Stretching for Racquet Sports
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About this ebook
Chris introduces the book with some advice on self-assessment and warm-ups, and at the end of the book there is a training log to assess development and a handy section on treating injuries encountered in racquet sports.
With stretches illustrated with full-colour photography, and in a handy sports bag-sized format, Stretching for Racquet Sports is your ideal partner on court.
Christopher M. Norris
Christopher M. Norris is a Chartered Physiotherapist, sports scientist, highly successful author and established lecturer and consultant. He has over twenty years experience in treating soft tissue injuries and specialises in sports injuries and exercise therapy. As Norris Associates he runs two private clinics in Manchester and provides consultancy services to blue-chip industries and several leading sports clubs.
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Book preview
Stretching for Racquet Sports - Christopher M. Norris
CONTENTS
1 Introduction
Why stretch?
How to use this book
2 Before you start
Equipment
Warming up
Checking your flexibility
Types of stretch and how to use them
What to expect from stretching
3 Exercises
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
4 When things go wrong
5 Training log
6 Terms you should know
1. Introduction
Why stretch?
Stretching is an important part of any training programme. It has two principal effects: it can help to reduce the likelihood of injury, and it also works to improve your performance. Injury prevention and performance enhancement are features close to the hearts of many racquet sportsmen and women, and for this reason stretching should become part of your exercise programme.
As with any sport, racquet sports place stress on particular areas of the body. The hips, upper body and back come under considerable strain – the hips are turned for every movement on court, so they should be as flexible as possible. The back also takes a great deal of strain, for example bending to reach shots and reaching to serve or take an overhead volley. Your shoulders also need to be well prepared for the demands of your service action. As well as these core parts of the body, wrists, elbows, calves and ankles are placed under particular strain on court.
Most racquet sports players feel that time away from their sport is time wasted, but the reverse is actually true. Maintaining a regular stretching programme is a wise investment for your sporting future.
How to use this book
You can use this book in a number of ways. If you wish, you can use the exercises in Chapter 3 as a three-phase programme, over nine or ten weeks. If you follow this programme, with each phase building on the previous one, you should find that you gain in flexibility over that period, and so improve your performance and help reduce your risk of injury.
If you prefer, however, you can use the exercises to design a programme specifically to meet your needs – whether you know you have a weak point, or are trying to get back to fitness from an injury, or want to build particular stretching exercises into your overall fitness programme.
In Chapter 2, we look first at the importance of warming up – whether before stretching or before playing – and the best ways of going about this. Second, we aim to help you work out how flexible you are at the outset – this may help you to decide whether you want to improve your flexibility overall, or whether to focus particularly on certain areas. This chart will help you measure this. We then discuss briefly the different types of stretches and how and when to use them, and finally what to expect in terms of improvement if you follow the stretching programme.
Chapter 3 contains the exercises themselves, divided into three sections – beginner, intermediate and advanced. Each section begins with a note on how to use the exercises. As we are all different, many of the exercises include variations and important points to note, which often relate to your safety. You can use the training log (Chapter 5) if you wish to keep a record of your progress.
Chapter 4 looks at the injuries most common among racquet players, how to deal with them, and particularly at how to get back to fitness using stretching exercises. Useful terms are explained in Chapter 6.
All the exercises suggested in this book can be performed either at home or in the gym. Some can be used before you go on court as part of your warm-up, but remember stretching as part of a warm-up must be gentle – suitable stretches are listed here. The majority, however, should be used in a separate session.
Several of the advanced exercises are designed to be used with a partner, as there are specific benefits to be gained from stretching with the aid of someone else. If you don’t have a training partner, you will still be able to do the exercises, but with a partner you are able to relax much more into the stretch.
The three-phase programme is designed to improve your flexibility and target muscles appropriate to your individual needs. During the programme you will come to identify certain exercises which feel particularly useful, and these can become part of your general training programme in the long-term.