Pilates For Tennis. Antonio Navarro 02/28/2014 CTTC Location: Costa Mesa, CA

Transcription

1 Pilates For Tennis Antonio Navarro 02/28/2014 CTTC 2013 Location: Costa Mesa, CA

2 Abstract When examining tennis, players do not use just one but many muscles in the body to create a groundstroke or serve. Rotation, core, coordination, stability and mastering the kinetic chain are key components to playing tennis. Muscles that are used start from the lower extremity to the upper extremity, beginning from the calves, quads, hamstrings, hip abductors and adductors, hip flexors, abdominals, oblique, to the pectoralis major and many more muscles. It is common to find disproportional muscle growth in tennis players because the player s dominant side is always in constant use. Frequent use of the dominant side can lead to serious injuries for both the upper and lower extremities of the human body such as scapular dysfunction. With Pilates and the right repertoire, tennis players can strengthen their non-dominant side to equal the dominant side and prevent serious injury.

3 Table of Contents Page 4 Anatomical Description 5 Introduction 9 Case Study 10 Repertoire 12 Conclusion 13 Bibliography

4 Muscles used for Tennis

5 Introduction Tennis is a sport that tests the boundaries of core, stability, coordination, rotation and using the muscles of the human body to connect with each other, also known as the kinetic chain. This sport uses both the upper and lower extremities of the human body frequently in a tennis match. It is very common in tennis players to develop the dominant muscles more than the other side if they play tennis for a long period of time because the dominant sides of a player s muscles are constantly used. This is known as disproportional muscle growth. The dominant side will try to compensate for the weaker side which can cause major stress on the dominant side. It can cause stress fractures from the lower and upper extremities mainly on the dominant side to just minor aches and pains. Common tennis injuries include sprained ankles, calf strain, shoulder pain and tennis elbow. With Pilates and the right exercise program, serious injuries and bilateral asymmetry can be prevented for tennis players. There are many muscles used to perform the forehand stroke, backhand stroke and the serve. The upper posterior extremities used in tennis include the deltoid, pectoralis major, rectus abdominis, external oblique, rotator cuff, biceps brachii, brchialis, pronator teres, brachioradialis, and the iliopsoas. The anterior extremities include the anterior deltoid, trapezius, rhomboids, latissimus dorsi, levator scapulae and triceps. Lower extremities used in tennis are the quadriceps, hip adductors, tibialis anterior, peroneus brevis, biceps femoris, gluteus maximus, gastrocnemius, peroneus brevis and longus and the soleus. All these muscles all connect with each other to perform the moves that are needed in tennis. In a forehand there are two phases, the loading phase and the follow through phase. During the loading phase

6 your calf muscles, quadriceps, hip flexors and gluteals are being used and work concentrically when the lower body pushes off. Trunk rotation then activates the obliques, abdominals and back extensors which work concentrically and eccentrically giving the player stability. After trunk rotation the dominant arm begins its forward swing, activating the anterior deltoid, biceps, serratus anterior, pectoralis major, and wrist flexors. In the follow through phase the back extensors, triceps and forearm muscles help with deceleration of the arm. Here are images of two well-known tennis players initiating their forehand stroke, Roger Federer on the left and Djokovic on the right performing a forehand.

7 The Backhand is a bit more complicated than the forehand because it comes into two forms, which are the two handed and one handed back hand. The loading phase for the two handed and one handed back hand are both the same. They both use the calf muscles (gastrocnemius and soleus), quadriceps and gluteals to push off. The trunk begins to rotate using the obliques, abdominals and spinal erectors for both forms of backhands. During the follow through phase, is where the two handed back hand and one handed differ from each other. Both the dominant arm use the deltoids, trapezius, rhomboids, external shoulder rotators, triceps and serratus anterior to activate and finish the backhand swing but with the two handed backhand the non-dominant side s pectoral muscles, anterior deltoid and internal shoulder rotators activate. Because of the extra muscle being used in the back hand, it s considered more for players wanting more power opposed to more control that the one handed backhand offers. In these images below, Maria Sharapova (fig. D) demonstrates a two handed back hand and Roger Federer (fig. E) demonstrates the one handed back hand.

