Well, here's the next big think I'm working on . . . I'm putting together my first ever tennis mini-course. It's called Simple Endurance Training for Tennis and I could not be more excited about this!
So, here's the back story on this. Believe it or not (and I think you will believe it), I'm a pretty average tennis player. I know I have this whole Tennis Fixation thing going on. I know I have a tennis tips book that's available on Amazon. I know I have my weekly Tennis Quick Tips podcast (which I LOVE doing and which I hope you've listened to). And, yes, I've even become a USPTA recreational coach AND got certified as a Tennis Performance Trainer. All of these things make me sound like I must be some incredible, high-level tennis player. But I'm not.
Nope. The fact is, when it comes to getting out on the tennis court and playing a match, I'm a regular old recreational player who just happens to be obsessed with the game.
But you know what? I do have something going for me that has really helped me play well and even win more than my fair share of matches. And that is my tennis endurance and fitness.
Even though I come up against plenty of players who are hands-down better than me, I often find that these players just can't outlast me in a long tennis match. The more drawn-out a match becomes, the more hot and humid the weather, the more out-of-shape my opponent, the better my chances of winning that match, even against these better players.
Once I realized my fitness could actually be a strength for me, I spent a lot of time working on my fitness and trying to come up with something that would not only get me in good physical shape, but would also help me play better tennis.
At first, I continued with my long distance running. I had been a semi-serious runner before I started tennis and I just assumed that running and training for long-distance races would help my tennis game. But, the fact is, this kind of training was not really helping my tennis at all. For one thing, I became really worried that the constant pounding on my joints was going to cause the type of injury that would prevent me from playing any tennis at all. For another thing, I realized that none of the tennis pros I admired were training for marathons. And none of the tennis books I read and none of the tennis coaches I talked to or followed on-line were advocating this type of training. Also, I just didn't have the huge amount of time that long-distance running AND playing a lot of tennis required.
I had to come up with something better, a training plan that would help me keep fit and build my endurance. After some trial and error I found that combining high intensity interval training, or "HIIT", with a run/walk method of running was the perfect way to train for this part of my tennis game. This allowed me to run in short bursts at a high intensity and then take quick walking breaks to recover. Working my cardiovascular system this way was very, very similar to how I was working when I played a tennis match. During many points, I might have to run all over the court chasing down balls and getting them back. Between points, I would have short periods of time to make a quick recovery. And then it would be on to the next burst of energy for the next point.
So using HIIT and run/walk training was perfectly suited for helping me stay in shape and build my tennis endurance. And working out this way avoided a lot of the problems I was having when I was doing long distance running. I no longer had to worry so much about injury since I wasn't spending long periods of time on my feet. And I could do this type of training in a much shorter time than my long distance running, usually in less than 30 minutes per training session.
I was so happy with what I'd come up with that I, of course, wanted to share it with my Tennis Fixation followers. But I didn't just want to write it all up and say, "There it is. Good luck training yourself and motivating yourself to complete this plan." Instead, I wanted to be able to provide a written plan, but also some helpful videos and some extra information beyond just a basic training plan. And I wanted to be able to provide that information over a six week period, rather than all at once, because I knew that would help keep people from being overwhelmed and would motivate them to complete the whole training plan.
And that's how my first Tennis Mini-Course, Simple Endurance Training for Tennis , came about!
This mini-course provides an easy six-week long training plan for building your endurance and fitness for tennis. It is designed specifically for tennis players who are new to (and may have avoided) running and/or fitness walking in the past.
So how do you know if this course is right for you?
Well, if you're already in great physical shape, if you're happy with your level of tennis fitness, if you have no problem lasting through long matches and playing in the heat, then you may not be interested in this course. But if you'd like to change any of those things, I think you'll get so much out of the Simple Endurance Training for Tennis mini-course.
If you'd like to learn more and really check out the course before it launches this month, you can visit the course information page and sign up to get a totally free copy of the course Quick Start Guide that lays the whole things out for you. Even if you don't sign up for the course when it comes out, you can train using this method just be reading the Quick Start Guide. And if you sign up now, besides the Quick Start Guide, you can also get a big discount on the course on launch day. I want to be sure that anyone and everyone who is interested gets to try this course out so I'm giving out this launch discount to make it easy for you to give it a go.
To get the Quick Start Guide and to be sure you get the launch discount when the course is released, just visit the information page:
http://tennisfixation.com/enduranceYou'll get all of the details on the course and be able to sign up for the Quick Start Guide, the launch discount, and also any updates I send out prior to launch!
The current launch date is set for February 18 (next week!!!) and I'm furiously working towards that deadline. So be sure to visit the info page and sign up for the free Quick Start Guide and the launch discount right away.
Thanks for following along on my tennis journey and for supporting me when I come up with projects like this. I'm so excited!
Happy Tennis!
