Cross-Train for Fitness

Suggestions for Racquet Sports Players

Racquet sports are very hard on your body. Your feet and knees take a pounding, and your body is stressed asymmetrically as your racquet arm swings. Your back and legs also get a serious workout whenever you play. Here are some tested suggestions for cross-training that can help a racquet sports player stay fit and healthy:

Strengthen your legs by doing legwork to supplement the exercise you get from your sport. You might try jogging on days you don't play your sport, and include some sprinting as you feel like it. Rope-jumping is particularly good for improving control over your fine footwork, and it is a great counterpart to jogging. Doing lunges can really help strengthen your thighs, and lunges are a fairly sport-specific exercise that can help you approach your racquet shots with solid muscular control, and can help you recover your court position more quickly.

Add non-impact training like yoga, stretching, weightlifting, swimming, or bicycling to increase your fitness yet not stress your knees, ankles, and feet. Approach all of these with a view to strengthening your non-racquet-swinging side so that you keep your body in balance. Remember that fitness requires more than strength, and that flexibility, suppleness, balance, and aerobic fitness are all of benefit to racquet sports players.

Stay active so that you get some exercise even when you aren't playing your sport. If you have become a 'weekend warrior' because of the time demands of your job or other commitments in your life, you can certainly find some brief time for walking outside, or on a treadmill, or up some stairs. Look for every way to be active rather than sedentary in your daily life, and you will find it easier to play well when you do get on court.