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Pro Secrets of Cross Training:
Stage 1 - Weight Training, Upper Body
Pat Etcheberry
Lat Pull Downs
Use a narrow grip to strengthen the muscles that slow your racquet
down after overheads, serves, and forehands.
Sit down. Now lean back and bring the weight to your chest. This
way the lat pull down strengthens the muscles in the upper part of
your back.
The stronger these muscles are, the more they take stress away from
the shoulder and prevent rotator cuff injuries. |
Pullovers
Pullovers simulate the motion of the serve and build strength in
the triceps and lats.
Start with one and build to three sets. Again start with 12 reps
and build to 12-15 reps. Don't do too much weight.
Keep the form correct and don't strain. Lead with your elbows. Get
a good stretch. This is an excellent exercise to improve your serve.
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 Triceps
Pull Down
A second key triceps exercise. Start with one set of 12 reps and
build to three sets of 12-15.
You want to make sure you strengthen the back of your arms, your
triceps are the most important muscles for this, very important for
your serve and your backhand.
By using a towel, you work on developing your grip at the same
time. Make sure the elbows stay in front of you against your ribs and
the only thing that moves is from elbows down. |
The Grip
This is a grip developer. Using it builds strength in the forearms.
You can do the same exercise using a weight on a rope.
Get as much separation with your hands as possible. That will
strengthen your grip and your forearm. It also helps you prevent
tennis elbow.
Start with 1 and work up to 3 sets, 12-15 repetitions. |
 Back
Hyperextensions
Strengthening the lower back is very important for tennis due to
the repeated trunk rotation on the ground strokes and the serve.
These are hyperextensions for the lower back. Start with one set
and build to three.
Start with 12 reps and build to a maximum of 15. |
 Sit
Ups
Abdominal strength is vital in serving and in generating power on
ground strokes.
Again start with one set of 12-15 repetitions and build up to three
sets by the fifth or sixth workout and the completion of stage one.
Lead with your chest, not your elbows. That way you isolate the
stomach.
Having your knees up in the air lessons the strain on your lower
back. |
Next, we’ll add on court movement exercises as we move on to Stage 2 in
the training program.
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Cross Training
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 Pat Etcheberry is one of the premier trainers in professional tennis. A
former Olympic athlete, his clients have included dozens of highly ranked
pro players, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Pete Sampras, Jennifer Capriati, and
Justine Henin-hardenne.
Etcheberry Sports Performance is based at Saddlebrook Resort outside of
Wesley Chapple, Florida. For information regarding training programs, call
(813) 973-1111. |
