A warm up routine is essential for tennis players for various reasons, reducing the risk for injury is just one. What are the others? Read on or watch the video!
Many recreational players don’t warm up at all or perform warm up exercises that are inappropriate (e.g. static stretching before competition).
That generally results in a decline in overall performance and increases the risk for injuries, for example tennis elbow!
If you want to find out why static stretching is not ideal as a warm up then check out the 22 static stretching exercises for tennis cool down.
Ok, here we go. I will talk about:
- the purpose of a warm up
- benefits of a warm up
- recommendations for a quick warm up routine
Do you warm up before every training session or match?
Purpose of the Warm Up Routine
The objective of the warm up routine is to decrease the risk for injury but does warming up really do just that?
The plausible answer is yes even though there has not been any scientific evidence that warming up decreases the risk injury.
Reason being, it seems to be very difficult to isolate all the variables.
Warm Up Routine Decreases The Risk for Injury
The concept is to increase muscle tissue temperature. If your muscle tissue is less bisque, particularly at the joint capsule, then elastic properties of the muscle tissue are diminished.
As a result, efficiency of neural transmission and proprioception is compromised. That means that your coordination suffers.
The enhanced dynamics of the muscle tissue due to the warm up routine are:
- Improved elastic properties – flexibility (ROM)
- Greater efficiency of neural transmission
- Improved proprioception – enhanced coordination/stability
Because proprioceptors (which are sensors that locate body positioning) are more dynamically enhanced with a warm up, the risk of overextending yourself into a muscle strain due to lack of tissue pliability is diminished.
While your ability to maintain stability improves.
Also, when you improve elastic properties by generating more blood flow to the muscle tissue then you are elevating muscle temperature. That allows you to generate more power (vs. static stretching).
Therefore, I suggest that improving your ability to maintain stability and increasing the range of motion (ROM) at your joints reduces your risk for injury.
Training Zone
We provide you with some more workouts and training tips you may be interested in to optimize your training.
Also, make sure that you warm up properly before and stretch out after your training session.
Have fun and happy training!
