Are you stuck at home right now? Yeah, me too. But that doesn't mean I've given up on getting better at tennis. Not at all! I am doing all kinds of things to improve my tennis game and you can too. Because just because we can't get out on the tennis court right now, doesn't mean there aren't things we can do in the comfort and safety of our own homes to get better at the game we all love so much. So, in this episode of Tennis Quick Tips, I'm going to tell you what I'm doing right now to play better tennis without playing tennis.
You can listen to this episode by clicking on the media player in this post or by listening in with your favorite podcast app. You can also subscribe in Apple Podcasts by clicking on this link: tennisfixation.com/apple.
SHOW NOTES
As I'm recording this, it's very early April of 2020 and my city continues to be on lockdown. And will be for at least the next thirty days and maybe even beyond. It's hard to know where we're headed at this point. So I wanted to do this episode because, like many of you, I'm stressed and worried and concerned about what the future will bring.
Why Tennis Is Important For Me Right Now
But one of the ways I'm dealing with it is to keep thinking about and working on my tennis game. I know that may seem like a silly or superfluous thing to do be doing right now but honestly, it is helping to keep me mentally and physically healthy. And I think that's got to be one of my priorities in this difficult time and it should be one of yours too.
I've always done that through tennis so that's why I'm leaning on tennis now. One thing I've always loved about tennis is that it is a complete system. By that I mean, it engages your mind and your body. You have to work to perfect your shots but you also have to perfect strategy and tactics. You have to use all of your body as you run, jump, stretch and reverse on a dime to reach the ball. You have to study the rules and know them well enough you can apply them on a moment's notice in the next unusual situation that comes up. You get to socialize with others, learn teamwork and how to control your emotions. And you get to do it all in a competitive environment where winning isn't necessarily the most important thing. Tennis is a lifelong sport for people of all ages and physical abilities. And you might be super fit and super smart, but you can still get your butt kicked on the court by a 12 year old one day and an 80 year old the next day.
So that's why, during this difficult time when I'm stuck at home and working hard to remain upbeat and positive, I'm concentrating on continuing to improve my tennis game. Yes, it can seem trivial in the face of so many other things happening in the world, but it's helping me to keep sane and healthy.
How I'm Improving My Tennis At Home
So what am I doing at home to work on my game? Well, I'm finally doing those things that I would never have the time or the motivation to do when my days were filled with actually getting out on the court and playing tennis.
1. Tennis Specific Fitness Work
First, I'm concentrating on fitness work that is specific to tennis. For me, that means run/walk training to keep up my endurance and HIIT routines that get in a lot of work in a short amount of time. I've found some really good routines by searching for "HIIT workouts" on YouTube. My workouts are either bodyweight workouts, meaning no equipment needed, or they use very light weights which I do have on hand. Bottom line - no excuses for not doing a workout at home.
2. Stretching And Flexibility Work
Next, I'm spending way more time on stretching to increase my flexibility and range of motion. I actually love this stuff but don't do enough of it on a regular basis. So yoga is definitely happening and again, I'm finding great yoga workouts on YouTube. My favorite is yoga YouTube channel is Yoga with Adriene and I'll include a link to that in the show notes because if you're the least bit interested in trying out yoga, you're going to love her.
I also have my own stretching and flexibility routines that are very specific to tennis and I'm doing those on the regular now.
3. Hand/Eye Coordination Drills
I'm also doing simple drills to improve my hand/eye coordination. These include really simple things like working on my toss and doing drills where I'm bouncing a tennis ball on my racquet in a lot of different ways. These are the types of drills I used when I coached kids and I know they look easy but they can really work.
Another way I'm working on hand/eye coordination is just hitting a ball against my garage door. I'm using red and orange balls for this, the kind that are used with players just learning the game. I bought a bunch of them and am so glad I did. They are lower compression than standard tennis balls so they move slower and bounce less and give me time to work on hitting different kinds of shots.
4. Mental Game Work
Next, I'm working on my mental game. Again, this is something I'm quick to blow off when my week is filled with actually playing tennis. To work on my mental game, I've put a few things into practice. First, I'm practicing breathing techniques, affirmations, and visualization exercises. Again, all focused on tennis. These are all well-known ways to up your tennis toughness and just require that you take the time to put them into practice.
5. Doing It All
Finally, I'm working on all of these things by digging into some of the resources I already have here at home but never really take the time to put to work. For example, I'm reading and re-reading some of my favorite tennis books. I have some really great books that always teach me or remind me of something that could help me become a better player. I've read a lot of tennis books in my time and I have a list of my absolute favorite books at TennisFixation.com. I'll be sure and link to that page in the show notes so you can see the ones that I think are the absolute best.
