Speed, Quickness, and Agility Training for Senior Tennis Players

National Strength & Conditioning Association Volume 23, Number 5, pages 62 66 Speed, Quickness, and Agility Training for Senior Tennis Players Joshua M. Miller, MS, NSCA-CPT, CSCS University of Nebraska, Lincoln Scott C. Hilbert, MS, CSCS Student Wellness Center, Director Florida Atlantic University Lee E. Brown, EdD, CSCS, *D Arkansas State University Keywords: speed; quickness; agility; seniors; tennis. TENNIS IS A SPORT THAT CAN BE played year round and therefore requires training throughout the year to help players stay at the top of their game. Today, there are a variety of players who enjoy this great sport, including seniors. Speed, quickness, and agility decline with age, and in tennis, all 3 are very important to the successful athlete. The rationale behind training this population is to help reduce injuries and increase their ability to play tennis. Seniors benefit from an appropriate strength training program by increasing their functional strength, increasing muscle mass, decreasing reaction time, and by decreasing the incidence of osteoporosis later in life, especially in women. It has been found that exercise training programs can help reduce the incidence of falls and debilitating injuries in elderly women (2). Today, many athletes train specifically for speed, quickness, and agility. Many advantages are gained from this type of training, including improved speed and quickness, less wasted movement and actions, and a greater improvement in agility, balance, and timing (3). Speed, quickness, and agility training has become an integral part of the athlete s weapon for gaining explosive power in his or her respective sport. In tennis, this explosive power can be seen in returning a serve, chasing down a volley that is cross-court, and putting away the overhead lob to win the match. Speed is important in senior players because they need to achieve high velocity when chasing a lob. Agility deals with the changes in direction and the ability to effectively couple eccentric and concentric actions in ballistic movements (6). Quickness encompasses both aspects of speed and agility while incorporating flexibility, strength, and neuromuscular coordination by allowing the athlete to move at a higher rate of speed (1,4). Getting to Know Your Athlete Today, anyone can be an athlete. There are Olympics held for every population youth, people with special needs (Special Olympics), and seniors. Seniors are no different than younger athletes when it comes to wanting to win and be No. 1 in their sport. The main differences seen with seniors are in stability and balance, decreases in muscle mass, aerobic capacity, and anaerobic capacity (8). As a trainer, you will need to be aware of seniors specific needs (i.e. 62 Strength and Conditioning Journal October 2001

Line drills Lateral jumps health history, medicines, training habits, injuries, the metabolic demands of their sport, etc.). Getting Started Table 1 Agility Place a jump rope straight on the floor and jump back and forth laterally over the rope rapidly, just high and far enough to clear the rope. Do 3 sets of 10 15 seconds with a 1-minute rest break between sets. Forward/backward Using the same rope, jump forward and backward jumps Cycling Criss-cross Angle board Box drill: step on rapidly over the rope just high and far enough to clear the rope. Do 3 sets of 10 15 seconds with a 1-minute rest break between sets. Using the same rope, straddle the rope with your feet perpendicular to it. Change your foot position in rapid succession, moving just high and far enough to clear the rope. Do 3 sets of 10 15 seconds with a 1-minute rest break between sets. Using the same rope, straddle the rope and rapidly change foot position by crossing the right foot in front of the left bringing it to the other side of the rope while at the same time crossing the left foot in back of the right foot bringing it to the other side of the rope. Do 3 sets of 10 15 seconds with 1-minute rest breaks. Stand in the center of the board and step across with the right foot onto the angle piece. Return to the starting position and do the same movement to the left. Do 3 sets of 10 15 seconds with a 1-minute rest beak. Stand in the center of the box and place one foot on the box with the other on the ground. With quick succession, alternate the feet while jumping in the air. This exercise is completed without stopping. Do 3 sets of 10 15 seconds with a 1-minute rest break. As with any program that you design for athletes, start with the basics and then work up to the more difficult movements. Safety is very important with any athlete, but with seniors you need to be more careful. You should be confident that they are able to complete a movement safely before adding a new twist to an exercise. For example, if using an angle board, have your athlete start out slowly and with complete understanding on how to accomplish the exercise correctly. An angle board is a horizontal plyometric box designed for lateral plyometric drills. As the athlete gets better, allow for an increase in speed until he or she can complete the activity without any problems. Once this is accomplished successfully, you can add another variation to the movement. An example would be having the athlete pretend to hit a tennis ball with his or her backhand or forehand while moving on the angle board. The program focuses on activities that would have a carry-over benefit from the weight room to the tennis court (5). Program Setup Unlike plyometrics, speed, quickness, and agility training does not require a high level of fitness. Many agility drills like line, step, and certain medicine ball drills require only a moderate level of fitness. Any individual with regular tennis experience should be able to perform these drills with minimal difficulty. When the athlete has mastered each drill, the trainer then emphasizes the speed at which the drill is to be performed, thereby increasing the intensity of the movement. Each training session should begin with a 5 10 minute warmup, and speed, quickness, and agility drills should be performed before resistance training. Many club tennis players have long, competitive seasons that may last from October to April; therefore, to ensure optimal results, all the basic principles of periodization should be applied. The off-season starts with 1 2 weeks of active rest, followed by a low intensity, high volume hypertrophy resistance training phase with low emphasis on speed, quickness, and agility (7). As the start of the season approaches, the volume of resistance training is reduced while intensity increases, and speed, quickness, and agility training receives greater emphasis. During the season, volume is reduced further and intensity is kept high while speed, quickness, and agility training receives high priority. Types of Drills Line drills are a good introduction to speed, quickness, and agility training. Line drills require only a painted line or a jump rope placed on the floor. Table 1 lists some low intensity, low amplitude, general agility drills. Once the basic movement is mastered, the athlete needs to perform each drill as fast as he or she can, with feet spending as little time as possible in October 2001 Strength and Conditioning Journal 63

