The 360° tennis transformation workout
The 360° Tennis Transformation Workout is a weekly routine that if followed for just 10 weeks will change your tennis game and your life. It consists of 3 parts: Cardio, Gym Workouts, and Tennis Technique Lessons
Tools for Success
01
Cardio
A series of running and skip rope workouts that is important to improve stamina and endurance.
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02
Gym Workouts
A series of gradually increasing weights based workouts in order to grow strength and resilience. Also known as ‘Resistance Training’.
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03
Tennis Technique Lessons
Drills done to improve footwork on the court and fine-tune general tennis techniques.
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Cardio
A series of running and skip rope workouts that is important to improve stamina and endurance
Outside /
Track Running
This is a workout which its main purpose is to get you used to running for fun and make it a relaxing activity that you do mostly the first thing that you do every day.
The goal is to run 3Km every morning in a very leisurely pace while listening to some music or audiobook etc.
Treadmill
Running
This is a workout where the purpose is to slowly get your body accustomed to eventually running high-intensity, high-impact runs. The goal is to try to gradually push yourself to beat your run timing.
PACE RUNNING
Start runs by running 3kms at a speed of 8 km/h and moving to a speed of 12 km/h. Focus on improving your pacing from 1 km in 10 minutes to 1 km in 6 minutes or less.
You are also welcome to beat my personal record of running a 2.4km run in 10 minutes and 10 seconds (10:10).
INTERVAL RUNNING
Same on the treadmill, but the set-up is different. This speed running is to improve quick bursts of speed you need to have during the match, whilst pace running is more for stamina.
15 minutes of Hell
Consists of 5 cycles, and each cycle consists of the following –
Burst (1 min) – run as fast as you can at speeds above 12 km/h. 14-15 km/h might be ideal.
Recover (2 min) – slow down to 6 km/h and come back to 12 km/h gradually in these 2 minutes to get ready for the next burst.
I personally hate interval running, but it really pushes your cardio to the next level.
Skiprope
Drills
Just need to gradually push yourself to do 500 – 1000 skips a daily or every other day.
Gym Workouts
A series of gradually increasing weights based workouts in order to grow strength and resilience. Also known as ‘Resistance Training’
Warm-up
Rowing Machine
Start each Gym day with a 5-minutes on the Rowing Machine at a gradual intensity to get pumped up. Main objective is to achieve a 1000 row strokes in before the 5-minutes are up.
If there is no Rowing Machine at the gym, then do a quick 5 minutes on the Crosstrainer.
Leg & Biceps Day
These exercise focus on creating strong muscles on your legs so that the muscle strain caused by playing tennis and doing running regularly is well absorbed by the body. Especially important to create strong muscles to cushion your knees as well to allow you to put more strain on it while playing tennis.
The workouts are numbered in order and just do the optional ones if you are keen. Do 3 sets of 10 repetitions each. 4 Workouts minimum is to be done out of the below options.
1. Leg Extension
Leg extensions work out is done using a leg extension machine. You take a seat on the device with a weighted pad on the top of your lower legs. Then you operate your quads to repeatedly extend your knees and lift your lower legs.
2. Leg Press
The leg press is a machine exercise concentrated on the quadriceps. It’s favourite amongst people who decide on the seated role to standing; which takes a load off the spine.
3. Leg Curl
The leg curl is a machine-based exercise for the legs, particularly the hamstrings. It comes in seated and lying varieties. Leg curl variations are usually performed for moderate to high reps.
4. Lunges
A lunge is a single-leg bodyweight exercise that works your hips, glutes, quads, hamstrings, and core and the hard-to-attain muscular tissues of your inner thighs.
5. Smash Swiss Ball (Optional)
This is an explosive exercise to increase your metabolism and get your fat burning. You hold the swiss ball tightly and then go into a squat position and then jump and try to hit the ball on the ground but hold on to it without letting go.
6. Standing Calf Raises
The standing calf raise exercise targets your calf muscles, particularly the larger, outermost muscle that is responsible for the shape and size of your calves.
7. Standing Side Leg Raises
The standing leg raise is a simple exercise that helps to target and strengthen the hip area. It adds an element of core exercise that helps you balance yourself while focusing on each leg.
8. 7x7x7 Dumbbell Concentration Curl
This is a seated exercise which is done in 3 steps. First, rest your hand with the dumbells on your quads and slightly raise it for 7 reps. Second, bring the dumbells halfway to your chest for 7 reps. Third, bring the dumbells all the way to your chest for 7 reps.
