For those who have not been to Florida in the summer or who don’t know what it’s like to play down here, I need to put tennis exhaustion into context. The conditions in Florida in the summer months are very difficult to handle. After just 5-10 minutes of intense tennis, the humidity and heat will leave you drenched. Any long rally will leave you breathless. When you finish an hour of intense tennis, you will feel like you’ve played for 5 hours. I like the conditions and enjoy training when the humidity and heat are at their worst. I didn’t say I do well 😂. I often push myself to the limit of training with guys more than half my age, and any long rally requires extended recovery times. But I always feel good afterward and want to do it again the next day. It's interesting that once winter arrives and the temperature goes down, I don’t feel exhaustion at anywhere near the same level as in the summer. So, my takeaway is that training in Florida under rough conditions and getting your body accustomed to it is good.
Central Florida here, as Gurney would say... "It is BRUTAL!!!" When I first visited Florida, flew in out of state from the DC area. When I left the airplane and walked down the ramp, the sensation of breathing is hard to describe. The humidity is so high, it makes the air thick. You know that scene from the Abyss when they went to that pink breathing fluid, it's like that. Heatstroke is a real danger as well, gotta be sure to drink plenty of fluids. There is a reason Gatorade was invented down here. Also summer is basically about 9 months of the year these days...
Totally agree. For me (a 56 year old, female tennis player since I was 15) it can be very dangerous to play matches in the summer here in Florida. I really listen to my body. Take it slow and drink lots of water. It is nearly impossible to stay hydrated but I get close. Tennis matches and training in the winter months are a lot more enjoyable for me. With Tennis it’s all about macro adjustments and listening to your body so you can still go out and have fun at any age.
Thank you for this, I kind of know about this but when you explain it precisely, it all makes sense. You don't see much of this in other tennis youtube videos! Thanks again!
A larger body mass acquired through weightlifting requires more oxygen to sustain itself (i.e. just to exist without doing anything else). This is on top of needing more oxygen to move the body, since it weighs more. But bodybuilding does not significantly increase lung capacity. So a "larger" athlete is depleting their oxygen reserves much quicker whilst being limited by the lung capacity they would have in their "natural," smaller size. This is why it is rare to see bodybuilders competing at the highest level in sports such as tennis and soccer, where cardio is more relevant than body strength.
Tennis is simply a tough cardio exercise. I kinda think that no matter what sport you come from, tennis will drain you. This guy is getting better and better with each session. Very impressive😊
At 70 with disabilities, medical issues, permanent injuries and plain old fat; I am in a lot better physical condition than that youngster.😂 As a former personal trainer, boxing coach-trainer, basketball skills coach and trainer; tennis instructor teacher: I think the drills you ran on him, should be done without the rac, and he should be doing laps around the court, an alternate the other direction. The drills with the rac in my opinion; should be done to work on skill and technique. After warming up by doing cardio exercises; I had clients do a good amount of stretching too. But hey, everybody do what they do, ain't mad at cha..
Fantastic video exactly what I needed as I'm looking at improving on my footwork and fitness over the winter months here in the UK. I've been playing social doubles with club members weekly for 2hrs at a time for over the last 4 years and never struggled with my fitness. However after starting some group coaching sessions this year I quickly realised that playing with some intensity for an hour and I'm absolutely whacked and breathing out of my backside :)
This video is perfect timing for me. I recently decided to play my first ever tennis tournament next July and I've identified tennis fitness as a deficiency, especially if I have to play two sets of 10 or 12 games each in the sun. I knew I needed to do something but was unsure how to approach it. This really fits the bill. And nice to know I'm not the only one with this challenge. Thank you very much, Nick!
Pushers are also in great shape. They're used to running all day long. Their level of fitness is like that of a marathon runner because all they do is run down balls and the harder you hit, the less they actually do. They just block the ball back and let you do all the work. They are like judo masters. They leverage your own pace against you. You have to take away that weapon by putting them in a position to play offense which they actually don't like. Lots of short slices that land deep in the service box will bring them forward or "poor drop shots" and then they'll be forced to try to put the ball away. Since they won't know how to do that, they'll try to re-drop or hit a slice into the corners. Then you have an opportunity to pass them.
