Erik’s Blog: Board Shorts and Business Suits

Well I finally joined the millions upon millions of American who belong to a fitness club. Let’s just hope I don’t join them in their quest to not use the membership.

Here in Hawaii we have quite a few 24 Hour Fitness clubs, which has recently taken over Bally’s as teh number 1 grossing club in America. I have been reluctant to join because I always had full access to weights and cardio machines in high school and college. Those come with tuition. I never wanted to spend the money to go and workout. Plus I could always do push-ups and sit-ups and go for a run.

As of late I have been working on getting back into shape running and biking as much as my motivation will take me. This past month it has literally rained every single day making my motivation not very high for me going outside and running. I must say though. I have had quite a few runs and rides in the rain, in my defense. My fiance on the other hand is able to go to 24 Hour whenever she likes and lift weights or use their cardio machines, not worrying what the weather is like outside.

Next, looking at what my physique or lack there of has become over the past few years is not fun, so I also decided I needed to lift weights again. Saying is one thing and doing is another. Therefor, I finally figured that if I spent the money on a membership it would force myself to use it. That and I enjoy getting into a lifting routine and have been missing that aspect of working out for quite some time, almost 3 years. This was the final push for me getting the membership. I know a lot of people use this as their reason and then never use it but I hope that spending money I dont’ really have will be motivation enough.

We’ll see how it goes but I think it will be a good addition to the things I am already doing and allow me to get back into the shape that I once was in and hopefully surpass it.

As I pursue my goal of becoming a 4.5 tennis player I am beginning to see just how tough hitting that little yellow ball can be. Serving, overheads, and most difficult, the backhand. In particular the one-handed backhand. After a short thought process my girlfriend and I decided on a one hander because it would give me more reach meaning more shots to make me a more complete player. The fact that I haven’t learned how to even hit a two-handed may be helpful, and that stud Roger Federer uses a one-hander so it must be cool.

While learning the one-handed backhand I have found it very difficult to just hit to rally and switch from forehand to backhand. My footwork is all off and my body is usually not in the right place at the right time. There is also the swing, the racket position and the follow-through once I have gotten somewhat close to where I need to be, those can be problematic as well. To help me think through the one-handed backhand I have devised a few simple sayings that seem to work as long as I concentrate on them every time.

These stem from what both my girlfriend and her father have said so they should be able to help you also. As I have mentioned before, she played Big Ten Tennis and her father is a teaching pro as well as a lifelong player.

1. Move around the ball

The number one thing besides moving your feet is how you move them to the ball. For me my backhand is to the left, therefore as I shuffle my feet to get to the ball I must remember not to make a straight line towards the ball. Instead move towards the ball in a counter-clockwise circle meeting the ball between 11 o’clock and 1 o’clock.

What I say specifically while hitting balls being repetitively fed to me is “shuffle left, shuffle left” then when the ball begins to clear the net I shuffle slightly right and forward on an angle saying “circle, circle.” Your teacher should be able to demonstrate this for you but if you are without teacher watch some of the pros. They are constantly circling towards the ball.

2. Pull back as you circle

Right when you begin moving to your backhand side you should be pulling the racket back. Even if you are using a one-handed backhand you may be able, depending on the incoming shot, to use both hands. Always remember this, and you can add it to the first tip by saying, “shuffle, racket back, shuffle.” This will help you get the racket back before you begin your circle towards the ball.

3. Don’t drop your racket

One thing that I have a lot of trouble with is dropping the racket. What I mean by this is that my wrist points the racket towards the ground limply rather than keeping it firm, wrist cocked, and racket handle parallel to the ground. Dropping my racket helps the ball gain air but most of the time too much air sending it sailing over the back stop. To remember this tip as you take your racket back say to yourself racket up thus adding, “shuffle, racket back, racket cocked, shuffle.” Now you must remember to keep your wrist cocked and racket up at all times.

4. Bend your knees

If you want to get some spin on the ball you are going to have to bend you knees. As you shuffle your feet in the circle towards the ball just think about exploding up through the ball. To do that you are going to have to bend your knees and gain power from your legs. If you are a tall player this step is essential as you will not be able to keep your racket cocked as well as hitting from down to up. There will be no power.

Just add, “shuffle, racket back, racket cocked, shuffle, circle, bend.”

Almost there.

