How to increase your racket speed-Part 3 The dawn of a new era in conditioning for tennis

In my last post, I started to talk about whether it’s possible to increase your racket speed by some form of off-court training. And I mentioned that the answer to this question depends on WHEN you asked me this question.

If you asked me if there were any exercises I could do to increase my racket speed before February 2006, the answer would be NO.

If you asked me the same question after February 2006, the answer would be YES.

THERE ARE EXERCISES YOU CAN DO TO INCREASE YOUR RACKET SPEED!

Someone has invented a revolutionary training aid and training program that actually enables athletes in various sports to increase the speed of their golf swings, hockey slapshots, baseball swings, soccer kicks...

And after February 2006, tennis serves, forehands, and backhands.

Why do I seem to know so much about this innovation in conditioning for tennis?

That’s because I have had the privilege of partnering with the inventor of this ground-breaking invention to design, develop and test a tennis-specific training program and together we have created a business venture to bring both this breakthrough, one-of-a-kind training aid and training program to the tennis world.

So, what’s the name of this revolutionary tennis training aid?

It’s called the SpeedChain…

And with it comes the dawn of a new era in conditioning for tennis.

Maybe you’ve heard rumors about the SpeedChain and how training with it increases your serve and groundstroke speeds. I recall that some of the regulars from Tennis Warehouse’s “Talk Tennis” forum started a thread or two about the SpeedChain a while ago (end of 2005, as I recall)…

So, how much speed improvement are we talking about? We are talking about an immediate 5 to 15 MPH increase after the very first time you train with it.

The actual training program takes only about 15 minutes to complete and you see an immediate result. In the long run, the more you train with it, the more you improve your speed…

After that initial 5 to 15 MPH burst forward, players typically continue increasing their racket speeds at a rate of 1 to 3 MPH per week for up to 10 weeks. I’ve personally seen players improve their serve speed almost 30 MPH after 10 weeks of training.

Oh yeah, and I should mention that training with the SpeedChain only takes about 30 minutes per week total (i.e. twice a week for 15 minutes).

And, if you’re wondering why I am so certain about the effectiveness of SpeedChain training for tennis, it’s because I helped create the training program. I have personally trained with and tested the SpeedChain and its tennis-specific training exercises with an ever-growing number of high-performance players from Top 5 sectional juniors to NCAA D1 collegiate players to ITF Futures and ATP Challenger players. The training exercises are simple to do, and it turns out that SpeedChain training for tennis delivers training benefits far beyond increased racket speed (e.g. better speed endurance, stronger rotator cuff muscles, accelerated learning of stroke movements, etc.).

SPEEDCHAIN TRAINING INCREASES YOUR RACKET SPEED, PERIOD.

THE RADAR GUN DOES NOT LIE!

Are you beginning to wonder if you’re missing out on something?

We’ll talk in more detail about how and why the SpeedChain increases your serve and groundstroke speeds when conventional off-court training methods (weights, medicine balls, rubber tubing and bands, plyometrics, etc.) haven’t.

We’ll get into the nitty-gritty about this new era in tennis training—and in speed training in general—next time!

TTFN!

How to increase your racket speed-Part 2 The stark truth about physical conditioning for tennis

Sorry about the long hiatus from the last post... I just got caught up in all the holiday madness, and some new business leads appeared with the new year and I am just getting back into things.

OK, last time I gave you a rundown on the conventional approach taken by today’s tennis establishment regarding the quest for increasing your racket speed.

Developing optimal stroking technique IS the conventional way to increase your racket speed.

However, I also mentioned that there might be other methods or approaches to increasing your racket speed…. Well, at least there’s one now proven option that I know about.

So, what’s the other option, you say?

Friends, the answer to this question depends on WHEN you asked it…

What I mean is if you asked this question BEFORE February 2006, the answer would be:

THERE IS NO OTHER OPTION!

Why?

There’s no other option because there are NO known conditioning exercises that have been shown to definitively increase racket speed in tennis players.

There is no proof that performing conditioning exercises such as weights, tubing exercises, plyometrics, stretching, yoga, etc. help you to swing your racket faster.

In fact, sports scientists have shown time and time again that known conditioning exercises have NO IMPACT on the speed at which complex athletic movements—i.e. multi-plane movements that involve the simultaneous coordination of multiple muscle groups in a complex sequence such as golf and baseball swings, hockey slapshots, tennis strokes, soccer kicks, baseball and softball pitching, etc.—are executed.

Are you surprised at the answer? I’ll bet you are!

All the weight training, plyometrics, and stretching performed by competitive tennis players as staples of their off-court conditioning programs have no significant effect on their racket speed.

On foot speed maybe, but racket speed, no.

So what’s all this business about off-court conditioning being so important to competitive tennis? Proper conditioning is critical to performing at an elite level in any sport without a doubt…

BUT…

Have you noticed that the vast majority of tennis-specific conditioning information is focused almost solely on three areas:

1) Overall general fitness (general strength and endurance)

2) Improving court movement (foot speed and quickness)

3) Injury prevention (flexibility and body balancing)

Have you also noticed that there is no specific information about how to swing your racket faster beyond modifying and optimizing your stroke technique?

Take a moment to reflect on what I’ve said here… Because now it’s time to connect some dots!

Has it dawned on anyone that there isn’t a single shred of off-court conditioning instruction in books, magazines, videos, or on the Web that tells you EXACTLY how to achieve more racket speed?

Why?

Because no one knows how to do it using methods outside of the modification of stroke technique!

Remember, even the most decorated and knowledgeable sports scientists and strength and conditioning experts in the world haven’t come up with a viable solution to this problem of increasing the speed of complex, sports-specific movements such as tennis serves and groundstrokes!

So, am I telling you that there’s no real, viable way to increase your racket speed?

No, I am not telling you that at all…

If you recall, I said that the answer to the original question posed at the beginning of this entry depends on WHEN you asked me the question.

Oh, sorry to interrupt this broadcast, but I have to run ...

I'll reveal the answer to this burning question next time!

TTFN!