01273 302170 www.staubynsschoolbrighton.co.uk - Viva Lewes

cardio tenniS
Anyone for bubbles?
Until gout got the better of my knees around
a year ago, I’d been playing a bit of tennis.
However, after a gentle knock up ended up
with a trip to A&E last February, I thought my
tennis days were over. A year on however, my
gout is under control and I’m back on the fitness
trail. So far it’s only been the gym, but I’m still
tempted by tennis, and I think I’ve found a
solution. Down at the Southdown Club, they’ve
covered a couple of courts with a giant acrylic
airdome - known universally as ‘the bubble’.
From the outside, it looms menacingly over the
clubhouse, but inside it’s a well-lit, element-free
workspace, and today, four of us, including Viva
ad man Steve Watts, are going to try a cross between
tennis and a gym session - cardio tennis.
It’s billed as ‘fun, fast and, a full-body workout’.
Sounds good, and I’m happy to be heading back
on court.
Our instructor is Josh, one of the tennis coaches
working at the Southdown, and it’s conducted,
rather surreally, to high-energy 90s dance
music. We start with a running warm-up, laps
of the court, interspersed with side strides, leg
kicks, and a combination of twists and turns.
The last part of the warm-up involves jogging
around in a circle, whilst throwing the ball in
the opposite direction around the circle - a good
test of co-ordination - and a challenge to Steve’s
throwing skills. Happy we’re warmed up, Josh
tells us to grab our rackets and we start on the
tennis drills. The first one involves hitting two
balls the length of the court, and then sprinting
to collect them, before returning them to
the basket and re-joining the back of the line.
Because there are only four of us (a normal
www.vivaLewes.CoM
FiTness
session is 10-12 people), we’re constantly on the
move, as the drills switch to a series of crosscourt
shots, and then volleys at the net. After
each set, we run to the back of the court, collect
the balls and return to the back of the line. Our
final drill of the day, involves Josh hitting the
ball on the far side of the court, and one of us
running around to hit it back to another player,
and then to play out the point. As soon as the
point is won, the loser goes to the back of the
line and another player comes on. It’s a fun twist
on a normal rally and becomes quite competitive.
The session then finishes with a cool down,
which involves throwing and then volleying
the ball across the net, aiming to keep everyone
moving right to the end. Time flies by and we
all say we’ll back for the full session, which
currently takes place at 7pm on Friday evenings.
I may even dig out a couple of long forgotten
house music cds to take with me... Nick Williams
Cardio Tennis with WM Tennis costs £11 per one
hour session (£7 for members) - book via 01273
480630 or contact brett@wmtennis.co.uk
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