Warm up exercises for Tennis with Joe Collins

Watch this video of Joe Collins, Strength & Conditioning Coach at UPMC Sports Surgery Clinic demonstrating warm-up exercises for Tennis players.

For further information or to make an appointment with a Strength & Conditioning Coach at SSC please contact sportsmedicine@sportssurgeryclinic.com

Hello my name is Joe Collins, and I am one of the strength and conditioning coaches at UPMC Sports Surgery Clinic. Today I will be taking you through a quick warm-up for tennis, using bands and five simple exercises that you can do anywhere and when, to make sure you are ready to play.

Exercise one, we have banded squats. For this exercise, you need a Theraband. All you are going to do is place the band just above or below your knee, and from there all we are going to do is have our feet shoulder width apart, and have constant tension on the band. All I am going to do is have my hands crossed across my chest, I am going to sit down keeping tension on the band, and come up nice and controlled, sit down, come back up. From the side, again squatting down and keeping tension on the band, coming back up.

This exercise will be working your quads, hamstrings, glutes and as well as the muscles around the side of your hip. You should feel that in the side pocket, back pocket, and the front and back of your leg.

Exercise number two, we will be doing Monster Walks. Again we need a Theraband, only this time have it just above our ankles. For this one I recommend wearing socks, otherwise you might be in a spot of bother. All I am going to do for this exercise is squat down slightly keeping tension on the band, I am going to take little steps, from side to side. Make sure you go both ways keeping constant tension on the band.

With this exercise, we are working on the side of your hip, so your glute max and glute med. Again you should feel it in your side and back pocket.

Exercise number three will be banded chest flies and reverse flies. For this you need a length of exercise band tied around either a bike or the fence of the tennis court. All that you are going to do is make sure you are kneeling down with your chest nice and upright, and I’ll be working my outside arm, pulling my arm back across my chest, this is working my rear delt and the muscles across the back of my shoulder. From here all I am going to do is turn around and bring the band across my body, working my anterior delt and my pec minor and major. This one should I should feel on the front of my body. Make sure you work both arms.

Exercise number four will be a banded shoulder raise. Again we need the same length of band we used before, this time tied in a loop. Make sure the knot is tight so it doesn’t come undone. Have the band on your hands resting just above your thumb, and from here all I am going to do is keep tension on the band, raise the band above my head keeping constant tension and make sure my chest stays nice and square. This exercise is for the anterior delt also the muscles around your rotator cuff in your shoulder just fills this the whole way round. It is important to keep tension the whole time and keep your chest square.

For our fifth and final exercise, we are going to use our same length of band. For this one we are going to put together the first four exercises. I have the band in my left hand, I am going to tread on it with my right foot. This one we will call the tennis serve exercise – all I am going to do is rotate my body to the left and bring my arm up and then back down to my right foot, rotate up and out, and back to my right foot. Again we should feel this in our hip and our shoulder make sure we work both sides.

There we have it – a quick and easy tennis warm-up. You can do this anywhere or when, before you play or just before you train, with only two pieces of equipment. Make sure you go for 10 reps on each and every exercise or if the exercise involves separate arms you can do 10 reps on each arm. Go for three or four rounds and make sure you’re warm and ready to play.

Hope this helps.

Date: 28th April 2021
Location: Online
This event is free of charge