How to find the ultimate tennis fitness programme

How to Find the Ultimate Tennis Fitness Programme

Is there such a thing as the Ultimate Tennis Fitness programme?

Well I suppose that depends upon what you would call “ULTIMATE”.

The problem you faced before was that you knew that getting fitter could only help your game, but you weren’t quite sure how to go about your tennis training in the best way.

Everybody you spoke to had their own favourite routines, but which was the “right” one?

Well to avoid confusion and in an effort to clear things up I will go ahead and point out the three main areas any good tennis fitness programme should address.

1. Areas of Fitness

The first thing you need to consider is what fitness elements are included in the programme. After all, every sport has its own fitness demands which would need to be reflected in your training.
So, what would I expect to see in any decent tennis fitness programme?
Often you see programmes that are just weight training based but because tennis is such a diverse sport in terms of the range of physical demands it places on the tennis player the following areas need to be covered tennis speed, tennis strength, tennis footwork, tennis endurance and tennis power.

2. Exercise Routines

So, even if you knew or found out what areas of fitness you needed to have in the programme, your next task would be to then identify what exercises and routines you would need to perform. After all there are many strength training exercises for example, but which are the best ones for tennis players to use to improve their game?
You would then need to find out how many times you would need to perform the exercise in any session.

Schedule

Ok, so even if you knew what fitness components to focus in on and you knew what exercises to do to improve those tennis fitness components, you would really need to know what order to put everything in (on a daily/weekly basis) to achieve a peak performance when you needed/wanted it most?

The Solution

Well this is what I believe to be the solution to all of the above very real problems.

I have put to paper and produced the exact same system I use to put together the tennis training programmes of all the players I work with.
This simple but comprehensive tennis fitness programme will come into its own by giving you the “ready to go” templates for scheduled workouts anywhere from 2 weeks up to 4 months!!!

All the programmes are laid out in a day to day format so you will know what to do every single day from day 1!

And there are loads of exercise descriptions and diagrams so that you know exactly what to do.

You can’t fail!

So, if for example you have a tournament to get ready for in say 6 weeks, you just access the 6 week schedule and you know exactly what fitness components you will work on. You then refer to the session guides to explain what you will do in each session.

Or maybe you just want to get yourself really Tennis Fit and want to know exactly what you need to do.

It just couldn’t be easier.

It is just like plug and play!

Take a look NOW!

World bowls – a history

World Bowls – a History

Bowls is a sport that is played and followed by millions throughout the world. It is a game of skill and precision rather than physical fitness and has therefore often been associated as a game for the older generation. However, many of the upcoming champions are becoming increasingly younger and the sport has spent recent years making its competitions quicker and more colourful to encourage followers.

Bowls can be played indoors or outdoors, and the rules are the same for both. Put simply, the aim of the game is to get your bowls as close as possible to a small white ball called the ‘jack’.

In the singles competition, one of the two opponents flips a coin and begins a segment of the competition by placing the mat and rolling the jack to the other end of the green to serve as a target. Once it has come to rest, the jack is aligned to the canter of the rink and the players take turns to roll their bowls from the mat towards the jack.

When all the bowls have been played, a competitor or team gets one point for each of their bowls that is closer to the jack than the opponent’s closest bowl.

After all the bowls have been played, the direction is reversed which signals the end of an end.

In group games, the team captain always plays last and has a key role in directing the team’s shots and tactics.

Although it sounds easy, the fact that the bowls are not completely round and do not therefore travel in a straight line, means there is a great level of skill and tactics involved to win a match.

The game of Bowls has a distinctive history, dating all the way back to the Egyptians. Based on artefacts found in tombs dating circa 5,000 B.C, it appears that the Egyptians used to enjoy playing a version of skittles using round stones.

Different versions of this form of game then spread throughout the world and can be seen in the many types of bowls games played today. In Italy the game Bocce developed, which is a precision sport closely related to bowls with a common ancestry from ancient games played in the Roman Empire. In France the famous game of Boules arose from Bowls. This is a game that is played using metal balls, often on unusual and challenging terrain such as sand. The aim of the game is to get your large, heavy balls as close as possible to the small, white ‘jack’.

The traditional game of bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, has particularly developed popularity throughout England, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and more recently, Denmark. The oldest recorded bowls green is in Southampton, England, which dates back to 1299.

There are also many famous bowling fans throughout English history. Perhaps one of the most infamous in bowls folklore is Sir Francis Drake who, according to legend, insisted on completing his game of bowls in Plymouth before setting sail to confront the Spanish Armada in 1588.

King Henry VIII and King James I were also said to be keen lawn bowlers and even introduced bowling legislation for their subjects!

In 1903, the English Bowling Association was officially founded and began to organise and direct clubs and competitions. Previously competitions had always taken place but for the first time an extensive league and organised contests sprang up.

