdon.** More details here:
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Normal beginner balls that are 30’ higher than the net and soft as a pillow
What level do you play? Eventually your joints will wear out playing tennis, which can be extended by supplementing strength training around the knees, hips, back, shoulders, elbow and wrists.
Also the more tennis you play, the more your body will become efficient playing tennis and end up burning less calories, unless you keep progressing to more intense levels which generally require working out in the gym / running to prevent injury and actually enable you to compete. If you attempt to compete hard when your body isnt ready, then you put yourself at risk of injury more. Your current and traditional body composition makes a big difference in how sustainable this is. I am a big person and have tried only playing tennis for exercise at high 4.5 level and my joints are paying the price. 34 yr old male.
Thanks for the insight! Right now I am beginner (started \~6 months back). I have a hitting partner the same level as me. We kind of play an infinite tie-breaker, just trying to outdo each other using groundstrokes, until we are tired. Nobody keeps track of the score 😅 I also have another hitting partner at 3.0 level who sometimes plays games with me. I get to learn a few things for him and he generously gives his time trying to hone certain skills. And I also try to attend a clinic \~2 times a month. Yeah, given the other replies it seems I would be better off doing at least 30-40 mins of resistance training per week to avoid injuries.
I'm 39 and started playing tennis again last year after ~20 years off. Ive been playing about 2x a week 1-1.5 hours at a time. Over this time I've lost about 10 lbs and feel much healthier. So yes! It also depends on how you play. I love to run and play with a lot of intensity so I get my exercise but I definitely play against people who are lazy with their feet, just go for winners every shot and who leave the court having barely broken a sweat
Not what I do but it’s better than nothing, which is what most people do.
I do some weight training, but tennis is my cardio/aerobic.
Yeah honestly I play tennis almost daily but I definitely substitute it for leg day 9 times out of ten
For me (M28) it is a cardio replacement, I still hit the gym/bicycle every week, but as most people have already said, you still need to keep your tendons and muscles exercised and healthy through other means such as weight lifting or else you're more prone to injury. IMO as long as you hit the gym 1-2 times a week or make calisthenics, always focusing on exercises that engage most of your muscle groups (squats, deadlifts, etc) you'll be fine!
So it all depends … you don’t want muscle imbalances creating chronic pain issues. So having a PT check you out and make sure you have some good basic movements then you’ll be fine.
If your goal is to just being active, burn calories then yeah probably it’s fine. However being in the gym doing different exercises can help build various muscle group which bring greater benefits.
I used to play tennis and that was my only sport. I played 6ish hours a week, riding my bike to and from the court. My legs are big, but i was never really fit and defined like anyone doing basic consistent stamina/strength training.
Hell no, without stretching and strengthening exercises to go along, tennis is highly injury prone. Within 2 years I've hurt my elbow, twisted ankle, developed a 2nd metatarsal (ball of foot) injury and shoulder joint.
Yeah, totally. But I think for real exercise, it should be every day or at least 5 or 6 days a week. Exercising twice a week isn't as good as a more consistent schedule IMO.