There are many components that contribute to an effective tennis-training programme but whilst most people will readily mention strength, endurance, flexibility, speed etc one of the most important yet understated components is variety.

Your body is fantastically adaptive in as much as if you repeat the same thing over and over you will adapt and it will become the norm (an important factor in learning), however if you perform the same workout routine (no matter how good it is) it will eventually prove counter productive as all initial gains you make plateau and there will be no overload and any gains will be reversed.

Think of it another way, if you play your favourite song over and over again for too long it will eventually lose its early appeal.

This is where using other sports and methods of training (or cross-training as it is known), is important.

For the pro players that I work with, participating in other sports keeps them physically and mentally fresh (they obviously play so much tennis) whilst still promoting a training stimulus.

For my junior players (minis included) as well as my recreational adults (some very serious and not too recreational by the way), it is a way of training many of the fitness components critical for tennis away from the tennis environment whilst still retaining a competitive games – based edge. This is especially true of the “mini” juniors for whom early “specialisation” in a single sport has been shown to be counterproductive.

Here are some ideas to either spice up or enhance a program you are currently doing, or to get you started on a new one.

1. Participate in sports such as basketball, soccer, baseball or volleyball.

All these sports have the stop-start repeated sprint tempo that tennis requires with soccer providing a multidirectional agility-training stimulus that is vital for effective court coverage. Although basketball and volleyball include many directional changes as well, they have a large leg power component to them through the repeated jumping that takes place.

Baseball has many useful tennis related aspects to it such as pitching and getting the ball from base to base (which are throwing actions like the tennis serve) and sliding to make base can be very useful when you come to play on clay where sliding is a vital component for success.

2. Use outdoor activities.

Cardio training can be achieved by running, hiking (also good for leg strength), skating (balance and agility), skipping (co-ordination), cycling and swimming, to mention just a few. If you are in a park you could use equipment such as benches, balance beams, monkey bars, rope climbs etc. to do body weight driven exercises such as push-ups, pull-ups, balancing, step-ups, squat jumps, tricep dips, calf raises, etc.

As always start slowly and at your own pace and progress slowly increasing the length and/or intensity as you improve.

So, with a little thought and creativity you can combine all the fitness components necessary for improving tennis performance into workouts that take place away from your normal tennis environment, thereby allowing you to be physically and sometimes more importantly mentally fresh every time you step back on the court to play a match or have a lesson.

Who knows you may even find yourself having fun whist getting fitter and improving your tennis!

Before starting any exercise program, always be sure to first consult your physician.

People from all over the world like to play tennis for a lot of different reasons. Some like to play tennis everyday to get exercise so that they will remain in good health. Other tennis players simply need something to occupy their time and think that playing tennis is a good option because it allows them to make new friends in the process.
Some people think that they can meet a new friend if they played at a location where a lot of people always seem to be. Most athletically minded people will migrate toward a tennis center because there are always people around who are very actively involved in a game. They feel that if they show enough interest in the game, they have a good chance at forming new friendships too.
Making new friends at a tennis center is a very easy thing to do. Every tennis game is bound to have spectators and that crowd of people might have someone in it that enjoys playing the game of tennis just as much as the people that are out on the court. It is very easy to strike up a conversation and make an offer to play a quick set with someone that was a stranger only moments before.
The atmosphere around a tennis court is usually very relaxed and friendly. People are always shouting some words of support to people that are playing a game on the court. This atmosphere that surrounds a tennis court is perfect for forming friendships, and after several serves it is quite possible for a person to feel like they have known their opponent for years.
Good natured ribbing and small amounts of helpful hints serve to solidify the friendship even further. By the time the first game has ended, it is quite possible for people to improve how they play tennis if they listen intently to the comments that are made about the way they serve or handle the ball at times. Some people will walk off the tennis court with a new friend and have a date arranged for another game of tennis.
The friendship circle is bound to get larger with every game of tennis that is played. All new friends are sure to have their own circle of friends and some of these friends will play tennis. There are going to be many opportunities to meet other people through playing various games of tennis. Some people might be better at playing tennis but that is not to be feared. Their knowledge can be shared continuously while on the court and if people listen and learn from each experience then their own game is certainly going to improve substantially.

Table Tennis is considered to be one of the most popular world class games that are played. The enthusiasm of playing this game is also increasing at a higher rate among the fans. This is the reason why people are taking a lot of interest to play this game. People are also enthusiastic to watch this game as well as to also play this game. Very few people get the advantage of taking coaching for this game. It is not so easy to have a coach who will make you to learn table tennis everyday. The technicians of table tennis have introduced a solution for this and that is the DVD’S. They have introduced these DVD’S especially for those who really want to learn Table tennis. These Table tennis DVD’s are not at all less than the actual tips and the strategies to play this game.

There are many tennis celebrities who have struggled a lot and even they have expressed their supreme talent in the form of these table tennis DVD’S. They have given the perfect tips and the strategies required to play a smart game. They have also given tips about how to play the master strokes such as the forehand loops and also the forehand smash and much more. There is a separate table tennis DVD which highlights and also teaches you the techniques of playing single strokes. Some of these table tennis DVD’S are discussed below:

The DVD’S for forehand smashes: these moves are said to be very important if you really want to challenge your rival. This mainly depends upon how good is your grip with which you are handling. In Forehand smashes there a lot of sub shots. These sub shots are like backhand smash, head smash, jumping smash etc. These table tennis DVD’S will teach you form the basics to the smashes.

The DVD’S for Forehand loops: Forehand loops is said to be one of the most powerful strokes of Table Tennis. Many sub shots are the part of Forehand Loops. These are like loop kills, loop drives, slow hand loops and many more. If you purchase a table tennis DVD then it will be very easy for you to learn all these loops. These DVD’S will teach you the shots in a very simple way. You can easily defeat your rival if you properly know the tips and the strategies.

In Table tennis you will have to coordinate your eyes and your hands together and so it is not an easy game at all. We can’t play this game very casually as we play all other games. This was the reason why the tennis star Jan Ove Waldner had offered master table tennis DVD’S. Jan Ove Waldner DVD’S mostly covers all the topics which are unique and basic of the table tennis game. There are also many Ping Pong Instructional DVD’s which focus on the recently developed strategies of table tennis. There are also official websites of the DVD’S of table tennis.