Tennis and pickleball require the ability to quickly transition between positions to keep the ball in play. Speed and agility require a certain amount of strength to generate power but practicing speed work itself is vital to optimize your tennis and pickleball game.
A lot of our tennis and pickleball players will develop various injuries to the feet and ankles due to not having exposed their tissues to similar demands that are required in the sport. Moving up the chain, knees can take a beating with stress put on them when cutting/changing direction.
These are a few of our favorite drills to gain speed, power, and agility in a variety of planes. These exercises and drills will ensure all your bases are covered with whatever demands the sport may bring, and level-up your game in ways you didn’t know you needed!
Box Jump or Broad Jump – exercises like these are necessary to practice using your muscles explosively, and will make a big difference in your ability to push-off and get to the positions needed to keep the ball in play.
Single leg jump down or Jump two, land one – Single leg strength and explosiveness is super helpful for any athlete. If your sport involves running in any capacity which tennis and pickleball do, then this is a vital aspect to training. Whether you realize it or not, running is a single leg activity. If you struggle standing on one foot or accepting load through a single leg, this may be a recipe for injury in sport play.
Cone box drill – this is a classic athletic drill that is used for a variety of sports involving quick feet multi-directionally. It encompasses forward sprints, lateral shuffling, backpedaling, and change-of-direction. If you expose your joints and muscles to this regularly, the likelihood of injuring yourself when your brain is focused on the game is significantly reduced.Watch the video below for explanations of all these exercises as well as some modifications and progressions!
Are you an active adult or athlete living in Roswell, Johns Creek, or Alpharetta, and experiencing some pain or other issue that is holding you back from playing tennis or pickleball? Since 2008 our proven 3 step plan has helped people stay in the game and keep doing all the awesome activities they love. Please give us a call or text at 678-400-0300.
