Pilates Rehabilitation for Tennis Players

There’s nothing like enjoying learning a new skill as an adult. Not only for the added activity but also for the benefit of your mental wellness! Luckily in Culver City, CA we have so many great options for tennis courts, tennis coaches and tennis classes/teams to join. Be sure to check out LA Parks for regularly schedule options.

Here are the ways Pilates benefits tennis players:

Build Shoulder Strength & Stability

This is one of the key points a tennis player wanting to use pilates as a form of cross training and injury prevention. Pilates is low impact and allows for the small stabilizing muscles in the shoulder girdle complex to build strength, mobility and flexibility all in one. A simple way to put it is we build mobility so that you can play your sport most optimally! Especially for those working a desk job 8 hours a day this is one of those areas that easily gets stiff from work and from stress.

Exercises we would us:

• Supine arms series

• Seated arm series

• Standing tower single arm and double arm series

Gain Abdominal Strength

This is always a good point to focus on. Improving abdominal strength prevents back strain and stress related immobility. If you have had a previous history of back pain then pilates will also allow you to learn how to deepen your engagement so that your abdominals support you more in quick side to side movements required in tennis. Pilates for tennis is a genuinely excellent choice for abdominal strength, trunk support and better spinal mobility! Preventing future injuries and improve overall recovery.

Exercises we would us:

• supine abdominals series

• Tower abdominal series

• Prone mat series

• Chair abdominal series

Improve Lower Body Stability

Most may not realize how important glute, knee and ankle focused exercises can help in overall prevention of sprains, strains and injuries for tennis players (and most other sports in general). As your feet are the foundation of all of your movements in tennis knowing that it is there to help you is just as important as the way you hold your racket, the width of the neck (handle) of the racket and the shoes you wear. To build strength in the outer foot prevents sprains during quick rotational movements in tennis as well as improve the knee’s ability to react in your games.

Exercises we would us:

• Chair lunges

• Reformer lunge series

• Reformer sideline glute series

• Chair split pedal footwork

Overall pilates can be a great source of conditioning and injury prevention for tennis players. At our studio we not only educate you on the benefits of the exercises we give you but also how to relate it back into your sport! We look forward to hearing about how this helped you in playing tennis. If you’d like to join our studio we have consultations available every week! See you in the studio soon.