Great lessons Nik. I find that learning to breathe properly like exhaling as you swing helps with exhaustion. Sometimes during intense rallies I realize I forgot to breathe!
Hey Nik, I used to train and compete in Kick-Boxing at the national level, so when I took up tennis, I reckoned, I would have an advantage fitness wise even over experienced rec players, but I found out, that it was not so. I think one important point is efficiency of movement, which You acquire at some point in every sport. It takes time to get there. So I would argue, that a very fit tennis player would also struggle to withstand 3 rounds of a kick boxing fight, but with time they would learn to move more efficiently and use their tennis fitness to their advantage. Regardles, tennis without a doubt is in the top 5 of sports when it comes to the intensity, party also due to the constant focus You need and the unpredictable length of rallies and matches. In kick boxing You can prepare for 3 rounds of 3 minutes and 1 minute rest in between, but with tennis you never know, how long You will have to play, so that is sth hard to prepare for. Great video as always, thanks for Your content!
Enjoyed this, will try and add some of this to my practice routines. Particularly the back to back high intensity efforts, with 20 sec rests in between. This rings true to me as to how points are played out.
A friend who is an avid route bike enthusiast, with multiple amateur trophies, came to have tennis classes, and he felt the difference right away in terms of strength and body condition. Specific exercises for each sport makes a huge difference,
Great video on conditioning - I have two problems: I hold my breath when hitting shots which tires me faster. I also have same troubles as this athlete. It would be great to get more videos on this - there's gotta be some exercises we can do alone without a partner that can build this tennis specific fitness. It's really hard to build this fitness during partner-practice or match play alone.
When you play regular tennis you don't realise how fit you've gotten. I remember coming back on court after 3-4 months off in that first covid lockdown 2020. My legs were completely gone and so sore the next day.
For a guy like that in the humidity this is extremely exhausting and takes repetition and experience to build the specific stamina. There is a reason tennis pros are built a certain way on average. Great session. Helps his technique too, as you can’t muscle the ball. He is doing well!
Tennis is simply a tough cardio exercise and it drains you no matter what sport you come from. This guy is making a fine progress with each session. Very impressive😉
This is very interesting. I'm trying to work on my fitness on the off season. I don't really have access to a court over the winter, but I do have access to a gymnasium and can mimic some of the dry drills. How do you feel about doing a couple of these drills after weightlifting session?
Oh I can relate to this, you have to use your legs so much more against a pusher and differently as well to deal with balls with little pac eon them.. The leg / hip dive happens more slowly and its substantially harder then when done quickly as you need to have really good core strength to hold that movement longer.
Serves can b exhausting too. After this video i think a serve drill that can b added could b 12 first serves deuce side, 20 sec break, 12 first serves ad side.
@IntuitiveTennis Can you please do an analysis on Carlos' challenges of playing on fast courts? Some are saying that he does not play well indoors but that's not true as he showed how explosive he can be indoors at the Laver Cup. He clearly expressed his frustrations of the courts at the Rolex Paris masters. So would be great to get your feedback. Thanks!
To increase my tennis fitness I had to reduce my muscle bulk. My strength / resistance training was then focussed on building muscle endurance and explosiveness, and cardio was focussed on tennis speed and endurance. Bodybuilding was killing my tennis game.
Any chance you create a Tennis Camp for 4 to 5 students for 2 - 3 days. I would participate. Live too far, come down for privates. And i hate hot weather. 😂
I play tennis 4 times a week including a tennis aerobics class so thought I was in decent shape. Last week I went back to judo after 15 years and was exhausted....Nick is probably right being fit for one sport might not translate to another.
Racket weight can also matter. I was getting tired after an hour with a 310gr unstring racket... after I switched to wilson blade 98s which is 295gr unstring, I started to play 2 hours easily... I wouldn't believe 15 gr could make a difference and most people also didn't believe me. ... By the way this video proves how exceptional player Stan Wawrinka is... That guy is 183cm and 81 kg! (For instance Novak Djokovic is 188cm to 77kg or Carlos Alcaraz is 183cm to 73kg!) No matter, Wawrinka is not that fast and not very consistent in his tennis career.
