What do the following tasks have in common: tying your shoelaces, lifting boxes, housework, hammering in a nail, moving furniture around and gardening? Simple. They all require you to either bend, stretch, twist, or lift.
And that’s where a strong core comes in. Without it, you can expect to be a little sore the next day.
And if a strong core is essential for these simple tasks, imagine how crucial it is for professional or elite athletes – in this case, tennis players
Physically, tennis players need to be strong, quick, agile and flexible. Combined, these characteristics allow them to stop and start suddenly, accelerate and change direction at high speed - all essential elements of the game.
As a result, most of their training focuses not only on perfecting these skills, but also on learning to move more efficiently so as to prevent injuries.
Strengthening the core is one of the best and most obvious ways to significantly improve your tennis game. Why?
- It increases the power of every shot. Remember that tennis is a sport that uses the entire body to produce power, and the centre of this is power the core and hips. The force in each shot travels from the lower to the upper body.
- A strong core is crucial for keeping the spine straight and supported during high-impact moves, such as sprints and the abrupt lateral movements required in tennis.
- Having strong oblique muscles helps players to transfer weight from one foot to the other during turns and remain balanced throughout. In tennis players need to pay special attention to their obliques due to the amount of times they rotate and twist their torso during each game.
- It helps with balance, which is one of a player’s most important physical and technical skills. Balance is crucial when it comes to executing precise, well-placed shots.
- Having good balance can also reduce the risk of injury, especially in the lower body, such as the legs, ankles and knees.
According to veteran tennis journalist Luca Baldiserra, it’s commonplace to see professional tennis players using products that specifically target and strengthen the core, as these can help avoid back injuries.
Both prevention and recovery are key elements of their fitness routine - during international tennis tours, the ability to recover faster than your opponent can be the difference that wins you the next game.
In fact, the most common injury people suffer from once they start playing tennis is back pain caused by the excessive force exerted when hitting a serve - this is because beginners often generate power from their back rather than from their core.
So if you’re leading a healthy lifestyle, Slendertone can accelerate your recovery from injury, help to treat pain, and improve your athletic performance, as well as helping you get into shape, build stronger muscles, improve body confidence and much more.
Get in touch and find out how we can help you.
