SPORT SCIENCE - Professional Tennis Registry

Recovery and ReversibilityRecovery and Reversibility are related principles in training. Both refer to time spentbetween training sessions. Recovery refers to proper pacing and time spent on restbetween sessions, or between exercises during a session, to allow the athlete to train andimprove. If insufficient time is given for recovery, an athlete will not be able to improveperformance in training or actual match play. Instead, insufficient time can fatigue the bodyand increase risk of overuse injuries or overtraining. In addition, too long of a recoverymay not challenge the athlete sufficiently, and even allows detraining or reversibility.Likewise, if an athlete is injured, often a long inactive period of rest follows. During thistime period, the athlete can experience a decline in physiological adaptations (e.g., themuscles get weaker). That decline is referred to as reversibility. In short, if an athletedoes not train regularly, the gain in performance may be lost. Typically over a period oftime greater than two weeks, muscular endurance is lost more easily than muscularstrength. There is a minimal amount of training for a well conditioned athlete to avoiddetraining effects. For example, running twice per week at near maximal effect may wardoff aerobic detraining. Often athletes in the off season still remain physically active.That activity is known as active rest.IndividualityIndividuality refers to the differences between individual tennis players. Some may needadditional leg strengthening, while others may need greater flexibility, and still others mightneed higher muscular endurance. In addition, surfaces, gender, age, skill level andindividual styles should be addressed in training.VarietyVariety means the use of different exercises for the same purpose. An athlete can getbored or stale by doing the same routines. Changing the pace helps keep the player freshand motivated. Slightly changing exercises also helps the athlete use muscles in differentways that facilitates general athleticism and coordination of the tennis player. Using avariety of exercises also helps recovery from difficult days.PTR Practical On Court Applications for Sport Science 6