Happy Holidays Everyone,

In this video, Clay Thompson #2 Men’s Singles at UCLA, is demonstrating one variation of a multi-planar (multiple planes of motion) cone drill. We are in the sand, and even though we would love to be enjoying the nice sunset, we are there for a particular reason. The sand makes movement harder to accelerate and decelerate. It also makes, Clay’s legs burn which I really like.
Now, this also can be done right on the tennis court or on your driveway. Just grab two cones and set them about 10-12 feet apart. Take an athletic position with great posture. Remember to keep your shoulders back and down and your spine straight. As you near the cone, tighten up your core. This will help stabilize your kinetic chain and allow you to explode back to the other cone.

Here are the hand positions:
1. If you start to your RIGHT, your RIGHT hand will reach low to the cone and touch it. Keep your posture straight and don’t slump over to touch the cone. Go to your range of motion. You will then slide back to the other cone reaching low with your LEFT hand.
2. Continuing sliding your feet and this time as you near the cone, CROSS reach LOW with your LEFT hand. Slide back to the other cone and as you near that one CROSS reach LOW with your RIGHT hand.
3. Sliding back again, as you near the cone now HIGH reach with your RIGHT hand. And as you move back to the other cone, reach HIGH with your LEFT hand.
4. Continuing the slide (and legs should be burning!) when you near the cone CROSS reach HIGH with your LEFT hand. And as you get back to the other cone, CROSS reach HIGH with your RIGHT hand.

Repeat this 3 times more taking 30 second breaks between each set.

Enjoy the holidays and burn some calories on the court!

Jon

Happy Wednesday to you!

I wanted to pass along a fantastic exercise, or combination of back to back movements for strengthening the back of your upper legs (hamstrings) and your core. In this video, you’ll see me string together three moves, technically making this a giant set.

Now please understand that doing a giant set for a given muscle group can be considered advanced sequencing but it can be done by someone just getting started.  The key would be to do fewer reps of each move.  Ex…do 6 reps of each…where someone more advanced might do upwards of 15 reps of each.

So let’s get to it…this video will be a demonstration of the Hamstring Triple Threat

Have fun and let me know how it goes!

Adam B

Players,

Who doesn’t want to hit that bomber serve that aces your opponent? I know, I have been working on that for a long time. To be able to hit the big serve, we have to first understand the body mechanics that create power. The serve has almost nothing to do with the arm. I know you are reading that thinking this guy is an idiot. Let me explain. The serve is a full body chain reaction. When I have worked with players, for example, Clay Thompson, we discovered that a left big toe plant was the cause of a loss of power. Clay had an energy leak starting right at the foot. This translated all the way up the body and affected his service motion, thus reducing his power. So, what I wanted to give you guys is an exercise that will connect the whole body. It will teach all the parts to work together.

Here it is: The Overhead Chop
-Maker sure you perform this on two feet staggered like your serve, then progress to one foot.
-Make sure you do this left and right handed (yes, you will feel stupid) for at least 10-15 reps on each side.
-Add in weight, like a 5lb dumbbell, then progress on up. When you start to add in 10, 20lbs you will really feel it.

For my strength people: Start light and then progress up to higher weights. Be careful not to disconnect the core from the movement and make sure you follow the breathing patterns in the video. This can be a really demanding exercise if done properly!

Send us your comments!
Jon

Happy Saturday to you!

I wanted to share with you the mother of all full body exercises…The Burpee.

Now I fully understand that I may have just sent a chill down your back when heard the word Burpee because it is an exercise that is ridiculously demanding and challenging to perform well.  But when it is done properly it has been rated as the top full-body, body -weight exercise for caloric expenditure and total body conditioning, develop incredible amounts of strength, stability and stamina.

Check out the video below for demos of the two most standard versions of the Burpee…one is low-impact and the second is high-impact.

Please understand there are other versions of this move as well but I wanted to get you started.  If you are new to this exercise, I would recommend you begin with the low-impact version and develop your competence and confidence you’ll want to have before you go into the high-impact version.

Start with getting to do 10 reps and work up from there. A way to gauge your progress is to test yourself in your first week of work to see how many GOOD Reps you can complete in 60 seconds. Throw it into your workouts 2-3 times/wk and then 4-6 weeks later give it another go and see what results you get.

Have fun and let me know if you have any questions!

Here’s to you,

Adam Brewer

Players,

I have been away from my computer and actually away from the tennis court shooting videos (really getting my butt kicked) for a new functional product with Jeremy Levine. Jeremy trains and designs the fitness programs for the Navy SEALs, Green Berets, Army Rangers, and “other” top-tier Special Operation Forces.

So…that being said I am ready to get back to some tennis training.

X-patterns are one of the most important primal movements for a tennis players to master. They connect the foot to the hand and activate everything in between. Grab a light ball to start and go slowly, perfecting the movement. Perform at least 10 repetitions on each side. As you get stronger and the movement is cleaner then add weight, and then finally add speed. If you can do this movement in front of a mirror it helps to monitor your form.

And as always, send us comments.

Keep up the good work,
Jon