We are tennis nerds. So, it may be in our DNA to get out shopping for gadgets that we trust in improving our tennis, including fitness equipment. There is so much stuff out there, from the classic fitness offerings to the tennis-specific things. Time for us to give you a brief overview what you should get and what most likely is an optional buy.
Home gym or the public gym
Let’s say you want or need to build a home gym first. Reasons might be that you either don’t have a gym close to you or your lifestyle just doesn’t allow you to visit one. I am also torn apart if there is a better option between those two, as they both have their up- and downsides. But if you can, a commercial gym can provide several tools that you don’t need to spend money on. And most of us living in flats will probably never have the opportunity to get a heavy squat rack in there. But if you are building your home gym, here’s what I would get:
- Adjustable dumbbells between 6 and 30 kgs
- An adjustable bench, that can hold your bodyweight + 100kgs
- A medium weight kettlebell, a medicine or slam ball and some resistance bands
- A good workout / yoga mat
These are the absolute basics and they will get you far, as the dumbbell is easily the most versatile option to train with weights. You can do about every muscle group just by having a bench and two of them, from goblet squats, weighted lunges to presses and rows. If you have a room where you have enough ceiling height and the possibility to add somethings to the walls, these might help:
- A pull-up bar (go for a wall-mounted if possible instead of door options)
- A box for jumps and step-ups
- Jumping rope or if budget allows to, a rower/stationary bike
- Squat rack with a barbell
Anything else really is a bonus and depends on your personal choices, but you will have a fully set gym at hand with all options. Me personally, I just keep the basics above and for every heavier lift or specific need visit a reasonably priced gym in town.
Into the Gadgets – things to get
The market is really swamped with a ton of fitness things that can get a bit overwhelming. Here are five things I personally tested or own, which can help with your fitness:
A tibialis bar
I see a lot of question marks on faces for this, but the tibialis is a muscle that runs on the front of your lower leg and is heavily used for running and jumping. If you want to stay pain free and explosive, chances are that it pays to train these muscles. A tibialis bar helps with this if tibialis raises get too easy and you want to really emphasize your explosive speed.
Squat wedges
These little wedges not only help with squatting with sound technique when your mobility might not be up for it, they have gained prominence for the knee over toes squatting. This will give you additional range of motion and strengthen all structures around your knee. The best exercises with these might be lunges and reverse step ups, which have almost immediately helped my knee pain. Watch below:
Resistance bands with a handle
There are a couple of brand names for these, but in the end a good quality set of rubber resistance bands with a handle can help tons for your shoulder health. Fix them on your door, squat rack or wall and go through reverse flys, rows and rotations to strengthen your shoulder and back.
Gravity Belt
I was sceptic about these things first, but the belt that connects your ankles and hips with a resistance band is actually a devilish thing for tennis players. It helps with movement, staying low and engaged while moving laterally. For all tennis, movement and plyometric drills, it makes these instantly harder and more effective.
Compression Boots
Oh dear compression boots, you can really save the day. Whenever you feel overwhelmed with soreness from your matches, your leg training or the combination of both, these things can do wonders. Basically, all options offered are leg sleeves that massage your legs and help getting rid of waste products in the muscles. Trust me, your legs will feel better the next day.
Things that are rather a waste of your money
There are of course also a lot of things that sound great, but really are just a waste of your money and time. Some of them make sense, but have far simpler options available, others are just straight out useless. But in any case, try to avoid them:
Weight tubes or bags
There are plenty of options out there for weighted tubes, bags filled with sand or water and other weight items that want to reinvent the wheel. But let’s face it – if you move a weight, you move weight. It doesn’t matter how fancy it is, but only how you move it. Stick with a good set of dumbbells, a lighter med ball and optionally a kettlebell to swing – there you go, no bags needed.
Any movement specific machine
You don’t need them at home and quite frankly you don’t need them in the gym, outside of maybe specific rehab needs. Leg presses, quad extension, hamstring curls etc. All these are just isolated forms of a movement that you can easily target with more functional things.
Any electronic stimulation product
I don’t even need to explain this – there is no use in building muscle with these, they hardly help with pain, just don’t get them!
Get more tips in our fitness blog!