Indoor variations of the bowls game also appeared, largely due to the problem of the English winter stopping outdoor play. Indoor Bowls is simply the indoor version of Lawn Bowls, which is played on strips of artificial green a similar length to Lawn Bowls rinks.

All versions of the sport have now grown enormously and there is a wealth of leagues, clubs, amateur and professional bowling leagues and competitions throughout the world.

World Bowls grew out of the Commonwealth Games when it was first held 70 years ago (then known as the Empire Games). It was originally intended that only athletics would form part of the games but bowlers successfully convinced the organisers to have bowling included and it has been played at the games ever since. Top stars from both indoor and outdoor formats now come together to play lawn bowls at the Commonwealth Games.

One of the largest bowling event organisers today, is the World Bowls Tour (WBT) – a limited company formed in September 1996 by the Professional Bowls Association, and the two major governing bodies for world flat green bowls, World Bowls Ltd and the World Indoor Bowls Council (WIBC).

The primary object of WBT is to set up a series of premier bowls events at which the top players in the world can play.

One of the most exciting competitions in the UK World Bowls Tour calendar is the World Indoor Bowls Championships that take place at Potters Leisure Resort in Hopton, Norfolk. The event has been hosted at Potters for the last eight years (since 1999) and 2007 will see the event take place there once again for the ninth year running.

As on other previous years, 2007 will see professional players come together from throughout the world, to take part in televised matches including singles, pairs and mixed pairs.

The World Indoor Bowls championships take place at Potters Leisure Resort (more details can be found at pottersholidays.com)

Finding a book on golf fitness

Finding A Book On Golf Fitness

There are so many “so-called” golf fitness books on the market; but when you open them up you see dozens of pictures of golf models sitting on exercise machines in the gym.

This is NOT a golf fitness book, this is a book pertaining to “general” fitness, but with the title revised to catch the golfers eye. In my mind, this is a little deceptive and can frustrate the consumer.

When I was doing research for my golf fitness book (manual) I was extremely disappointed. Having been a certified fitness professional for over 20 years and specifically working with golfers the last 10 years I was expecting some good body’s of knowledge on the subject.

I was extremely let down and even felt like I wasted my money getting them. This motivated me to put together my golf fitness book (manual) so that a golfer of any age or fitness level could apply it immediately.

What are the components of a complete golf fitness book?

The golf fitness book should cover strength specific to golf, flexibility, aerobic conditioning (endurance) and nutrition.

These components should be directed at a golfer, not a person looking to build or tone muscles or just improve their physical fitness.

It should also discuss starting points for golfers at every age and fitness level. Have a golf fitness evaluation right in the book to determine your ‘current’ fitness level and ultimately your starting point.

That way you are sure what you are doing is the ‘right’ thing that will help your game not hurt it.

I think that’s the biggest concern for any golfer is not knowing where to start and making sure whatever he or she does will be right for them.

Secondly the golf fitness book should be able to discuss the direct benefits of any exercise to their golf swing. It’s motivating to ready why you would do a certain exercise if you can see how it will benefit your game.

And lastly, a golf fitness book should have progressive golf fitness exercises and complete programs to take you to the ‘next level’. I’ve seen so many books that have “general” exercises (not golf-specific) that have no sense of format or progression. This would leave your frustrated and not knowing where to start or progress.

So next time you go to a bookstore or get online and do a search for golf fitness book, make sure to thoroughly review the explanation and chapters to reassure you are doing the right thing.

You can quickly transform your game with the right golf fitness book.

A good rowing kit – the key to your success

A Good Rowing kit – the key to your success

Rowing is a popular sport in which athletes participate in a race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean. Types of rowing are decided on the basis of type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled forward by the reaction force on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water. This sport is played both in the recreational format, focusing on learning the techniques required and competitive format where overall fitness plays a large role. It is also one of the oldest Olympic sports.

Rowing, being a highly physical sport requires the participating athletes or rowers to have a great physique and peak fitness levels. Also, all top rowers around the world have a highly strict training regimen that keeps them in perfect shape all the year round. They train very hard under the watchful eyes of experienced physical trainers. Their diet is intensely regulated and the amount of different nutrients that should be present in it undergoes scientific calculations and considerations. A team of expert dieticians works in complete symbiosis with them in both off-season and season times to ensure that they remain supple and fit. It is the responsibility of the prestigious rowing association of a country to take very good care of its rowers and supply them with the ammunition needed to win gold, silver and bronze medals at international competitions. This includes procuring rowing clothing and technical rowing kits for your country’s rowers. Ensuring that rowers are geared up for the super tough competition by wearing high quality rowing clothing and are armed with the best technical rowing kits is highly crucial since it can be the deciding factor in the case of close competition.