Brother Raymond, I too enjoy body building AND tennis. However there’s a point in your tennis development (which it appears like you’ve reached) where body building becomes a limiting factor in your ability to improve further at tennis. Hate to say it, but you gotta sacrifice some gains if you want to reach new heights in tennis. I too have tried my best to have my cake and eat it! But now I’m working towards 4.5 , I have to sacrifice some lifting volume and mass to maximize my tennis mobility, endurance while minimizing injury risk. Back to a bro spilt! Thanks for the video fellas!!
I would add one more important thing. Breathing. Especially on rec level ppl tend to forget proper breathing during points. That makes them exhausted much faster. Reminding myself and a conscious sharp breath out during every shot helped me a lot to maintain my energy
For me the typical problem is not the technique, actually not the motivation or concentration. But if you move badly, you hit the balls badly and you get upset about it (me too) and then your concentration is gone. The biggest lever I see in myself is actually endurance and agility on the court / while hitting. But simply going for a run only helps to a limited extent. I heard it would be more beneficial if you do 20-20 runs. So sprint for 20 seconds, then walk for 20 seconds, repeat as long as you can.
Funny to watch, especially the overheads, which let explode your stomach-muscles, because you are not used to this excercises, same, when you do only an hour of 150-250 serves in a row. All this remembers me to my training-sessons in my youth, 40 years ago with our trainer,, which was an retired bundesliga-player, who got us 3 teenagers killed after 45 min. although I came from playing highest league in football with high condition-levels...
There’s a reason why top players like Swiatek often train with tape over their mouths. Sustaining your intensity level over a long match requires high levels of aerobic and anaerobic fitness.
Good players are always tired because the body is recovering during downtime and maximize in play time. The tiredness is not just from muscle but from joints.
If Shimir still playing sets he will be ahead of mentality winning. But once this guy starts getting back to his groove he can pull through. He just need to keep working on footworks.
True to an extent but also depends on the context. For a pro, yes. For a rec player tennis and bodybuilding can be complimentary in the sense of maintaining a more capable human. I personally prefer to keep my gym time minimal and focused on strength and explosiveness but if someone loves gettin’ swole absolutely no reason they can’t also play high level rec tennis. Yeah, they will be leaving some potential on the table but who cares. Not getting paid to do it so do what you love
Not true for most players. It is only true if you aspire to become an athlete at the top of the game. The couch potato’s favorite activity is way less compatible with tennis…
![30 ชั่วโมงคนเดียว บนรถไฟชั้น 3 โซเวียต [Around The World Ep. 2]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/MlE9boAVqDA/mqdefault.jpg)
For those who have not been to Florida in the summer or who don’t know what it’s like to play down here, I need to put tennis exhaustion into context. The conditions in Florida in the summer months are very difficult to handle. After just 5-10 minutes of intense tennis, the humidity and heat will leave you drenched. Any long rally will leave you breathless. When you finish an hour of intense tennis, you will feel like you’ve played for 5 hours.
I like the conditions and enjoy training when the humidity and heat are at their worst. I didn’t say I do well 😂.
I often push myself to the limit of training with guys more than half my age, and any long rally requires extended recovery times. But I always feel good afterward and want to do it again the next day.
It's interesting that once winter arrives and the temperature goes down, I don’t feel exhaustion at anywhere near the same level as in the summer.
So, my takeaway is that training in Florida under rough conditions and getting your body accustomed to it is good.
Central Florida here, as Gurney would say... "It is BRUTAL!!!"
When I first visited Florida, flew in out of state from the DC area. When I left the airplane and walked down the ramp, the sensation of breathing is hard to describe. The humidity is so high, it makes the air thick. You know that scene from the Abyss when they went to that pink breathing fluid, it's like that.
Heatstroke is a real danger as well, gotta be sure to drink plenty of fluids. There is a reason Gatorade was invented down here.
Also summer is basically about 9 months of the year these days...
