Tennis Gets a Makeover

By Barbara Call Bourassa

If you see tennis as a purely recreational sport in which you barely break a sweat, Jim Baugh, founder of cardio tennis, has some surprising news for you. There’s a new kind of tennis, one which is guaranteed to provide a serious workout. It’s called cardio tennis, and it’s been shown to rival treadmill running, aerobics class, or spinning (indoor cycling) for calories burned, sustained heart rate, and stimulating music, according to Baugh, who is referred to as the founder of the "new tennis." But it's also more fun, more social, and more interesting than those activities, he says.

Anyone who plays tennis knows that running to hit the ball can get your heart pumping, but unless you're playing at an advanced level, that quick spurt of activity may be followed by pausing to serve or walking over to retrieve a ball. Cardio tennis, on the other hand, is designed to keep the participants moving the entire time in an effort to mimic interval training. "The average male will burn 600 to 800 calories per session, while a female might burn 300 to 500 calories in 45 minutes," Baugh says. By comparison, running or cross-country skiing typically burns about 10 calories per minute for a 160-pound person, according to figures from the American Council on Exercise.

Cardio tennis is a "series of workout drills while you're on a tennis court, playing tennis," says Baugh. The activity is designed for 6-8 people, takes place on an indoor or outdoor tennis court, and involves hitting tennis balls that are fed across the net. But because instructors can chose from 20 different drills for the warm-up and 40 different drills for the cardio portion of the workout, every class is different, he notes. Drills can include running through a rope ladder placed on the court, jumping rope, crunches, shuffling around a cone, or a three-on-three game that mimics a real tennis game. Although they vary somewhat, all the drills are designed to keep you moving at all times, in turn elevating the heart rate to between 65 and 85 percent of its maximum, says Baugh.

And then there’s the fun factor. Baugh says cardio tennis is a lot more entertaining than indoor cycling, for instance, where you're seated on a stationary bike the entire time. "The music makes it fun, and the drills are all mixed up, which makes it interesting," he says. A typical session includes a 5 to 10 minute warm-up with drills such as shadow swinging (swinging a tennis racket without hitting a ball) and shuffle steps. This is followed by a 30- to 50-minute cardio workout involving 8 to 12 different drills. Last but not least, the session concludes with a 5- to 10-minute cool down that may include slower activities or some stretching.

Cardio tennis is designed for beginners and experts alike; the instructors can feed balls to the participants based on play and fitness levels. Some sessions mix skill levels while others only include drills designed for advanced players, according to Baugh.

Does this up-and-coming sport seem like something you’d enjoy? You’re in luck. Cardio tennis is currently available at more than 1,300 public and private tennis facilities throughout the US. For more information, or to find a cardio tennis class in your area, visit www.cardiotennis.com and before beginning a cardio tennis class be sure to consult your physician or health care professional.