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Serena Williams Tennis Workout
Today, 4th July 2009, Serena Williams won the Wimbledon All England Lawn Tennis Championships Ladies final and the Women’s Doubles final with her sister Venus. She is certainly the strongest woman in tennis at the moment. What is great about seeing Serena is that she is proof that tennis is a game of strength.
She is certainly not as lean or athletic looking as either her sister Venus, or any of the other slim tennis players. However, she is obviously very strong. She seems to have put on a little weight over the last year, and possibly has the largest behind of any lady in tennis at the moment, but this has not affected her game. She is still very strong, with excellent muscular definition. Tennis requires both speed, agility and endurance. Strong legs and core are essential to maintain a solid stance throughout a 2 hour plus game, and also to provide explosive take-offs and quick changes of pace and direction.
Serena suffered a bad knee injury which affected her game from 2004 to 2006, however since 2007 she has been back on good form, although her knee injury and a hamstring injury have both caused her problems. Both of these injuries have meant that she has not been able to do the intensive cardio workouts that are required to keep the body very lean. However, she has maintained her strength training and this seems to be the deciding factor in both women’s and men’s tennis at the moment.
Serena’s Strength Training Workouts
As mentioned in our article Tennis Workouts to Get Fit For Wimbledon core strength is vital in tennis. Serena has actually admitted that she does not enjoy hitting the gym big time, so this with her niggling injuries means that she really focusses on weight training rather than pure cardio. But she does also compliment her weight training with Bikram Yoga (which Andy Murray also does) and Pilates (which David Beckham has been know to do too).
The most important strength workouts for tennis are:
- Barbell Squats
- Weighted Lunges
- Shoulder press
- Calf raises
- Dumbbell Flyes
- Leg extensions
- Bicep curls
Squats and lunges are the key to building strong legs like Serena Williams. Also, we can see from the physique that she works on her upper body too, as strong shoulders, arms and chest are all evident. Her knee problems may have meant that she has gone easier on some of the leg extensions recently, but squats and lunges help to strengthen all the supporting muscle around the knees, so can help aid recovery and also help to to reduce the impact of a knee injury.
Serena looks like she will continue to dominate tennis for several more years to come. Until someone fitter and stronger comes along, she will keep her crown as one of the most powerful female tennis players of all time.
See our strength training section to learn more about weight training and bodybuilding for improved athletic performance as well as weight loss.
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