Totally agree. For me (a 56 year old, female tennis player since I was 15) it can be very dangerous to play matches in the summer here in Florida. I really listen to my body. Take it slow and drink lots of water. It is nearly impossible to stay hydrated but I get close. Tennis matches and training in the winter months are a lot more enjoyable for me. With Tennis it’s all about macro adjustments and listening to your body so you can still go out and have fun at any age.
The dry heat is healthier and less taxing. Have you ever trained around Vegas or Indian Wells?
Thank you for this, I kind of know about this but when you explain it precisely, it all makes sense. You don't see much of this in other tennis youtube videos! Thanks again!
Appreciate it 🙏
A larger body mass acquired through weightlifting requires more oxygen to sustain itself (i.e. just to exist without doing anything else). This is on top of needing more oxygen to move the body, since it weighs more. But bodybuilding does not significantly increase lung capacity. So a "larger" athlete is depleting their oxygen reserves much quicker whilst being limited by the lung capacity they would have in their "natural," smaller size. This is why it is rare to see bodybuilders competing at the highest level in sports such as tennis and soccer, where cardio is more relevant than body strength.
Tennis is simply a tough cardio exercise. I kinda think that no matter what sport you come from, tennis will drain you.
This guy is getting better and better with each session. Very impressive😊
Interesting
At 70 with disabilities, medical issues, permanent injuries and plain old fat; I am in a lot better physical condition than that youngster.😂 As a former personal trainer, boxing coach-trainer, basketball skills coach and trainer; tennis instructor teacher: I think the drills you ran on him, should be done without the rac, and he should be doing laps around the court, an alternate the other direction. The drills with the rac in my opinion; should be done to work on skill and technique. After warming up by doing cardio exercises; I had clients do a good amount of stretching too. But hey, everybody do what they do, ain't mad at cha..
Also true for a larger body mass acquired eating pizza and cake.
Fantastic video exactly what I needed as I'm looking at improving on my footwork and fitness over the winter months here in the UK. I've been playing social doubles with club members weekly for 2hrs at a time for over the last 4 years and never struggled with my fitness. However after starting some group coaching sessions this year I quickly realised that playing with some intensity for an hour and I'm absolutely whacked and breathing out of my backside :)
This video is perfect timing for me. I recently decided to play my first ever tennis tournament next July and I've identified tennis fitness as a deficiency, especially if I have to play two sets of 10 or 12 games each in the sun. I knew I needed to do something but was unsure how to approach it. This really fits the bill. And nice to know I'm not the only one with this challenge. Thank you very much, Nick!
04:56 - The exercises
06:52 - Mental connected to the physical, dictating is less exhausting than defending
10:32 - How to save and not save energy
🙏
Nick, you are such a good communicator, great job
Thank you 🙏
Pushers are also in great shape. They're used to running all day long. Their level of fitness is like that of a marathon runner because all they do is run down balls and the harder you hit, the less they actually do. They just block the ball back and let you do all the work. They are like judo masters. They leverage your own pace against you. You have to take away that weapon by putting them in a position to play offense which they actually don't like. Lots of short slices that land deep in the service box will bring them forward or "poor drop shots" and then they'll be forced to try to put the ball away. Since they won't know how to do that, they'll try to re-drop or hit a slice into the corners. Then you have an opportunity to pass them.
They do run, but they don’t use the body to generate the power so they’re not tired as much
Great lessons Nik. I find that learning to breathe properly like exhaling as you swing helps with exhaustion. Sometimes during intense rallies I realize I forgot to breathe!
Breathing is key th-cam.com/video/mjUL6HP1uHA/w-d-xo.htmlsi=krBQXc-zMSkn658s
Hey Nik, I used to train and compete in Kick-Boxing at the national level, so when I took up tennis, I reckoned, I would have an advantage fitness wise even over experienced rec players, but I found out, that it was not so. I think one important point is efficiency of movement, which You acquire at some point in every sport. It takes time to get there. So I would argue, that a very fit tennis player would also struggle to withstand 3 rounds of a kick boxing fight, but with time they would learn to move more efficiently and use their tennis fitness to their advantage. Regardles, tennis without a doubt is in the top 5 of sports when it comes to the intensity, party also due to the constant focus You need and the unpredictable length of rallies and matches. In kick boxing You can prepare for 3 rounds of 3 minutes and 1 minute rest in between, but with tennis you never know, how long You will have to play, so that is sth hard to prepare for. Great video as always, thanks for Your content!
