Improve your stamina with this aerobic workout.
Want to boost your endurance? Try interval training, an aerobic workout where you alternate between intense effort and recovery. By adding intervals, you can gain all-around cardiovascular fitness and—bonus—improve your body’s ability to burn fat. “The argument for interval training is that when you work at a higher level and really push your system harder and harder, you get a better training effect overall, and you get a lot more done in a lot less time,” says Mark Kovacs, Ph.D., manager of sport science for USTA Player Development in Boca Raton, Fla. “For tennis players, interval training has the added benefit of mimicking the kind of effort you make on the court.”
Kovacs recommends that players try two interval workouts per week, in addition to two lower intensity cardio workouts. If you’re training hard and playing a lot of matches, drop one of the interval sessions.
Here’s a sample 30-minute workout from Kovacs (as a reference for your effort level, 1 is a walk in the park; 10 is your all-out maximum). Always allow a day of rest between sessions. “Within two weeks you’ll notice that you can run harder during long points and recover more quickly between points,” Kovacs says. You can do this workout with any exercise that will keep your heart rate up, whether it’s walking, running, biking or on an elliptical trainer, though you’ll get the greatest benefit with running. As you get stronger, decrease the recovery period from 120 seconds to 90 so that you’re working at a 1-to-3 sprint-to-recovery ratio. Remember that interval training, done right, is very challenging and shouldn’t be started without a physician’s OK. If you feel light-headed or short of breath, stop immediately.
Walk, run, bike or do the elliptical to this routine
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Time Effort How You Feel
5 minutes
3
You could go at this pace for more than an hour.
30 seconds
7
The pace is challenging but not uncomfortable.
120 seconds
4
You can carry on a conversation.
30 seconds
7
The pace is challenging but not uncomfortable.
120 seconds
4
Recovering at conversation pace.
30 seconds
7
The pace is getting more difficult.
120 seconds
4
Recovering at conversation pace.
30 seconds
8
You are working so hard that you’re on the verge of discomfort.
120 seconds
4
Relieved.
30 seconds
8
Really hard effort, you couldn’t go for much more than 30 seconds.
120 seconds
4
Relieved.
30 seconds
8
You can barely make it to 30 seconds.
120 seconds
4
Relieved.
30 seconds
7
Pace is challenging but you can feel the difference between this interval and the last sprint.
120 seconds
4
Recovering at conversation pace.
30 seconds
7
You are able to go for one last round at a challenging pace.
120 seconds
4
Recovering at conversation pace.
5 minutes
3
Like you could walk for 30 minutes.**