Explore The Curriculum

A healthy Cardio Tennis Curriculum includes:

5 – 10 minutes of Warm Up

40 – 50 minutes of cardio

      –     IN A PLAYER’S HEART RATE ZONES

      –     Check heart rates frequently

5 – 10 minutes of Cool Down

What makes a great warm up?

  1. Dynamic movement
  2. Catching/tossing skills
  3. Light hitting

Static stretching is important but should be done in the Cool Down segment

What are the keys to a great cardio segment?

      1. Getting a player’s heart rate IN their zones
        • Staying IN their zones for 30-50 minutes
        • It is Ok and can be beneficial to train above the zone for short periods
      2. Keep every player moving
        • 6-8 players per pro is the ideal number
        • This ensures the player gets the best workout plus the greatest games and drills work best with these numbers
      3. Creating the right challenge for every player
        • For both the individuals tennis ability and their fitness level/physical conditioning
      4. Measure heart rates frequently:
        • If players are wearing heart rate monitors this is very easy, all they need to do is give you a hand signal (thumbs down/below, flat hand/in, and thumbs up/above)
        • Check after the warm-up
        • Throughout the drill and game activities, almost after every activity
        • Before the cool down and at the very end
        • If doing a manual self-check, every 10 minutes

A great Cool Down includes

      1. Lighter activity to bring HR down gradually
      2. Make sure activities are structured so each one is progressively slowing down the player and their       heart rate
      3. Partner activities, mini court games, serving
      4. Static Stretching can be incorporated to maintain flexibility

Cardio Blasts or Sideline activities

This is a quick activity with the sole purpose of keeping heart rate levels in the zones. The main tool here is the agility ladder which is what turns any traditional tennis drill into a Cardio Tennis drill.

      • Improves Conditioning
      • Complements Tennis
      • This is a 15 second to 1 minute activity
      • Does not require extra equipment except for “plastics” (cones, circles, throw down lines, etc)

Cardio Blasts can also include the following:

      • Line jumps (forward/back, side to side, crisscross)
      • Cardio Jacks: a jumping jack followed by a shadow forehand, shadow backhand
      • Step or tap ups, jogging in place, high knees, butt kicks, fast feet, speed skaters, etc

What makes it Cardio Tennis?

      • Intensity
      • The coach dictates the pace of play not the consumer
      • Superb and rhythmic feeding
      • Pushing someone just outside their comfort zone and at the same time empowering them
      • Running the activity for the right amount of time
      • The proper rotations for the number of people
      • Hitting the optimal number of balls per activity

How much time per activity?

    • Warm-up:  1-3 minutes
    • Cardio Drill:  3-4 minutes
    • Cardio Game:  7-15 minutes
    • Cool down:  1-3 minutes
    • Sideline/Cardio Blast:  15 seconds to 1 minute