Interesting comparison 🔥
Enjoyed this, will try and add some of this to my practice routines. Particularly the back to back high intensity efforts, with 20 sec rests in between. This rings true to me as to how points are played out.
🙌
A friend who is an avid route bike enthusiast, with multiple amateur trophies, came to have tennis classes, and he felt the difference right away in terms of strength and body condition. Specific exercises for each sport makes a huge difference,
💯
Thanks Nik and Bremen. I'm volunteer coaching my sons highschool team. I will run these drills with the boys in the Spring. 🥵
Awesome 🔥🙌💯
Fantastic video, Nik. This is so good …. I can’t wait to include this in my tennis fitness regime. I have been waiting for such a video. Thank you.
Awesome 🙌
Talked about this exact thing with my coach last week. So important to improving your game.
💯
Great video on conditioning - I have two problems:
I hold my breath when hitting shots which tires me faster.
I also have same troubles as this athlete.
It would be great to get more videos on this - there's gotta be some exercises we can do alone without a partner that can build this tennis specific fitness. It's really hard to build this fitness during partner-practice or match play alone.
Another dedicated tennis student heeding to smart tennis coaching. 👍🎾🙏
Thank you
This is absolutely awesome! Thanks guys
When you play regular tennis you don't realise how fit you've gotten. I remember coming back on court after 3-4 months off in that first covid lockdown 2020. My legs were completely gone and so sore the next day.
💯
Thank you, will do with my son. Can you also show some exercise to do at home please.
For a guy like that in the humidity this is extremely exhausting and takes repetition and experience to build the specific stamina. There is a reason tennis pros are built a certain way on average. Great session. Helps his technique too, as you can’t muscle the ball. He is doing well!
Tennis is simply a tough cardio exercise and it drains you no matter what sport you come from.
This guy is making a fine progress with each session.
Very impressive😉
Thank you Milan
pretty sure i have seen this guy maybe once or twice before but wow has he ever improved thanks for the videos nik
Yeah, he's getting better. Glad you're liking the videos!
Fantastic video on a crucial topic
Thanks! 🙏
This is very interesting. I'm trying to work on my fitness on the off season. I don't really have access to a court over the winter, but I do have access to a gymnasium and can mimic some of the dry drills. How do you feel about doing a couple of these drills after weightlifting session?
Oh I can relate to this, you have to use your legs so much more against a pusher and differently as well to deal with balls with little pac eon them.. The leg / hip dive happens more slowly and its substantially harder then when done quickly as you need to have really good core strength to hold that movement longer.
Serves can b exhausting too. After this video i think a serve drill that can b added could b 12 first serves deuce side, 20 sec break, 12 first serves ad side.
Serves in isolation should not be exhausting
If they are, you are doing something wrong
This is a great video first time seeing this type of content for too long looking for exersice to have stamina🎉
🙌
@IntuitiveTennis Can you please do an analysis on Carlos' challenges of playing on fast courts? Some are saying that he does not play well indoors but that's not true as he showed how explosive he can be indoors at the Laver Cup. He clearly expressed his frustrations of the courts at the Rolex Paris masters. So would be great to get your feedback. Thanks!
I’ll talk about it Monday
To increase my tennis fitness I had to reduce my muscle bulk. My strength / resistance training was then focussed on building muscle endurance and explosiveness, and cardio was focussed on tennis speed and endurance. Bodybuilding was killing my tennis game.
Any chance you create a Tennis Camp for 4 to 5 students for 2 - 3 days. I would participate. Live too far, come down for privates. And i hate hot weather. 😂
I play tennis 4 times a week including a tennis aerobics class so thought I was in decent shape. Last week I went back to judo after 15 years and was exhausted....Nick is probably right being fit for one sport might not translate to another.
Racket weight can also matter. I was getting tired after an hour with a 310gr unstring racket... after I switched to wilson blade 98s which is 295gr unstring, I started to play 2 hours easily... I wouldn't believe 15 gr could make a difference and most people also didn't believe me.