5. Racket tip up and through

In order to get spin on the ball and not launch the ball over the back stop you are going to need to accelerate your racket through the ball towards the net while brushing up against the side of the ball. To do this, remember your bent knees and cocked racket, begin your swing towards the ball, right when you make contact with the ball start the extension of your legs from the bent position. Now pretend there is a string at the end of your racket on the top side pulling up and across your body. Make your arm follow this same path creating spin on the tennis ball and hopefully landing it in play on your opponents side of the court.

Finally add, “shuffle, racket back, racket cocked, shuffle, circle, bend, through-up-across.”

There are five steps that should help you on your way to a better more controlled backhand. If you are having trouble with just one step you can always just say that portion of it. I find it best to repeat these sayings while hitting against a backstop board or while getting tennis balls fed to me. Just remember to circle your feet and keep your racket on that same cocked back through and across motion and you’ll be hitting better shots in no time.

Learning a proper forehand and backhand in tennis is more complicated than I thought. Just swinging at the ball causes it to fly in all directions. In order to get the proper height, spin, and distance your feet must position your body in such a way that your arm can smoothly swing through the ball and at the last second brush up and create spin on the ball.

This may seem easy enough but you must remember the ball is moving towards you and can spin in all directions after the bounce. This is why it is critical to move your feet. Being able to shuffle and explode from side to side will allow your body to setup earlier giving your swing more time to go through the proper motion of hitting a tennis ball.

Athletic Stance

First you must get in a proper athletic stance. Begin by placing your hands on your hips. Next stand with your feet about an inch or two wider than shoulder width apart keeping your back perfectly straight vertically. Bend at your knees just until you feel a strain on your thighs all the while keeping you back and upper body straight. The angle that your legs make should be between 120 and 140 degrees. Now taking your hands off your hips move them straight out to your sides with a slight bend at the elbow. Finally bend your torso forward at the waist about 15 degrees off vertical. Make sure to keep your head up. This will keep the upper portion of your body vertical.

You should now be in the proper athletic stance. Your legs and lower back should feel strained after a few seconds if you don’t regularly get into an athletic stance. Keep practicing and try holding it longer and longer. You can do this while watching television at night.

Shuffle Your Feet

If you’ve played basketball with a team there’s a good chance your coach has had you shuffle your feet from side to side. It helps build endurance and strength so you can play defense late in the game. If you haven’t, don’t worry, it’s easy and quick to learn.

First assume the athletic stance we just got done working on. For starters lets just keep our hands out to the side, later on we’ll pick up the racket. Next take your right foot and place it about 2 inches away from your left, directly next to it. Then take your left foot and move it left so your feet are just outside shoulder width apart again. Repeat these steps moving farther and farther left. Speed up. Don’t cross over. Now switch directions and shuffle to your right.

There you have it. Just make sure to keep in an athletic position while you shuffle and don’t cross your feet. After going from side to side for a little while your thighs should start to burn.

Drills on the Court

You don’t really need a tennis court to do these drills but being there might help you get a feel for the court size.

First start out at letter A, the center of the service line. Assume the athletic stance that we worked on above. Now make your body angle towards B by pointing your left shoulder in that direction. You should be facing the direction of C. Next shuffle your feet to point B. You don’t have to shuffle your feet quickly at first but I find the faster I go the less stress I feel on my joints. I suggest a medium pace for beginners.

Once you reach B stop, then shuffle back to A along the same line with your body facing the same direction and your right shoulder pointing towards A. Upon reaching A rotate your body so your right shoulder is now pointing towards C. Holding your athletic stance begin to shuffle your feet towards C. Once you reach point C stop, then shuffle back to A on that same line with your left shoulder still pointing towards A.

When you have reached A you have completed one full repetition. You can start out by doing 2 sets of 10 full repetitions and then gradually build up your endurance from their. This is also where you want to hold your racket since you probably won’t be shuffling during a match without it.

Sometimes I like to turn my body once I reach one of the three stopping points to simulate getting my body in the correct position to hit the tennis ball. Both forehand and backhand.

The following are also some combinations that I like to try. Feel free to mix them up and to shuffle to other points on the court. This should just give you a start on how to build endurance on the tennis court.

A-B-C-A
A-B-C-B-C-A
A-B-A repeats
B-C-B repeats