9. Wrist Curl w Weights
This is a good exercise to build wrist and forearm strength. Rest arms with lightweight dumbells on a bench or your quads and let the hands hang over the edge. The slowly left them up and bring back to starting position.
Back Day
These exercise focus on creating strong muscles on your back so that it can help support your body and posture. Especially important to allow for your body to absorb hard shots and either block them back or return with more force.
The workouts are numbered in order and just do the optional ones if you are keen. Do 3 sets of 10 repetitions each. 4 Workouts minimum is to be done out of the below options.
1. Row
This is an exercise is done on the machine row for the back instead of the rowing machine. The former is for concentrated pulls while the latter is for cardio. It works on your arms and back muscles. Make sure to keep your core engaged and stable.
2. Assisted Chin up and Pull up
I prefer this to the normal pull up bar as its much more beginner-friendly and you can do it without help since its machine-assisted. If no machine is there try to get a friend to help out.
3. Dumbell Bent Over Row (Single-Arm)
This is a staple for back workouts. Grab a bench and imagine as if you are starting a lawnmower and do that motion in a controlled manner. This motion helps develop the muscles around the shoulder blades.
4. Reverse Fly (Cable Machines)
The reverse fly uses a number of muscles found in the rear shoulders and back. I recommend using the cable machine to do this exercise. Strengthening these muscles will help you make more stable strokes and hit back powerful shots.
Check out this video to learn more
5. Lat Pull Down
The pulldown exercise works a group of back muscles. It is performed at a workstation with adjustable resistance, usually plates. One of the best exercises for a wider back and bigger lats.
6. Shrug
This exercise is as simple as it gets. Imagine you are doing a shrug, well, this one is just the same with some dumbbells or a barbell. It will strengthen your neck muscles and other muscles around there.
Chest Day
These exercise focus on creating strong muscles on your chest and arms so that you can generate more power and force. Especially important to create strong muscles to be to hit hard shots in the right timing. Remember that due to having strong muscles (not the same as having big muscles) it will increase your endurance as those muscles will require less exertion from you while playing tennis.
The workouts are numbered in order and just do the optional ones if you are keen. Do 3 sets of 10 repetitions each. 4 Workouts minimum is to be done out of the below options.
1. Bench Press (preferably using Smith Machine)
The Smith machine bench press is a machine-based movement targeting the chest. The Smith machine mimics a barbell but provides more stability. If there is no smith machine can do using barbell and bench but make sure you have a friend to supervise you.
2. Incline Bench Press (preferably using Smith Machine)
Same as the normal bench press but the twist is that you need an incline bench and make sure the barbell comes down to around your top chest. There is no need to go for a full-motion but until your elbows do a 90-degree angle is fine. This is essential to work out your top chest area.
3. Assisted Dips
This workout can be done either using an assisted dip machine or just unassisted one. Usually, this can be done on the same machine as the assisted pull up machine. It’s s great workout to improve your triceps and muscles along the side of your abdomen.
4. Arnold Press
Pretty simple workout. Just grab a bench, have a seat, and do a shoulder dumbbell press but the ‘twist’ is that while doing the upward motion twist your wrists while going to the end position. This trains some inner muscles around your chest and shoulder area.
5. Chest Fly
You can either do this workout using a tree hug form or the more closed ‘L’ shaped arm form. The workout aims to train the pecs so that you can use the power you can generate from stronger muscles there to hit harder.
6. Rope Tricep Pushdown
This is the quintessential triceps workout. It is a workout that can isolate certain important muscle groups in that area to work on them. This workout is critical for harder and better-controlled serves and smashes.
7. Skull Crusher
This is one of the few workouts here that pinpoint the muscle groups below the biceps. Make sure to keep your elbows as close to your head as possible and make sure the motions are done in a controlled manner. If not, there is a chance to get an elbow injury.
Shoulder Day
These exercise focus on creating strong muscles on your shoulders so that the muscle strain caused by playing tennis especially when making awkward shots will not result in injury. These exercises train the less showy hidden small muscles as well as the large muscles in and around the shoulders. The following exercises are highly important to make sure you don’t face a debilitating injury such as a shoulder dislocation while playing tennis.
The workouts are numbered in order and just do the optional ones if you are keen. Do 3 sets of 10 repetitions each. 4 Workouts minimum is to be done out of the below options.
1. Dumbbell Bent-Over Raise
In this work out you use dumbbells and crouch and then hold the dumbbells close to your chest, after which you use your elbows as to guide the weight away from your chest in a controlled stretch.