Figure 1. Box drill. Figure 2. Resisted running drill. contact with the ground. One example is the step-on-box drill performed with the athlete placing 1 foot on the floor and the other on the box (Figure 1). The athlete will change position by jumping in the air and reversing foot position. This will ensure the optimal development of both agility and quickness. Speed is as vital to a tennis player as is quickness and agility. The ability to accelerate is important, and speed drills can enhance this quality. Caution must be used when training at higher intensities to avoid overtraining. Resisted running can improve speed and is performed by the partner applying resistance to the athlete s shoulders (Figure 2). The athlete runs against resistance while the partner backpedals and resists the forward motion. This exercise can improve, for example, the ability of a player volleying at the net who may need to accelerate to the baseline to chase an overhead lob. Table 2 lists some general speed development drills that can be performed at any level of intensity. Cone drills (Figure 3) provide more specificity in speed, quickness, and agility training. The trainer can use cone setups that closely mimic movements made in tennis. Additionally, medicine balls are extremely valuable pieces of equipment that can be used to 64 Strength and Conditioning Journal October 2001

Table 2 Speed Partner assisted Mimic a running posture by leaning forward and let-go having a partner support the front of the runner s shoulders to prevent them from falling forward. On the count, the partner lets go and steps aside while the runner breaks into a sprint. Do 3 sets of 6 8 reps with 2 3-minute rest breaks. Partner resisted Mimic a running posture as in the above exercise and runs have the runner run while the partner resists. Do 6 8 repetitions lasting about 10 yards with 2 3 minute rest breaks. Partner resisted This exercise is the same as above, but after 5 yards of run with let-go resisted running, the partner lets go and steps aside while the runner breaks into a short sprint. Partner resisted This exercise begins exactly as the above, but, when the run with let-go plus tag develop upper-body quickness, simulating movements that are sport specific. It is important to remember that when performing partner lets go, he or she turns around and sprints away in the same direction as the runner who then must try to accelerate and tag the partner. these drills the athlete must treat the medicine ball like a hot potato, catching the ball and throwing it back as quickly as possible. The Figure 3. Cone drill. ball should not spend much time in the hands of the athlete. Table 3 lists some basic quickness drills. Program Design After a thorough warm-up lasting at least 5 10 minutes, you can start the training program. Table 4 suggests a sample weekly program that utilizes 3 workout days a Table 3 Lower/Upper Body Quickness Cone drills Lateral shuffle Place 2 cones about 15 20 feet apart and stand in the middle of the cones. Shuffle laterally to the left cone and touch the top of the cone and then shuffle to the right and touch the other cone. Repeat for a total of 10 cone touches. Using the same cone setup as in the lateral shuffle, stand near the base of 1 cone and run for- ward to the other cone. Circle this cone and run backward toward the first cone. Repeat this Forward/backward running Zig-zag Medicine ball drills Chest pass Overhead throw Lateral throw pattern for 3 sets of 6 8 reps. Position 6 cones about 6 8 feet apart in the shape of a continuous letter W, and run through the cones to the outside of each cone, working on changing directions quickly. Repeat for 3 sets of 6 reps. Standing in an athletic ready posture and hold the ball close to your chest, just below the chin. In an explosive motion, throw the ball from the chest to a partner. As the partner throws the ball back, catch the ball in front of the body and throw the ball back again. Catch and throw the ball as quickly as possible. Do 3 sets of 8 12 reps with 1 2 minute rest breaks. Standing in an athletic ready posture, hold the ball with hands on opposite sides of the ball and bring it overhead to just behind the neck and throw the ball to a partner in an all out explosive motion. Do 3 sets of 8 12 reps. Standing in an athletic ready posture, hold the ball below the waist with arms straight. In a pendulum-like motion, reach to the left and explode back to the right, throwing the ball to a partner. Do 3 sets of 8 12 reps on each side of the body. October 2001 Strength and Conditioning Journal 65

