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Arm strength exercises help ensure mobility, endurance and strong arms. That's especially important for tennis players to sustain a good game. Tennis requires vigorous use of the arms and shoulders, not to mention a good amount of strength for a good serve or a backhand stroke.
Strengthening your arms and upper body in general will increase your mobility and strength in these regions, helping improve your tennis game. It will also lessen your chances of injury and muscle tears. Read on to learn some arm strength exercises you can perform to up your tennis game.
Arm Strength Exercises to Boost Your Tennis Game
To train your upper body especially for tennis, you'll need to strengthen your shoulders, chest, back and arms - wrists, forearms, and upper arms. That will significantly improve your game and give you the strength to swing a racket with conviction.
Check out these six best arm strength exercises to boost your tennis game:
1) Bench Press
The bench press is a potent compound exercise that targets the chest, triceps and shoulders, which are all critical elements of a powerful tennis serve. Few exercises develop upper body strength as effectively as the bench press, when performed correctly.
Here's how you do this arm strength exercise:
- Lie down on your back on a bench while grabbing a barbell, holding the barbell with your hands directly above your shoulders.
- Maintain an engaged core and a neutral spine position during the movement. Avoid arched back posture.
- Lower the bar to the chest, approximately at nipple level, allowing the elbows to bend 45 degrees away from the body.
- When your elbows are barely below the bench, stop lowering. As you press your feet into the ground and push the bar back up, you'll return to the starting position.
- Perform three sets of five to ten repetitions.
2) Wrist Curl
This exercise works out your wrists and forearms. You can use either dumbbells, lightweight barbells or EZ bar to do this exercise.
Here's how you do this arm strength exercise:
- Place the tops of your forearms on a bench, and grasp an EZ bar slightly inside shoulder width (or any comfortable flat surface).
- Allow your hands to dangle over the edge.
- By bending your wrists, lower the weight towards the floor.
- Continue till you feel an obvious stretch on the underside of your forearms.
- Raise the bar by contracting your forearms to complete one repetition.
- Repeat for two to four sets of 8 to 15 reps.
3) Reverse Wrist Curl
Most people have undeveloped forearm extensors (i.e., they never train them). By strengthening your extensors, you can make them more resistant to muscle sprains that can occur during racket swings. That'll improve your tennis performance.
Here's how you do this arm strength exercise :
- Assume an overhand grip on a light barbell.
- Place the underside of your forearms on a weight bench while allowing your hands to hang off the edge.
- By bending your wrists towards the ground, you can lower the weight towards the earth.
- Descend till your extensors feel a moderate stretch.
- Come up by flexing the tops of your forearms, and make sure to raise the bar over the level of your lower arms and hands for a powerful contraction.
- Repeat for two to three sets of 15-25 repetitions each.
4) Hand Grip Squeeze
A hand grip squeezer is an excellent option to incorporate forearm exercises into your tennis training.
Here's how you do this arm strength exercise:
- Maintain a hand grip trainer between your fingers and palm.
- Compress the gripper firmly by pressing your fingers and palm together.
- Continue to squeeze till both ends of the gripper meet.
- Controlled release of the gripper's hold.
- Repeat for two to four sets of eight to 15 repetitions each.
5) T-Raise
T-raises predominantly strengthen the muscles in your upper back and shoulders. That includes the rear deltoids and lower trapezoids. Overall, that'll help improve the range of motion of your arms.
Here's how you do this arm strength exercise to help your tennis game:
- With your feet hip-width apart and dumbbells at your hips, maintain a standing position.
- Bring your torso parallel to the ground by bending both knees deeply, shifting your hips back, and aligning your thighs with your feet.
- Engage your core at all times. Raise the weights to shoulder height with straight arms.
- As you lift, bring your shoulder blades together. Return the weights to the starting position, and repeat the exercise.
- Complete ten repetitions.
6) Side Plank with Lateral Raise
This is a compound exercise that strengthens many important muscle groups in your body. It targets your arms, shoulders and lateral deltoids. It also strengthens your obliques and hip muscles.
Here's how you do this arm strength exercise:
- Come onto your side while stacking your feet and placing your right forearm on the ground.
- Ensure that your right elbow is below your shoulder and your hand is directly below your elbow.
- Press your hips into the heavens, and raise as high as you can. Hold a single dumbbell in your left hand, with your arm extended straight from your shoulder.
- Extend your arm squarely above your shoulder, and lift up. Return to the centre, and repeat the motion. Perform ten repetitions per side.
Takeaway
Include the aforementioned arm strength exercises in your routine to up your tennis game.
