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Cardio Tennis, Anyone? Variation of Sport Strives for 'Heart-Pumping Fitness' Workout

Posted on: Thursday, 26 October 2006, 06:00 CDT

By Brian J. Pedersen

Playing tennis is considered a good way to get in a cardiovascular workout. So why add music and obstacle-course elements to it?

"Why not?" say the people behind Cardio Tennis, a new fitness program sponsored by the U.S. Tennis Association.

Billed as "heart-pumping fitness," Cardio Tennis combines the ball-striking of traditional tennis with aerobics and dancing in an effort to dispel the myth that playing tennis doesn't do enough for someone trying to stay in shape.

"It's the third way to play tennis, after singles and doubles," said Michelle Krause, the USTA's national Cardio Tennis program director.

"Tennis is a very healthy fitness act, but there is a perception by lower-skilled players that it's not. We needed something to change that perception."

Krause was in town last weekend to run a pair of Cardio Tennis clinics, including one last Friday at the Hilton Tucson El Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort, 10000 N. Oracle Road.

The USTA officially launched its Cardio Tennis program at the U.S. Open in August 2005, building off the regimens of top tennis professionals to create a workout program that fits the skill sets of all players.

Krause said many pros have been doing modified forms of cardio tennis for years to combine their hitting practice with the kinds of exercise they would normally do in a gym.

"It's really the only way I try to stay in shape now," said former tennis pro Tracy Austin, who now tours the country spreading the word about Cardio Tennis.

There are about 75 drills involved in Cardio Tennis, Austin said, and when she first looked at a Web site on the program, she noticed how many of them were training exercises she did while she played.

"We did not re-create the wheel with this," Krause added. "Pros have been doing this for years."

About 90 men and women participated in the clinic at El Conquistador, spread out over nine courts with an instructor leading the way on each.

As soon as each group was in place, on went the loud, dance-club-style music over speakers set up around the courts.

With dance beats pulsing through the air, it was natural for the participants to feel the need to keep their feet moving at all times, even when not doing laps around the courts, stepping through footwork ladders or dodging cones and other obstacles while returning volleys from instructors.

"This reminds me of Club Med," said Paul Taylor, who with his wife, Hortensia, watched their son Joshua spend the latter part of his 14th birthday running all over a court.

Paul Taylor said Joshua took up tennis to lose weight, and in the process of dropping 20 pounds has gotten into the sport.

Jessica Milner, who says she has played tennis for 17 years, took the Cardio Tennis clinic on the advice of Jennifer Fuchs, El Conquistador's director of tennis. Milner said she most enjoyed "the movement and excitement.

"Combining tennis and dance, I think, is really cool," Milner said.

Fuchs said she received plenty of positive feedback from the clinic's participants, and she hopes to have a Cardio Tennis program implemented at El Conquistador in the near future.

"I think it is for the people who enjoy tennis and want to get a workout without having to go into the gym," Fuchs said. "They're more in their comfort zone on the court."

We did not re-create the wheel with this. Pros have been doing this for years."

Michelle Krause

USTA Cardio Tennis director

--Send sports and rec story ideas to reporter Brian J. Pedersen at bpedersen@azstarnet.com or call 434-4079.

Source: The Arizona Daily Star

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