Circuit Training For Tennis

Get fit to play, don't play to get fit is a very well known saying and you should all know that doing some fitness work along side your lessons and practise sessions will improve your performance as well as making you less prone to injury.

Well, if you are looking for the perfect way to train all the components of fitness you need to improve your game in the same session, then you need look no further than circuit training.

Circuit training is an exercise format that normally utilises between 6 and 10 exercises that are completed one after another (the circuit!!) for a specified number of repetitions or time period before moving onto the next exercise. The completion of one exercise and the beginning of the next are separated by brief timed rest intervals and each circuit by a longer rest period. The total number of circuits performed during a training session may vary from two to six depending on your training level (beginner, intermediate, or advanced), your period of training and your training objective.

To plan a Session you will need to think about the possible exercises that can be performed with the equipment and space you have available. In order to ensure that no two consecutive exercises stress the same muscle group set up the circuit as follows:

Total-body, Upper-body, Lower-body, Core/Trunk etc.

It is important to warm up and perform some dynamic stretching exercises and to repeat this as a cool down after the session.

Example No Equipment Circuit Training Session

Skipping - cardiovascular & coordination

Press ups - chest, shoulders, arms (esp triceps - serve) and core

Squats - quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves and core/lower back

Crunch - abdominals esp rectus abdominis

Star Jumps - leg power, flexibility & endurance

Bench Dips - triceps, chest and shoulders

Lunges - hamstrings, glutes and quads

Back extension - lower back

Shuttle runs (sprinting/running continuously between predetermined points) - speed endurance

Duration - start with the following (lower level): 20 seconds work on each exercise with a 30 second recovery between each exercise - 3 sets with a 3 minute recovery between each circuit

Complete the circuit training session twice a week with at least 48 hours between each session. I suggest you base your training on a four week cycle of an easy week, medium week, hard week and test/recovery week.

The work load can be varied by changing the number of exercises, duration, sets or repetitions.

Paul Gold is one of the top tennis training consultants on the web. He trains players of all abilities from beginner through to Tour level as well as writing for several industry magazines and sites. He has a Masters degree in Sports Sciences and is a Performance Enhancement Specialist and Speed Agility Quickness trainer. For more articles and information about products and services contact via http://www.tennis-training-central.com

7 Questions You Need To Ask Before Buying A Notebook Computer

If you are planning to purchase a notebook computer, then there are seven key questions that you will need to ask yourself. Doing this will enable you to arrive at the kind of quality notebook that best suits your purposes and current budget.

1 - How portable, how powerful?

The issue of size and weight will determine how easily you will be able to carry around your notebook computer. After all, one of the reasons why you may have decided to purchase a notebook computer in the first place, is most probably based on the issue of portability. You will need to strike a balance based on your needs and requirements between ultra-portables and desktop replacements. The former offer very small-sized and light weight computers but will often sacrifice a number of items in achieving this. For instance they will tend to get rid of optical drives, among other items that may be important to you. With desktop replacements they will usually tend to be heavy and bulky making them a little difficult to carry around.

2 - What should be the processor speed and type?

The processor speed will contribute heavily to how fast you will be able to accomplish tasks on your notebook computer. If your notebook is meant to be mainly a web browser, with word processing and maybe a DVD player, then any processor that has a speed of 1 GHz or more should work. However if you have in mind a desktop replacement then you will need a high-end processor of 1.6 GHz or higher.

Secondly the type of processor is an important consideration too. Processors based on Centrino technology consume less power and yield improved battery lifetime.

3 - What Screen size, what resolution?

It is important to check the resolution of the screen on the notebook you are purchasing. Everybody would like a larger screen but some large screens have such a high resolution that it is counterproductive and makes the reading of standard fonts difficult. You will also have to remember that the larger the screen the heavier and more difficult to carry your laptop computer will be.

4 - Should the notebook have a convincing optical drive?

In laptops nowadays, the choice of optical drives is important. Laptops have these days been turned into portable DVD players with the DVD-ROM or CD-RW/DVD combo drive. They can even be plugged into a home theater system. The problem is that many ultra-portable laptops quite often lack an internal optical drive to save on space.

5 - Do you require redundant ways to access the Internet?

Ability to connect to the Internet is a key feature. You should be careful to look for systems that include a built-in 56 Kbps modem and Fast Ethernet. If you wish, you can go further and look for a computer with an integrated 802.11 b/g wireless adapter because locations with hotspots for connectivity are rapidly and constantly growing.

6 - How long would you be away from the mains on average?

A portable computer with less than two hours of computing time on a single charge is a big waste. You should look to get a system with at least 3-4 hours of battery life.

7 - What Warranty options should you be looking at?

Because laptops are moved around a lot, they are much more likely to break down. Many people make this mistake with laptops because we hardly follow up on the warranty for PCs. Remember that laptops are different because they take much more abuse on the go. So you should ensure that you get at least a one year warranty from the manufacturer.

Sabir Rizvi is a seasoned IT professional who writes for Notebooks Guide, an informative guide for laptop buyers. Visit the website to read more of his articles and reviews at http://notebooks.alwaiz-arts.com.