A technical rowing kit contains an excellent boat, efficient steering and light weight yet strong oars. A rowing boat is classified according to the number of rowers it accommodates and the position of the coxswain. Extremely clear rules have been laid down which specify minimum weights for each class of boat so that no individual will gain a great advantage from the use of expensive materials or technology. Oars are made of wood (classical oars) and carbon fiber (modern oars). They are used to propel a boat forward as fast as possible.

Good rowing clothing reduces the drag experienced to a minimum, thus enabling rowers to reach their target in smaller amounts of time. It regulates the body temperature of the rowers and also provides them protection from wind and rain. It makes you feel most comfortable and may even have a role in enhancing your performance. In times when the weather is extremely cold, a rower can still make do with only one layer of clothing underneath good rowing clothing which repels the cold winds.

Finally, one can safely conclude that good quality rowing clothing and a fantastic technical rowing kit gives a boost to every rower’s performance.

Steps 2 success in fitness

3 Steps 2 Success In Fitness

So you have decided that you want to do something positive for your health, but you don’t really know where to start …

Use these 3 easy steps to kick off your new healthy lifestyle.

Step 1 : Choose your goal: Before you do anything, you will need to decide what you would like to achieve. Simply rocking up at a gym and doing a bit of this and a bit of that will not get you anywhere. Ask yourself: what changes do I want to see in the next three months.

Step 2: Decide on your routine. Exercise will only help if you make it part of your routine. Research has shown that over 60% of all people that join a gym will quit within the first 3 months. For this reason, it is good to have a plan.

Step 3: Set a starting point. A wise man once said that progress is a slow process. This certainly can be true when you start working out. A good health assessment can help you monitor your progress and will determine the most effective way to reach your goals.

It is that easy. Now let’s have a closer look at these steps

Step 1: Choose your goal.

Different workouts will have different results. So before you do anything, you will have to determine what you would like to achieve with your workout routine. Your trainer can help you set up a program designed to get the result you want. Here are a few options:

Lose weight: The first step in losing weight is to determine how many calories you burn in a day.The second step is to eat less than that amount. Exercising can help you burn more calories and eating smarter will make sure that those nasty kilos won’t come back. Both cardio and resistance training will help you achieve your goals. Cardio training tends to burn more calories during the workout and resistance training will help you burn more calories after your workout.

Build muscle: This goal is usually more for the guys. The increase in muscle size is also called hypertrophy. Hypertrophy will develop by doing 6 to 15 reps and is commonly done in a 3 set format. It is recommended to start in the higher rep range and slowly progress to lower numbers and more weight. This will allow the body to adapt. Muscles develop faster than tendons so going to hard, to fast can lead to some serious injuries

Develop endurance: Endurance is based on performing an exercise for a prolonged period of time. Endurance can be Cardio based (for example running 5km), or muscle based (performing 15 reps or more). The major benefits of endurance-training is that it stimulates your blood-circulation with a relatively low impact. Endurance training will also create less hypertrophy, so you don’t have to be afraid of bulking up.

Stimulate strength/power: Developing strength and power requires very low reps (up to 6). The goal is to activate a maximum amount of muscle fibers at the same time. This is often an approach used in sport-specific training. Power/strength training will make you jump higher, throw further and run faster. It is a very intensive form of training and is therefore not recommended for beginners.

Improve flexibility: Flexibility training, better known as stretching is recommended in all forms of training. When muscles are trained, they tend to tighten up. Stretching after a training can help the muscles relax and improve range of motion.

Step 2: Decide on your routine

This may be the most important step in the process. Fitness will only help you improve if you stick with it. The best way to do this, is to make it a part of your routine. Decide when you want to train and how long you want to train for. Once you have decided on this, you can create a program that suites your needs. You might only have 15 minutes a day, but there is still a lot that you can do in those 15 minutes. You can split your program in several short sessions or you can do a full body program and get it all over with in 1 session. Not all activities have to take part in the gym either. You can start with simple things like parking the car 15 minutes away from work and walking the rest.

Step 3: Set a starting point.

Progress is a measurement between 2 points. For this reason it is good to set a starting point. The best way to do this is by hiring a personal trainer. A personal trainer has the equipment and the knowledge to give you precise information on things like your fitness level, body fat percentage and blood-pressure. However there are some things that you can do yourself. A starting point can be as easy as timing your first run or writing down the weights you use in your first session. Another tool that you can use is your body mass index.(located in the top menu under Tools) This will give an indication on where you stand with your bodyweight.

Remember progress is a slow process, so don’t expect to see results in the first month or so. Instead, I suggest you write these numbers down in your diary, 3 months from now and just forget about them for the time being. After about 3 months you can do the same tests again to measure your progress. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.