Pushing off strength

[Sim882]

I am a competition tennis player and I have been on the 5v5 for a while now, and have that regular squatting has increased improved my push off power during long rallies (i.e., the initial acceleration from side to side).

However, in very long rallies, I still notice a burning feeling in my legs (which has improved). I was wondering whether I could add any other leg exercises to the 5v5 once per week, and what would you suggest?

I haven't been doing squats for too long, so am only doing 5 reps of 105kg (I weigh 70kg) at the moment, although I'm optimistic this will continue to improve.

Should I consider adding once per week (on the third workout, where I have 2 days off from weights) either of:
- jump weighted squats
- lunges (either forward or sideways)
- or some other hamstring & arse exercise (and if so, what are good ones apart from hamstring curls).

Thanks

 

[petpre61]

during long rallie your legs burn b/c of raising levels of lactat acid. have you ever tried a tabata protocol?

20sec jump and reach (as many as possible) - 10sec rest - repeat for a total of 4 min (8 sets)

additionally you could add some low intensity cardio on your off days.

 

[skullcrushin22]

Take four grams of sodium phospate a day for three days prior to your match.

 

[Sim882]

during long rallie your legs burn b/c of raising levels of lactat acid. have you ever tried a tabata protocol?

20sec jump and reach (as many as possible) - 10sec rest - repeat for a total of 4 min (8 sets)

additionally you could add some low intensity cardio on your off days.

Ok, i would prefer the more natural approach first. If I do this jump routine, do I do it on my weights day or on the rest days.

I was thinking of adding in my final weights workout of the week. I should also add that twice a week (on non-workout days), I do 30 mins of HIT sprints (30 seconds of sprinting then 1.5 rests), in both a forward direction from the front and back of the tennis courts, and a side to side direction across 1/2 the width of tennis court, both continuously repeated for 30 seconds. I find the muscle burning is greater in the side to side (where I try to finish the motion in a low lunge), whereas the lungs burning is greater in the forward motion (where I'm running at a faster speed for a longer distance)

 

[war_machine31]

you could try doing power cleans.if you have not done them,make sure you get the form down pat before you up the weight.

 

[StuWard]

I agree on the power cleans. You say you want push off strength but what you really need is power. Romanian deadlifts will work yout hamstrings and glutes but the power cleans will make you explosive.

 

[AEKDB]

I second power cleans and add power snatches. I would also recomend jump squats starting in the bottom position. To do these, rest the bar on the spot bars, crawl under the bar, and explode through the squat into a jump. FYI, jump squats from the bottom position are hard , start light. You will also need to build strong hamstrings.

 

[Sim882]

Thanks for advice - i will do power cleans and jump squats.

Should I do the jump squats instead of the normal squats on one day of the 5 x5 programme, or should I add the jump squats to the normal squats, which sounds very taxing.

 

[war_machine31]

Thanks for advice - i will do power cleans and jump squats.

Should I do the jump squats instead of the normal squats on one day of the 5 x5 programme, or should I add the jump squats to the normal squats, which sounds very taxing.

i would do the jump squats after the normal squats.also i would do high reps of the jumps like 3x20-25reps with low weight.that just me though.have you try box squats?there great for power too.

 

[Sim882]

i would do the jump squats after the normal squats.also i would do high reps of the jumps like 3x20-25reps with low weight.that just me though.have you try box squats?there great for power too.

I had tried the box squat without knowing its real name, but I think the box used was too high to be useful so I ditched the concept (I just used a spare bench. Also, after googling box squat then I realised that my technique probably wasn't right, as I focussed more on the ascending as opposed to descending part). will have to look for lower box in gym.

So what should I do - one workout including both box squats & jump squats with my normal squats, or include box squats on one day, jump on another, both additional to regular squats. Also, do you perform jump squats with dumbells or barbels (I was thinking that with high reps, I would start on 20-30% of my normal squat weight???)

Thanks