2. Front Lateral Raise
You can use heavier dumbbells for this workout. Do 15 reps per arm per set. This workout works on your front and big muscles on your shoulder.
3. Side Lateral Raise
This is an isolation workout that works on the side shoulder muscles and some minor yet important muscles in and around the shoulder and the back. Make sure to use lighter weights as this is more about controlling and doing it slowly.
4. Seated Rear Lateral Raise
Grab a bench mad put your hands with dumbbells underneath the bench and bring your arms up in a lateral motion – like a bird. Again, no need to do the motion in a rapid manner, instead try to control the motion and use light weights for this exercise as well.
5. Shoulder Press (Preferably Machine)
Conversely, to the previous exercises this is a powerful exercise whereby you hit your chest, shoulders and back. Make sure to push using the sole of your legs to get the best power to do a successful motion. You can do this with dumbells to have a more dynamic workout but I would rather you use the machine for a more stable workout.
6. TRX (Optional)
TRX workouts are fun and dynamic workouts but can be risky if you do not know what you are doing. Have an experienced friend or trainer show you some good TRX workouts if available. I recommend doing shoulder workout whereby your arm stay relatively straight while doing a movement on the TRX in order to get maximum results on the shoulder.
7. Barbell Row
This is a fun workout which is a variation of the ‘shrug’ workout done using a barbell on the ‘back day’. This workout mainly works the back but due to the isolated nature of the shoulder due to letting your arms hang free while holding the barbell in the initial position, I put this workout in the ‘shoulder day’.
8. Single-arm Cable Triceps Kick-back
This is a controlled workout using the cable machine. Make sure the machine is in an upward angle and make sure it has the right attachment and then pull on the cable while staying bent over till your hand ends up behind your elbow.
Full-Body Day
These exercise focus on creating strong muscles on your legs, core, and everywhere in general. so that the muscle strain caused by playing tennis and doing running regularly is well absorbed by the body. Especially important to create strong muscles to cushion your knees as well to allow you to put more strain on it while playing tennis.
The workouts are numbered in order and just do the optional ones if you are keen. Do 3 sets of 10 repetitions each. Please do these exercise under the supervision and after an experienced trainer gives you the ok to do by yourself safely.
1. Deadlift
The deadlift is a compound exercise where you hold the barbell and push yourself from your feet up to come to a standing position from a crouched position. Try to slowly move up in weight to lifting your body weight (includes the plates and the bar).
2. Squats
The squat is a staple strength-building exercise where you place a barbell on your neck muscles and go into a squat position and come back up. I highly recommend getting neck pads to put on the bar to protect your neck and surrounding muscles from getting a strain. This is a compound exercise which allows you to generate force from the whole body. Remember to push using the sole of your legs when pushing and breathe right. I prefer to do squats on the smith machine as it provides more stability and is safe to do alone without the need for supervision.
3. Chest Fly
You can do this exercise either using dumbells while lying on a bench or using the cable machine. Imagine you are hugging a tree when doing this exercise and you’ll get the right form in no time. When using the cable machine make sure to align the cables to your top pec level. I prefer using the cable machine due to the stability it offers and since the dumbbell method is more error-prone and could lead to injuries.
Check out this video to learn more
4. Forearm Twister (Optional)
This is an easy one to do at the end of a series of hard workouts. Just grab a light barbell and hold it with your knuckles facing forward and then start twisting the barbell. Do this for 30 twists per set.
5. 1 Hand Serve w Dumbell (Optional)
This is also a light-weight exercise whereby you can use this to train your serve (but make sure to do this for both arms for consistency). Just take a lightweight and do the whole serve motion ins a very controlled manner. Make sure to find an isolated area to do this as not to disturb other users at the gym.
Make sure to track the weight’s kg you use for each workout and gradually increase it
Any note-taking app on your phone will be great to use to keep tabs on your workout kg’s progress. I recommend Evernote as a note-taking app for this instance. If you do not want to bring your phone to the gym, you can go old-school by bringing a small notepad and a pen/pencil.
Gut Busting Workouts
These workouts are only to be done after week 3. As by doing the above workouts while just starting out will not do much to help.
Please note gut workouts by itself would not do anything to lose your gut. Doing these in conjunction with the above workouts is the only way for it to be effective.
All workouts should be done 3 sets of 15 repetitions each.
The workouts are numbered in order and just do the optional ones if you are keen. Do 3 sets of 15 repetitions each. 4 Workouts minimum is to be done out of the below options.
1. Crunches
Conversely to a situp, you do not need to bring your head all the way to your knees. Just bring it halfway and then bring it down. Keep your core engaged while doing it.
