Introduction:
Tennis has been considered a fast-paced, explosive, and highly dynamic sport. High hitting velocity, especially during the serve, decides the game and efficiency of tennis players. This is the most important action due to the possibility of winning the match directly through an ace. Therefore, achieving the highest velocity production in stroke is important for players to improve their performance and reach high competitive levels. Moreover, tennis strokes require high force production, and through the kinetic chain, these forces are transferred to the entire body. In case of shoulder injury during play, the rehabilitation program helps tennis players strengthen the shoulder muscles and helps the athletes return to play. The rehabilitation exercises and their benefits are discussed in detail in this article.
What Are the Best Shoulder Exercises for Tennis Players?
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Barbell Overhead Press:
- One should position oneself with the wrists stacked over the elbows.
- Then place the hands on the barbell.
- Walk two-three steps with a barbell and grip the floor with one’s feet.
- Stance width should be greater than shoulder width.
- Then initiate the press by contracting the lats, bracing the trunk, tucking the chin, and bringing it overhead.
- Then bring it down and begin the same process with repetitions.
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Dumbbell Overhead Press:
- Should grab a pair of dumbbells and proceed to swing to their starting position.
- Then pack the lats, brace the trunk, and press upwards, keeping the elbow under the dumbbells.
- Bring the dumbbell heads to close together and lower them back to the starting position.
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Landmine Press:
- Set up a landmine base with padding to ensure the floor is not damaged.
- Should stand with feet parallel to the floor.
- Then grab the end of the barbell and bring it to the starting position and lean forward slightly.
- Then drive the barbell upwards such that the biceps muscle should touch the ear.
- Lower the barbell to the starting position and then repeat.
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Arnold Press:
- In a seating position, press the dumbbells upwards and lockout as normal.
- Then bring them slowly until a ninety-degree arm angle is reached, and then rotate the elbow inwards, maintaining the ninety-degree angle.
- Once both the arms achieve their parallel state, reverse the rotation and bring them back to the starting position. Then repeat the process.
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Push Press:
- Should grab the barbell with a full grip.
- Squeeze the barbell and press close to the body as it sits on the top of the shoulders.
- The chest, chin, and elbows should remain pressed upwards.
- Then should be four to six inches downwards and should not be extremely fast.
- Then should forcefully drive upwards and press above face level.
- Once overhead, the barbell should be placed over the back of the neck, which allows bigger muscles to help support the load.
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Bottoms-up Kettlebell Press:
- Should grab a kettlebell by the handle in an upward direction.
- The elbow should be at the center of the mass of the kettlebell.
- In this position, lockout such that the biceps are close to the ear.
- Then lower slowly and ensure the kettlebell is balanced with the bottom directly upwards.
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Banded Delt Raise:
- Stand in a neutral position and grip the band with one hand.
- Maintaining the neutral position, bring the implement upwards until the arm is parallel to the ground.
- Contract at the top and then slowly lower the cable downwards and repeat the process
What Are the Benefits of Strengthening Exercises?
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Barbell Overhead Press:
- Accurate Gauge of Full Body Strength: Since the overhead press requires a stable trunk and lower body, this is good for displaying full body strength.
- Excellent for Overloading the Deltoid Muscles: The deltoid muscles are smaller but produce more force on utilization. The overhead press uses more muscles during exercise, increasing deltoid muscle strength.
- Carryover to Other Strength Sports: In case of competing in sports, then improving the overhead press can help to carry over to performance.
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Dumbbell Overhead Press:
- Increased Range of Motion: The dumbbell overhead press has been taken slightly lower on the eccentric portion of the exercise; it helps in ensuring the full range of motion is achieved or not.
- Improves Stability: This exercise uses smaller muscles and thereby increases their stability.
- Alternative to Barbell Press: Exercise using dumbbells can be loaded heavily and also performed either in a sitting or standing position.
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Landmine Press:
- More Useful for Overhead Players: In order to limit additional stress and avoid loading directly on the shoulder, the landmine press helps to provide a solid stimulus without causing shoulder fatigue.
- Easy to Use: The landmine press does not require any special equipment and can be performed either by sitting or kneeling.
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Arnold Press:
- Focussing All the Heads of Deltoid Muscle as One: This exercise targets all three heads of deltoid muscles at various points throughout the full range of motion.
- Fantastic for Increasing Muscle Size: This exercise helps to put more stress on for a longer time, thereby increasing muscle size.
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Push Press:
- Improves Specificity: This exercise is good for overloading the shoulders and upper body.
- Improves Leg Drive: This exercise improves leg drive and rack position. It also creates body awareness for athletes who need to connect the leg and upper body for vertical support.
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Bottoms-up Kettlebell Press:
- Improves Shoulder Stability: Once the strength increases, maintaining shoulder stability is important. Since the shoulder is a mobile joint, the stability of the shoulder needs to rise upwards along with strength to ensure shoulder longevity. This exercise strengthens the small musculature of the rotator cuff.
- Greater Teaching Control: It helps in teaching awareness and mechanics, especially while pressing for beginners.
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Banded Delt Raise:
- Useful Alternative: It is a useful alternative to dumbbell deltoid exercise, which causes aggravation to the shoulders. It helps to focus on isolating and being carefree about how the shoulders are feeling.
- Easy to Train: This exercise can be performed anywhere and can easily get trained.
Conclusion:
After an injury, an exercise conditioning program will help the athletes to return to daily activities and enjoy a healthy lifestyle. A well-structured program gives a wide range of exercises, and it is important to ensure that the program is safe and effective under the physician's supervision. In addition, the physical therapist will help the athletes to achieve their rehabilitation goals.
