| > | | | | muscled Nadal, but you still won't be much nearer to |
| Learn how to effectively train yourself to produce | | | | producing his level of power ' that's assuming you |
| maximum results on the court! | | | | haven't injured your back in along the way! |
| If you want to emulate the powerfully impressive style | | | | Let's examine the example of the 200+ kg squat. |
| of play by world No.2 Rafael Nadal, try training on one | | | | To work on the squat in the traditional way means at |
| leg. | | | | best the player loads up the bar to the point where |
| Top tennis trainer Paul Gold explains | | | | they need a 'spotter' (someone who provides support) |
| Who wouldn't want to be like Rafael Nadal? His | | | | for safety reasons. Alternatively, they use a cage that |
| muscle-bound physique and awesome talent with a | | | | is safer but because the bar is fixed it does not allow |
| tennis racket means he looks the part and plays the | | | | them to work in a multi-plane environment ' which after |
| part of a player ranked No.2 in the world. | | | | all is how the game of tennis is played. |
| It's hardly surprising therefore that many players are | | | | One of the biggest problems with both of these |
| hitting the gym in a quest to emulate their Spanish hero. | | | | scenarios is that the excessive loading that occurs to |
| Modern tennis is, after all, all about power ' power of | | | | the spine and joints on an ongoing basis impacts on |
| movement, power of shot and power of thought ' and | | | | the risk/safety ratio over time. The greater the loads, |
| Nadal is an undisputed world-class powerhouse in all of | | | | the greater are the chances of injury. Often players |
| these departments. | | | | get to the point of 'failure' because of the physical and |
| It's clear that the stronger you are the greater the | | | | mental pressure of the bar on their backs rather than |
| intensity at which you can perform and the less risk | | | | because of fatigue in the legs. |
| you face of injury. But can you be too strong? | | | | There is no doubt that for a player to improve strength |
| Could the new gym rats who want to look like and | | | | they must train at intensities high enough to elicit a |
| play like Nadal be doing themselves more harm than | | | | strength response (the principle of overload), but there |
| good? | | | | is a better way to increase muscular loading AND |
| There is no question that strength without skill or even | | | | nervous system loading ' thus improving core stability |
| good skill levels with low strength will produce less than | | | | and balance in the process and lessening the strain on |
| optimum results. But is it really that important for a | | | | the spine and joints. |
| tennis player to be able to perform a traditional gym | | | | This can be achieved using single-leg exercises ' |
| exercise like a squat using a 200+kg bar? | | | | replicating the game of tennis that's played |
| It could be argued that a squat of 100kg along with | | | | predominantly on a single-leg basis anyway. |
| great stability, power, body control and skill is a far | | | | You can still do maximal lifts just as you would with |
| better combination. | | | | traditional double-leg squatting, but without the |
| This begs the question, "Why not have all these and a | | | | excessive loads on the spine and joints. |
| 200+kg squat?" Although this sounds like the ideal | | | | Note - You can also use this type of training on the |
| solution, discussion of this nature is totally misguided. | | | | upper body with the use of dumbbells. |
| The main problem is that when it comes to weight | | | | This kind of training means that unlike traditional weight |
| training, players (and their coaches and fitness trainers) | | | | training you are working more muscles ' the primary |
| are often guilty of using old, non-sports-specific | | | | muscles (big muscle groups) as well as the smaller |
| bodybuilding principles that focus on building size in | | | | stabilisers. |
| isolated muscles through use of exercises that | | | | Furthermore, this kind of strength training also provides |
| operate in only one plane of motion. | | | | an added skill component to your physical training that |
| In tennis you need to be able to convert muscle | | | | will reap rewards when transferred to the court. |
| strength into explosive power very quickly. Although | | | | As far as Nadal is concerned, he is clearly a very |
| traditional weight training will make you stronger, it | | | | talented player who was born with great tennis skills, |
| won't necessarily enable you to convert that strength | | | | which he has honed over the years. |
| into power quick enough for maximum tennis | | | | His physique and the physicality of his style of play |
| performance. | | | | only go to enhance his considerable racket skills, |
| Let's face it, in a multi-skilled sport like tennis, the | | | | without which he would not be the same player. |
| objective is to improve sport performance and reduce | | | | Try incorporating some single-leg and single-arm |
| injury potential, not build entrants for bodybuilding | | | | exercises to help maximise your tennis performance |
| competitions! | | | | while staying injury-free. |
| You may possibly start to look a bit like the heavily | | | | |