Table 4 Sample Program Design Monday Agility: angle board, 3 sets; criss-cross line drill, 3 sets. Quickness: zig-zag cone drill, 3 sets; lateral shuffle, 3 sets. Wednesday Agility: line drills and forward/backward jumps, 3 sets; cycling, 3 sets. Speed: partner-assisted let-go, 3 sets; partner-resisted run with let-go, 3 sets. Quickness: medicine ball drills, overhead throw, 3 sets of 8 reps; chest pass, 3 sets 8 reps. Friday Agility: angle board, 3 sets; line drill, lateral jumps, 3 sets. Quickness: cone drills, lateral shuffle, 3 sets; forward/backward running, 3 sets; medicine ball drills, lateral throw, 3 sets of 8 reps. Karlsson. Muscle strength and speed of movement in relation to aging and muscle morphology. J. Appl. Physiol. 46:452 456. 1979. 7. National Strength and Conditioning Association. Essentials of Strength and Conditioning (2nd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2000. 8. Spiraduso, W. Physical Dimensions of Aging. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 1995. week, with all exercises accomplished in 3 to 5 sets. Agility drills usually last 10 15 seconds with a 1-minute rest between each set. Speed drill repetitions should be 6 8 per set, with rest breaks lasting 2 3 minutes, depending on how out of breath your client is. Finally, quickness drill repetitions range between 6 and 12 and rest intervals last, at most, 1 minute (4). Summary Tennis is a sport that has become very popular in the senior population. As a trainer or strength coach, one of the primary tasks is to analyze an athletic movement and duplicate it in the gym or on the tennis court by adding resistance to help strengthen the player. All exercises should progress from simple, low intensity drills to more complex, higher intensity drills. As long as each exercise is biomechanically sound and properly addresses the needs of the athlete, it will not be absolutely wrong. This will allow the senior athlete to perform at a higher percentage of their maximal capacity. Speed, quickness, and agility training is perfect for seniors because it will condition fitness aspects that are generally lost with age speed, agility and quickness. References 1. Brown, L.E., V.A. Ferrigno, and J.C. Santana, eds. Training for Speed, Agility, and Quickness. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2000. 2. Campbell, A.J., M.C. Robertson, M.N. Gardner, R.N. Norton, M.W. Tilyard, and D.M. Buchner. Randomized controlled trial of a general practice programme of home based exercise to prevent falls in elderly women. BMJ. 315:1065 1069. 1997. 3. Costello, F., and E.J. Kreis. Sports Agility. Nashville, TN: Taylor Sports Publishing, Inc., 1993. 4. Fleck, S.J., and W.J. Kraemer. Designing Resistance Training Programs (2nd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 1998. 5. Hageman, C.E., and R.C. Lehman. Stretching, strengthening, and conditioning for the competitive tennis player. Clin. Sports Med. 7(2):211 228. 1988. 6. Larson, L., G. Grimby, and J. Miller Brown Hilbert Joshua M. Miller, MS, CSCS, NSCA-CPT, received a Master s degree from Florida Atlantic University and is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Scott C. Hilbert, MS, CSCS, received a Master s degree from Florida Atlantic University. He is currently the Wellness Director at FAU s Student Wellness Center. Lee E. Brown, EdD, CSCS, *D, is Assistant Professor and Director of the Human Performance Laboratory at Arkansas State University. He also serves at the NSCA State Director for Arkansas. 66 Strength and Conditioning Journal October 2001