I'm also listening to good tennis podcasts. My favorites include the Essential Tennis podcast and the Tennis Files podcast. These are both similar to Tennis Quick Tips in that they're focused on bringing tennis coaching and instruction to recreational players like us. And I'll link to those in the show notes.
Finally, I'm taking the time to go through the tennis specific online courses I've purchased and never completed. I'm a big believer in online learning. I mean look what's happening with our kids these days - school is cancelled and they're all completing the school year online.
The Home Tennis Max Online Course
And the one I'm loving going through right now is from the team at Essential Tennis. I have three courses from Essential Tennis but this is the best one for the current world situation. It's called Home Tennis Max and, if you're on my email list, you've been getting videos from me for the past week showing just what this course is like. I've been fortunate enough to see the entire course in advance and I am loving it. It is organized and gives me a very simple way to work on all parts of my game. Fitness, the mental game, strategy, footwork and more - it's all in this one course. So no thinking on my part. I just follow the Home Tennis Max plan and I can get it all done.
And, frankly, for what you're getting in this course, it is incredibly reasonably priced. The entire online course is just $47. That's about half what I pay my pro for a private lesson. And this is hours of content that I can access anytime I want, anywhere I want. Yes, I'm going through it right now while I'm stuck at home, but I can definitely see me using these materials again and again once I can actually return to the courts.
Bonus Number 1 - My Ultimate Guide To Stretching And Flexibility For Tennis
Now, while I think this course is great and wonderful and you don't need anything else to make it worthwhile, I'm personally offering three things that I think you'll love and will make this course even more valuable to you. First, as a bonus, anyone who buys the Home Tennis Max online course from me will get my Ultimate Guide to Stretching and Flexibility for Tennis. I put together this ebook with three stretching routines that you can use to increase your flexibility and range of motion for tennis. It includes a pre-match dynamic stretching routine, a post-match cool down, and a longer, very tennis-specific static stretching routine that you can do at home anytime, anywhere. Even while you're watching the latest COVID-19 news on TV.
Bonus Number 2 - Work Out With Me In Tennis Fixation Private Facebook Group
One more thing I'm doing with the Home Tennis Max course is going through it with you in my private Tenns Fixation Facebook group. I think this will be great motivation for use to really go through the course and have fun while we're doing it. So if you're interested in joining my private Facebook group which is just for Tennis Fixation followers, go here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/tennisfixation/Bonus Number 3 - I'm Making This Donation!
Finally, I want you to know that I am making a very important pledge here. And that is that 100% of the proceeds that come to me through the Home Tennis Max course will be donated to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization. Not 100% of the profits. 100% of any money that comes to me will be donated.
As you probably have guessed, if you buy this program from me, I'll get some money from the sale. But I want to use that money to do something really important and big right now so that's why all of it will be donated.
I know I've mentioned in previous episodes, my husband is a doctor and my sister is a doctor. So supporting healthcare workers is extremely important to me. I picked this organization because this particular fund is helping people around the world fight COVID-19. Through the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, WHO is coordinating efforts among over 100 nations and ensuring that all of these countries get the resources they need to prevent, detect, and respond to this virus. This means WHO is shipping personal protective equipment including surgical masks, N95 masks, gloves, gowns and goggles. WHO has also helped transport lab supplies to over 100 countries, supplies that are critical to establishing testing capacity, even in places where health systems may be weak.
How To Get Home Tennis Max
http://tennisfixation.com/homeSo, if you're interested in improving your tennis at home AND want to do it with someone else (namely, me in the Tennis Fixation Facebook group) AND you want to help me make a big donation to a very worthy charity, join me in the Home Tennis Max online course. Remember, the course is only $47 but that $47 is going to accomplish alot. You can find more information and get the program by clicking here:
You can also contact me if you have any questions at all about this program by emailing me at [email protected].
RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE
Check out these resources mentioned in this episode:
SHARE, SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW
Please take a minute to leave your review of Tennis Quick Tips on Apple Podcasts. Just click here: Tennis Quick Tips on Apple Podcasts. Your review will help the show become more easily discovered by like-minded, awesome tennis players just like you.
And if you want to make sure you never miss an episode, be sure and subscribe on your smart device. You can click here to find the show in:
GET MY FREE "CHEAT SHEET" PACKED WITH SERVE TIPS!
Hey! Are you interested in tuning up your tennis serve? Then be sure and grab my totally free "cheat" sheet, 10 Quick Fixes to Improve Your Serve: No Lessons Required. In it, I give my ten absolutely best tips for getting a better serve fast. Just go to
http://tennisfixation.com/free
to get instant access to that free resource.
And if you have any questions about any of this stuff, you can always reach out to me by emailing [email protected]. I would love to hear from you!
Thanks so much for listening and, as always, . . . Happy Tennis!
© Kim Selzman 2020 All Rights Reserved