8 Fig.C Fig.D The serve is the most important component to the tennis player because it is what starts every point and uses a lot of power from major muscles. The serve begins with trunk rotation of the obliques, abdominals and spinal erectors and at the same time the dominant arm is taken back behind the head. Knee extension and hip extension then activate your gluteals and quadriceps as the player pushes off after bending the knees (knee flexion). The arm is then swung from the back to the front in a diagonal line activating the pectorals, internal shoulder rotators, latissimus dorsi and the triceps and ending with wrist flexion. Here in the image below (Fig. F) Andy Roddick demonstrates a tennis serve. Fig. F

9 Case Study I am a 23 year old male and an avid tennis player since high school. I had played on Varsity tennis for 2 years and I still play tennis regularly as a hobby. I am currently taking the Pilates certification course for Basi Pilates. Since taking the Basi course, I have realized how out of shape I am, how bad my posture is and how my body is bilaterally asymmetric and noticeable. Because I have played tennis since high school I can see that my dominant side had developed more than my weaker side. This is common with tennis players that have played competitively and recreationally. Tennis constantly uses the dominant side in every swing and serve. After playing for so long I have felt aching and pains after serving in a tennis match around my lower back. The pain in my lower back means that my back extensors are weak and my hamstrings and hip flexors are very tight. Since taking the Basi course, I have improved in posture and I have had no pain in my lower back. I do not want to stop there with Pilates. I want to take it further and improve my tennis game by strengthening my muscles needed for tennis and to strengthen my non-dominant side to avoid any injuries due to overcompensation of the dominant side, and to avoid common tennis injuries such as tennis elbow, shoulder pain, and back pain. With the right repertoire I can improve my tennis performance and lessen my bilateral asymmetry by focusing on rotation of the hips and shoulder joints, abdominals, pectorals, calves, back extensors, and the whole body.

10 Repertoire In this repertoire we start off with a simple basic warm up to start warming up the muscles. For Foot work we start on the Cadillac. Foot work on the Cadillac gives more of a stretch of the hamstrings and do 8-10 reps. For Abdominal work we do the hundreds and Coordination on the reformer. With hip work we do frog, up and down circles, and Leg openings on the reformer for 8-10 reps. For Spinal articulation we will do short spine on the reformer for 5 reps. For the stretch block we will do standing lunge to stretch out the hip flexors and hamstrings. For full body integration we will do down stretch and reverse knee stretch. For arm work we will do arms standing on the Cadillac. For lateral flexion we will do mermaid on the reformer and lastly for back extension, pulling straps 1 and 2.

11 Repertoire Block Warm Up 8-10 reps each Foot Work 8-10 reps Abdominal Work 8-10 reps Hip Work 8-10 reps Spinal Articulation 5 reps Stretches 3-5 breath patterns Full Body Integration 5 reps Arm Work 8-10 reps Exercise Roll Down Roll up Supine spine twist Chest lift Chest lift/rotation Double leg stretch Single leg stretch Crisscross Foot work on Cadillac Hundred on reformer Coordination Frog, up/down circles, Leg Openings Short Spine Standing Lunge Down Stretch Reverse knee stretch Arms Standing series Lateral Flexion/Rotation 5 reps Back Extension 5 reps Mermaid Pulling straps 1 and 2

12 Conclusion From using this repertoire, I have noticed a good deal of improvement in my tennis game. I have noticed more stability between shots and better rotation. With greater stability means greater safety from serious injuries. The more well-conditioned a person is, the better chance of not facing an injury is increased. My foot placement for serving and normal ground strokes were more firm and in the right place. When following through a ground stroke or serve my weight would go into the direction of hitting the ball rather than being off balance. There was also a good improvement in strength. I was hitting the ball harder than before. With Pilates I was able to improve my core, coordination, rotation, and to evenly distribute muscle growth.

13 Bibliography "Tennis Injuries Introduction." Top 5 Tennis Injuries. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar Howard, Michele M. "Muscles Engaged While Playing Tennis." LIVESTRONG.COM. LIVESTRONG.COM, 02 Dec Web. Mar.-Apr Tsai, Jeng Ming. "Biomechanics of Single Handed Backhand Stroke in Tennis Players." N.p., n.d. Web. Mar.- Apr All images were taken from Google Images.