Tennis uses most of the body’s major muscle groups and provides a great cardiovascular workout. Larger muscles can exert more power, and players with powerful hits have an advantage over others. Although playing tennis can increase muscle strength and endurance, it does little to increase muscle size. If you wish to increase muscle size, you should focus on resistance training and muscle-building nutrition.
How Muscles Increase in Size
Muscle growth can occur from hypertrophy or hyperplasia. Hypertrophy is an increase in muscle size because of the enlargement of the muscle fibers, while an increase in the number of muscle fibers is called hyperplasia. Muscles increase in size when the work they do causes them stress. This leads to increased hormone release and use of protein and nutrients to grow muscles during rest periods. Nutrition, especially protein, is critical to building muscle and is best achieved using several small protein-rich meals a day.
How Tennis Affects Muscles
Most tennis players have a dominant arm that they use for serving. If tennis increased muscle size, you would expect increased muscle size on the dominant side. Peak Performance reports that researchers studied arm and shoulder muscles in professional players and found there was no muscle imbalance or bias toward increased muscle size on the “hitting” side of the body. Professional players have muscle-conditioning routines to avoid injury, and possibly this is why there is no imbalance.
Resistance Training to Increase Muscles
Tennis players wanting the increased power that larger muscles can supply should use resistance training. The power bat allows a player to simulate different tennis strokes against resistance to precondition and strengthen the hitting muscles. You can also simulate tennis strokes using resistance bands or dumbbells. Resistance training may involve free weights, weight machines and other equipment, and resistance bands.
Muscle Growing Nutrition
Hormones are released during and after resistance training. Some hormones break down carbohydrates, some increase the flow of nutrition to the muscles and others stimulate muscle to rebuild. Nutrition is critical to facilitate muscle building, and protein and carbohydrates should be included in each meal. Fat, salt and sugar should be avoided. The body can only use small amounts of protein at a time, which is why several small meals a day are recommended. Bodybuilding nutritional supplements such as whey protein and protein shakes can assist with growing muscle size.
- Wellness.MA: Strength Training For Tennis
- Harvard Health Publications/Harvard Medical School: Strength Training Builds More Than Muscles
- Peak Performance: Squash, Badminton, and Tennis Players: Improve Your Power!
- Muscle & Strength.com: Ten Commandments of Muscle Building Nutrition
- World-Class Tennis Technique: Strength Training for Tennis Players
- Basha Tennis: Muscles Worked-out While Playing Tennis
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