2. Leg Raises
This is one of the harder gut exercises that I hate. Lay down on a mat or bench and find something to hole, like a bar overhead or your hips. Bring your legs to a 90-degree angle and then in a controlled manner bring them down to almost touching the floor and then back up.
3. Side Crunches
Laydown and then put one leg over the knee of the other leg. Then, lift your head a bit and move your alternating elbow to the alternate knee. Make sure to not strain yourself to lift you all the way to the knee. Then do this in the alternate elbow and leg.
4. Push Ups
Start first by doing assisted push-ups either while letting your knee touch the ground or hold on to an elevated surface like a bench. Once used to that try normal push-ups and once towards the end try one-hand pushups to build shoulder muscles.
5. Back Stretch
This would be the start of your stretching to end your workouts for the day. Lie flat on the ground and keep your toes pointed and hands on your sides. Then push up tour upper torso and stretch it but do not overexert yourself. After which continue on to do your normal static stretches to wind down.
Tennis Technique Lessons
Drills done to improve footwork on the court and fine-tune general tennis techniques
Fitness Day
One or Two days a week to focus on doing fitness drills such as:
- Spider Drills
- Shot Runs
- Ladder Drills
- Medicine Ball Drills
Tennis Drills Day
Once a week to work on the following tennis shots:
- Baseline Drills
- Serves
- Smash & Volley
- Match Play
- Rally Drills
Remember all
Again, the overall aim of all these workouts is not to get big and bulky. If you want to get big and bulky aim for a physique like Nadal but not bigger than that. How to make sure you do not get bigger muscles but aim for stronger muscles is by doing the above workouts regularly and gradually increasing the weights used for each workout. The most important thing is, once you reach your ideal weight used for a specific workout, stop increasing the kgs and maintain doing the workout at that level in perpetuity.
DO NOTE THAT THIS PROGRAMME IS AIMED AT BEGINNERS AND COMPETITIVE PLAYERS ALIKE, GO AT YOUR OWN PACE BUT MAKE SURE TO KEEP TRACK OF THE WEIGHTS USED FOR EACH WORKOUT
THE ABOVE GYM WORKOUTS UNSUPERVISED IS RECOMMENDED FOR AGES 18 YEARS AND ABOVE BUT 14 TO 18 YEAR OLDS CAN DO THE THE WORKOUTS SUPERVISED WITH A COACH OR PERSONAL TRAINER
Prevention is better than the Cure after Injury
Do not wait till the last minute to go to a physio if you are having pain, and make sure to stretch as much as possible after each workout. Invest in a foam roller or a massage gun to help get rid of tight muscles.
About Me
In my university life, in both my bachelor’s and master’s programmes, I found ways to play tennis at and for the universities. Though my tennis life at university had to be put on hold for a year and a half due to my dislocating my dominant shoulder during a tennis match, I still managed to have a fulfilling tennis career over my varsity life. Remember kids, prevention of sports injuries is more important than finding a cure after the fact. I represented my first university in Singapore (SIM / SUSS), played recreational tennis in the UK (University of Birmingham), represented the university in Adelaide (University of Adelaide), and finally represented the university in Melbourne (University of Melbourne).
Using the above workout, I managed to get a number of awesome wins in hard matches I played in all the above countries. Check out my blog post about playing university tennis while studying abroad.
The main objective of creating this workout plan is for young players who are at the right age to start gym workouts (around 17 years old) to get ready for tennis in their 20s. And, to make them make the best of their tennis life in university and beyond.
For older players, this workout aims to get you back into shape, detox your body from accumulated bad toxins due to living an unhealthy lifestyle and make sure your body is resilient enough not to get injured while playing tennis.
Get
Movin’
To win tennis matches and get over your losing streak
Key Elements for Success
Just Do It Mentality
One of the hardest things to break bad habits is taking the first step to change. You will never be ready. Just take the first step.
Work Hard or Go Home
All Change does not happen just like that. It takes a long time of boring and rudimentary effort day in and day out to finally see desired change.
Time Management
Since change needs a long period of time, it is paramount to use effective time management to do these workouts daily.
Wither the Pain
Change is hard and painful. It takes you right out of your comfort zone. It takes a series of boom and bust cycles of results to finally reach your goal.
Meal Planning
Your tennis body is mostly made in the kitchen. Try to eat healthy on the weekdays and reward yourself on the weekends.
Goal Setting
Without a concrete goal, all the hardship done to achieve your goal will not be worth it and you will not have enough motivation to pull through.
Sample Weekly Workout Plan