...
By the way this video proves how exceptional player Stan Wawrinka is... That guy is 183cm and 81 kg! (For instance Novak Djokovic is 188cm to 77kg or Carlos Alcaraz is 183cm to 73kg!)
No matter, Wawrinka is not that fast and not very consistent in his tennis career.
Racquet matters for sure under exhaustion
th-cam.com/video/jhasWhgzh8s/w-d-xo.htmlsi=XqdsB4Gtt4j7-pb1
Brother Raymond, I too enjoy body building AND tennis. However there’s a point in your tennis development (which it appears like you’ve reached) where body building becomes a limiting factor in your ability to improve further at tennis. Hate to say it, but you gotta sacrifice some gains if you want to reach new heights in tennis. I too have tried my best to have my cake and eat it! But now I’m working towards 4.5 , I have to sacrifice some lifting volume and mass to maximize my tennis mobility, endurance while minimizing injury risk. Back to a bro spilt!
Thanks for the video fellas!!
when is he going to play Shimir?
Soon…
@@IntuitiveTennis great can't wait 😁
I would add one more important thing. Breathing. Especially on rec level ppl tend to forget proper breathing during points. That makes them exhausted much faster. Reminding myself and a conscious sharp breath out during every shot helped me a lot to maintain my energy
I'm exhausted watching these drills!
For me the typical problem is not the technique, actually not the motivation or concentration. But if you move badly, you hit the balls badly and you get upset about it (me too) and then your concentration is gone.
The biggest lever I see in myself is actually endurance and agility on the court / while hitting.
But simply going for a run only helps to a limited extent. I heard it would be more beneficial if you do 20-20 runs. So sprint for 20 seconds, then walk for 20 seconds, repeat as long as you can.
You mean walk for 20 seconds?
@@MttSuddarth fixed it - obviously =D
hey! do you know why a lot of running during drills causes the underside of feet around the ball of toes to start burning?
I don’t
Funny to watch, especially the overheads, which let explode your stomach-muscles, because you are not used to this excercises, same, when you do only an hour of 150-250 serves in a row. All this remembers me to my training-sessons in my youth, 40 years ago with our trainer,, which was an retired bundesliga-player, who got us 3 teenagers killed after 45 min. although I came from playing highest league in football with high condition-levels...
There’s a reason why top players like Swiatek often train with tape over their mouths. Sustaining your intensity level over a long match requires high levels of aerobic and anaerobic fitness.
Is this student ready for match play with Shamir or Alex?
We had Shamir vs Bremen scheduled for last week but Shamir has a shoulder problem and can’t serve rn
Good players are always tired because the body is recovering during downtime and maximize in play time. The tiredness is not just from muscle but from joints.
So Nick driving that bmw and student the 150
Florida heat will punish everyone equally.
Thumbnail got me thinking I was at the wrong channel..
He will leave Shamir behind soon!
Don't count your chickens before they hatch 🐣 Shamir is 🐐!!
If Shimir still playing sets he will be ahead of mentality winning. But once this guy starts getting back to his groove he can pull through. He just need to keep working on footworks.
Tennis is brutal, i can hardly walk today after paying 4 sets last night!😂
That’s why we love it 🙌
Bodybuilding and Tennis are not compatible 😊... your have to choose
Rec players can tho. Most of them are not even in shape, worse than being too muscled
True to an extent but also depends on the context. For a pro, yes. For a rec player tennis and bodybuilding can be complimentary in the sense of maintaining a more capable human. I personally prefer to keep my gym time minimal and focused on strength and explosiveness but if someone loves gettin’ swole absolutely no reason they can’t also play high level rec tennis. Yeah, they will be leaving some potential on the table but who cares. Not getting paid to do it so do what you love
I think exactly because they don't match they are a good combination. I mean for general fitness.
Not true for most players. It is only true if you aspire to become an athlete at the top of the game.
The couch potato’s favorite activity is way less compatible with tennis…
Strength and conditioning will improve your tennis, not bodybuilding.
This video is dim