General Guidelines

Program progression is as much an art as it is a science. Training programs must compliment tennis performance. Usually, regarding volume, less is more, and pertaining to load, more is better. The suggested percentages increases are just that, suggestions, some may progress faster, others slower. You're their trainer. You make the call as to how much is enough, or not enough.

Good Technique Is Precise Neromuscular Action

Skill work is always top priority, which makes power conditioning secondary. As such, it's best to prescribe strength training afer the day's tennis play and court drills, otherwise, say after a strength training session, your clients' may be too fatigued to play or practice. Practicing tennis while fatigued establishes faulty movement patterns and ambiguous neural pathways. It's counter productive. Only perfect practice allows perfect movement execution. Arrange your clients' off-court wokouts so the most fatiguing exercise elements fall at the end of their training sessions. Perform plyometrics close to the top of the day's training itinerary (following the warmup), while the CNS is still fresh.

Rest intervals are crucial to your training success, and must be taken as seriously as any work phase of your sessions. Monitor session recovery not just by timing breaks between sets, but also by your clients' apparent energy level and disposition during each microcycle spent with you. Recovery rates are different from person to person, between cycles, however, a 48 hour rest between exhaustive bouts of exercise, especially resistance training is usually needed to fully replenish spent glycogen stores, locally in the muscles and more importantly in the liver. The nervous system, too fatigues with stress, and requires adequate training breaks. When exercise form falters via lack of concentration or fatigue or when training speed slows, end that set immediately. Rest. Then procede.

Appropriate loads ensure the greatest athletic progress. To accurately prescribe correct workout poundage, measure1RM before the start of each new mesocycle to determine precisely your clients' physical and mental training capabilities. If, for whatever reason you or your clients are uncomfortable with performing one, all out effort to ascertain current, absolute strength, then performing a lower repetition maximum and extrapolating 1RM is acceptable.

Use The Following For Your Calculations:

multiply clients' 2RM by 1.05 to estimate their 1 RM, or divide their 1RM by 1.05 to find their 95% training load.

Do the same with their

4RM (90%) and 1.11;

6RM (85%) and 1.18;

8RM (80%) and 1.25;

10RM (75%)and 1.33;

12RM (70%) and 1.43;

15RM (65%) and 1.54;

and, for supramaximal loads multiply 1RM by target training percentage, for instance 250 lbs. x 1.2 equates to a 20% increase in load, or 300lbs..

FYI

Keep in mind that this is only one example of a power, qucikness and agility program. (Naturally, I believe it's one of the better ones, but there are lots of variations.) Try this one, experiment with others, and then, ultimately, create your own versions. Check out the resources listed below for information on periodization and power training.

Also, refer your client to the appropriate specialist if he or she experinces any discomfort or has questions that go beyond the scope of your expertise. Tennis elbow, for example can certainly be remedied, in many cases with a few simple exercises, but your clients' physician needs to diagnose and prescribe treatment for health, legal and ethical reasons.

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