Pro Secrets of Cross Training:
Stage 2: Aerobic and Oncourt Day
By Pat Etcheberry
Now that you have achieved a basic fitness level your training can move to Stage 2, designed to build endurance and strength.
Here the training becomes more intense. For the first time the program adds on court conditioning and movement exercise. Again you will train a minimum of two days a week. The first day is aerobic training. In Stage 2 this also incorporates a series on court movement drills. The second day is strength or weight training. As in the first stage, you can add two or even four additional days of training per week. That is, you can add one or two extra days of aerobic and on court work, and one or two extra days of strength training. |
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Tennis specific oncourt movement drills make the training in Stage 2 more intense. |
Stage Two: Aerobic and On Court Day
For the aerobic day in Stage 2, start with the warm up exercises. Then do the mile jog at the same pace as in Stage 1, about 8-10 minutes. Now do your 200 yard strides.
In Stage 2 you should do the strides faster, two to four seconds faster than in the first three weeks. Instead of 65% you want to do them at 80-85% of full intensity. Do four to six 200 yard strides with a one minute rest in between. In every other workout in Stage 2, substitute 100 yard strides for the 200. On these alternate days, begin by doing one set of four 100 yard strides with 30 seconds in between. The intensity should be about 80-85%. |
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Now recover for two minutes and do a second set of four 100 yard strides, again with 30 second rest in between. |
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You can also do the aerobic training day on a stationary bike. Start with a 10 minute warm up at 80-100 rpm's. Now take two minutes of recovery. Now increase the level of difficulty by one to two levels compared to your work in Stage 1. Do a cycle of one minute at 120 rpm's. Then one minutes at 80 rpm's. Repeat this cycle six times to start and try to build to ten cycles over the course of stage two. |
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For an aerobic alternative, do one minute cycles on the stationary bike, alternating between 120 and 80rpms. |
On Court Training
Next add a series of tennis specific on court movement drills. They are designed to improve your movement to the ball, improve your balance, and improve your ability to recover between points.
They are designed to train you to move in the way you actually move on the court when you play matches. This type of tennis specific training is a key in the work I have done over the years with players from Jennifer Capriati, to Pete Sampras, to Justine Henin-Hardenne.
The work/rest ratio to start will be 30 seconds of work and then 30 seconds of rest. This simulates the energy expenditure in points.
On the first day of on court training, do a test using three exercises to see where you are with your tennis fitness at the beginning of stage two.
The First Step Test The first exercise is the first step test. See how many lines you can touch in 30 second. You will take one step to the side, one step to the other side. In addition to working on your quickness, it shows how well you can bend from your knees and how explosive and how quick you are on the court. A top ten player can do 35 or 36 repetitions in 30 seconds. Do three sets, 30 seconds of work, followed by 30 seconds of rest. The scores will tell you whether you need to work more on your speed or your conditioning. If your score is high but drops in the second and third set, you need more conditioning. If your score is lower but stays about the same over the sets then you need to work on speed. |
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How many lines can you touch in 30 seconds? |
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Groundstroke Test The second test exercise is ground stroke movement. You are in the middle of the court, the drill is to run to the far cone, hit a groundstroke, and slide step back. Do this for 30 seconds, rest for 30 seconds. Top world class players can do 11-12 cones in 30 seconds. Again do 3 sets. Do the test for both the forehand and the backhand: 3 sets of 30 seconds with 30 seconds rest in between. |
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| Run to the cone, hit the groundstroke and slide step back to the middle. | |
Jumping the Band The third test exercise is jumping the band. The rubber band is 18 inches high. The bands are available at sporting good stores. The test is to see how many times you can jump the band in 20 seconds. Top pro players can do 40 or more in 20 seconds. If you're over 40 or under 12 the band should be 15 inches. If you have problems with your knees omit this drill from your workout program. Record your scores and keep track of your progress as the training progresses. Follow the oncourt workout with a three to five minute cool down job or a bike ride and then do the stretch. |
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The duration of the band jumping test should be 20 seconds. |
