Ever been in a match and thought you are struggling to dominate the point whilst in a rally with your opponent? There may be several reasons why this may be happening. But one common reason is that you are not generating enough POWER on your groundstrokes. In today's game generating power is crucial as it can give you an advantage by dominating the point and causing your opponents to react quicker. And in Tennis any slight advantage can make a huge difference. Below are three exercises I recommend that will help build strength and power with minmal equipment that can translate simply into you having a more powerful forehand and backhand stroke. You can easily train these exercises at home, gym or tennis court.
MEDICINE BALL ROTATIONAL THROWS:
The medicine ball rotational throw is an explosive exercise targeting the abdominals, including the obliques, as well the hips and upper back. It involves standing sideways to the wall and twisting the torso to hurl a medicine ball into the wall, as well as catching the ball on the ricochet. It can be performed for lower reps with a focus on power, or for higher reps with a focus on fat-loss and conditioning. It also can be performed with a training partner catching your throws.
KETTLEBELL SWINGS:
Kettlebell swings are a very simple exercise yet effective. It is a basic ballistic exercise used to train the posterior chain. It involves moving the bell in a pendulum motion from between the knees to anywhere between eye level to fully overhead and can be performed either two-handed or using one hand. All you need is kettlebell and a couple of square metres of space.
MEDICINE BALL SLAMS:
Medicine ball slams are a great full body workout. It is a great form of plyometric traing that ingages major muscle groups in the upper body, lower body and core. Adding this exercise to your training can enhance overall athletic performance, improve cardiovascular performance and develop multi-directional core strength.
The great benefit of these exercises is it teaches coordination between the hips, core & upper body which translates well into movements in tennis (open-stance forehand & backhand, serves).
