Once you get started momentum will keep you moving down the right path.

Once people find out that I am a trainer I get asked “What do I need to do to start working out”. My answer to them is always the same no matter who they are; “Just get started and start off easy”. The biggest issue that I see with this question is that people expect to go from doing nothing to doing a hardcore workout routine.   If you go in with that mindset you are more likely to fail because either your mind or your body will sabotage you.  In your mind you know that you cannot do it and you really do not want to go through the pain. So instead of starting you talk yourself into not doing anything.  Then when you finally go in, you work out so hard that you cannot move for the next few days and don’t go back in. Either way you are not helping yourself to start a program.

Weigh yourself before you get started so that you have a point A. That is the only way you will know if you are moving towards Point B (Your Goal)

As I said before you need to start off easy. That could mean just going out for a 10 minute walk everyday or doing a body weight routine at home for 10 – 20 minutes. Now even with this your body will be sore, but it will not be to a point where you cannot do anything else.  With this lower intensity your body will get acclimated to the stress of working out gradually and allow for consistent work.  During this time your body will produce endorphins that will make you start to crave the workouts and be able to add more intensity and time to what you are doing.  After that you will look for ways to get your workout in and that’s when the real results start coming.

For some social proof of this starting easy principle just take a look at sports. All sports have a pre-season period before the actual games begin.  This is the time that the players take to get used to the rigors of their sport.  You will never see a season start off with the playoff or championship games.  It takes some time to get to that point.  So, to sum it all up, to get yourself working out consistently you need to start today and start off with something easy.

The first step is the hardest. The rest of the steps are downhill after that.

Whether you think you can or think you can’t. You are right

Last fitness post I talked about the 5 most common problems that I see with recreational tennis in Atlanta. Now let me clear something up for you. When I say recreational I mean not on the professional or even high amateur circuits.  But this does not mean that the players are not out there playing for real.  They are deep into tournaments and titles and awards all the same.  Maybe that is the reason that they go through all of these problems in the first place.  Who knows!!

I want to take the opportunity in this article to tell you my solutions to these problems. I know that most of the competitive athletes that read this will just ignore it, but I guarantee if you follow some if not all of these solutions you can end up playing better than you ever had.

1. Playing too much

Solution: Just say NO

As I said last time, this may be the most difficult problem of the group to deal with.  The actual solution is very simple, but the issues come from the action steps to complete it.  Everyone believes that they owe it to neighbors, friends, family members and past teammates that they play when asked.  But this is not the case.  You owe it to your body (and family) to make smarter decisions when it comes to physical activities. You must plan out your year and the different leagues that you could possibly join so that you allow yourself more than one day off each week.  Make sure that different leagues don’t overlap, especially if one is during playoff time.  And lastly, give yourself a few weeks after seasons to just rest and get away from the game.

1. Not having playing condition equipment

Solution: Check regularly and replace when necessary

This solution goes a lot deeper than just the aesthetics of the equipment.  It is not if your shoes or racket (or court for that matter) look bad, it is about the playing condition.  Shoes can look and be practically new and still have tread peeling back.  Strings on rackets get loose with more usage and yes practice does count towards that usage.  Take the time weekly to check your equipment for faults, inconsistencies and general wear and tear. Once you notice something take note of it and watch it from then on.  Once it gets bad, replace it.  Remember that with the amount of time you spend on the court the faster your equipment will wear down.

1. Not properly warming up before matches

Solution: Dynamic warm-up

You cannot wait until lit is time for you to get on the court to start getting ready to play.  I know it is “important” to hit the ball back and forth with your opponent before the match, but the real warm-up starts before that.  A proper warm-up consists of (1) increasing the core temperature.  If you are not sweating before a match, you are not ready. (2) Increasing blood flow to your muscles. If you still feel stiff when you start, you are not ready. (3) Increasing joint range of motion. If it hurts to take a full swing when you start playing, you are not ready. Get the strategic advantage over your opponent in the first set and be ready to play when you hit the court.  To learn more about proper warm-up techniques contact me at Julian@sfxfitness.com and find out what sports performance training can do for you.

1. Playing in adverse conditions

Solution: Don’t risk your health

This solution is more about common sense than it is about techniques.  The big issue with this is that you need to cooperation of your opponents and other teammates.  I know that each league has its own general rules when it comes to playing conditions and outside of that they leave it up to the competitors. But be aware and smart when the temperature gets too cold or too hot. Ask yourself is what you are doing worth the chance of frost bite or heat stroke.  I know these are extremes, but sometime so are the conditions that you are getting out in to play.  If you have to play take the necessary precautions to make sure that you cannot get hurt in the process.

1. Not taking care of the body after playing

Solution: Mimic the pros

This is the simplest of the solutions, but again hard to actually apply. The biggest thing that you need to do is ICE. You have gone through a long match of swinging your racket, which uses your shoulders.  This repetitive movement leads to something in the sports performance training world called overuse injuries. You don’t get hurt by doing any specific thing, but after a while you start to notice a nagging pain. Icing is the first line of defense against these types of injuries. Ice reduces the inflammation in the area that it is applied to. It allows the body to be as close to normal as possible before the start of the next set of matches. The tough part about icing is taking the time to get the ice set up and put on.  Plus most ice packs are too hard and do not form around the area you need it to.  (For information on making good ice packs go to Homemade “forming” ice pack). Once you start taking care of your body after you will see the results in your future matches.

Implementing some of not all of these simple solutions will both improve your tennis game and more importantly keep you a bit more injury free.  Of course we all have the possibility of impact injuries.  There is really nothing that you can do to prevent those.  But allowing the body not to break down gradually will keep you in the game longer and may actually help you hold off any impact injuries.  For more information about the sports performance training or general fitness training please visit www.sfxfitness.com and register for your free trial.