pro fitness

[kwaconsult]

am i the only one sick and tired of listening to young tennis pros whine about being tired at the end of the season. while i appreciate the season is long how can a 20 year old like djokovich complain about being tired when he is surrounded by specialists who tell him what to eat, when and how to exercise, when to rest etc. etc.

hey bubba, try working 8 hours a day in a sedentary job, grabbing a subway on the way to the club, then playing singles for 2 hours a night 3 or 4 times a week and tell me how tired you are you big weenie.

[CraigC]

Wow, I MUST respond to that. As a coach of several tour players, I want to give you a brief outline of a training day.
7am breakfast
8am 90 minutes of drilling (which means arriving at 730, doing warm up stretches, jump rope etc.)
930am 20 minutes of movement exercises
10am eat
1pm 60 minute drill session and play 2 sets (which means arrivng at 1230 and doing warm up stretches, jump rope etc.)
330pm eat
430pm 60 minutes fitness
The intensity and focus of this day is necessarily very high. Consequently, the physical workload and mental exhaustion exist EVERY SINGLE DAY. Then they RAISE their levels even more for tournaments, often playing 3 hours for 5 days straight, with a one hour extra workout after the match, and a 45 minute gym session.
Nothing to detract from the office worker, but to compete at the highest level requires a 365 day per year commitment to excellence. Skating by during practice on even one day, means someone out there is going to pass you by.
The exhaustion at the end of the year exists across the board, and even more so for the top players who play more matches due to winning. Factor in traveling to different time zones, and sleeping in hotel rooms and the fatigue issue is obvious.
If you listen to NFL players, MLB players, NBA players, NHL players, and any other high caliber athlete, they are all exhausted at the end of their seasons. When you get out of your office chair and put in the commitment to the game that these PROFESSIONALS do, then you might gain some real perspective on why Djokovic is fatigued.
--COACHCC

[kwaconsult]

pro fitness

i appreciate your comments but i just don't see it. i spent many years playing tournaments and training hard to do so after my 8, 10 or 12 hour day. just like the old vets like newk, stolle, smith etc. i played singles, doubles and mixed. there was many a weekend i went on an stayed if i kept winning.

i'm sorry, but playing 3 hours per day for 5 days in a row, even at the highest levels should be no problem if you have trained properly. besides, as i said, these guys have a whole entourage of fitness trainers, nutrition trainers etc. etc. while i agree the travel can be tough i was stunned when last year gonzalez made two finals in a row against federer and complained he was tired by the end of the second week. i guess he needs a new training regimine.

i've never heard federer says he's pooped and he's mostly playing to the finals every week. never heard a complaint from the old guard either after playing singles, doubles and mixed at the slams.