Loading...
Buy your tickets to the summer grass court season
Skip to content

30-minute seated tennis home workout

4 MINUTE READ

If you're looking for a workout you can do at home with limited space then this 30-minute routine is just for you.

Join LTA Physical Performance Manager Alex Cockram and junior wheelchair tennis star Abbie Breakwell as they take you through a seated fitness circuit that to help build your upper-body muscles. Repeat this circuit twice to get a full 30-minute workout.

Exercise one - rotate and press (15 reps)

Grab some dumbbells or even tins from the cupboard that you can use as weights and hold one in each hand. Hold them out to the side with your arms bent forward at 90 degrees. From here you want to rotate your arms to a vertical forearm position without moving your elbows and press overhead. After extending your arms above your head, slowly return to your starting position to comple one full rep. Repeat this 15 times.

Exercise two - reverse flys (15 reps)

Again, using your weights or tins, sit up tall and lean forwards so your elbows are on your thighs. Keep your back as flat as you can and drop your arms in front so they are straight. Slowly start to pull your arms back whilst keeping them as straight as possible, stretching out your chest. Make sure your arms are coming all the way back, in line with your shoulder blades and then return to the strating position to complete the rep. Repeat 15 times.

Exercise three - rotational punches (30 seconds)

Sitting in your chair, punch diagonally out in front of yourself using both arms one after the other. As you're doing this, gently rotate your torso to follow the arm punching out. Try to avoid rotating your body too far around, but use your trunk and shoulders to control your movements. If you're in a wheelchair, remember to put your brakes on for this exercise.

Exercise four - side raises (30 reps)

This exercise is split into three variants, 10 reps on each.

With one weight in each hand, hold your arms below your chair with your knuckles facing behind you. Keep your arms straight and raise them on both sides stretching out. Bring them up to shoulder height to make a 'T' shape and then lower to the starting position. Repeat 10 times.

For the next set, turn your wrist so that your knuckles face upwards and again, raise with your arms stretched out to the side. Repeat 10 times.

Lastly, turn your wrist so your knuckles are facing forward and repeat again 10 times.

Exercise five - row with a tricep extension (20 reps)

As with the reverse flys, lean forward in your chair with your elbows touching your thighs. Holding a weight in each hand, lower your arms straight down in front of you, pull them back towards you so your elbows are tucked into your body at 90 degrees. From here, keep your elbows straight and extend your arms behind you. Return to the row position before lowering your arms in front to complete one rep. Repeat 20 times.

Exercise six - bracing punches (30 seconds)

Similar to the rotational punches, on this exercise you're going to switich between two different types of punches. Still keeping that slight rotation, you're going do one jab either side, followed by one upper-cut with each arm. Reapeat in this sequence for 30 seconds and try to do these as fast as you can, bracing your core as you go.

Exercise seven - shoulder circles (30 reps)

Holding a weight in each hand, stretch your arms out to the side to make a 'T' shape again. With your thumbs pointing upwards, rotate your arms forward to make small circles. Do 15 reps going forward and then change direction to do 15 going backwards.

Exercise eight - band raises (15 reps)

For this exercise you will need either a resistence band or just a towel. With your by your side and your elbows bent at 90 degrees, hold the band or towel out in front of you. Try to pull the towel apart as much as you can using both arms, maintaining external rotation, and with your elbows hinged, raise it up to around eye level. Bring it back down to your starting point to complete one full rep. Keep your forearms straight throughout and don't let them go out to the side.

Exercise nine - figures of eight (15 reps)

Hold one weight out in front of you with both hands. Sitting tall, you want to draw a figure of eight starting above your head and working your way down. Keep your body as stationary as possible and create big circles as you go.

Exercise ten - ball catches (15 reps)

Using either a tennis ball or something as simple as a pair of socks, hold this in one hand and stretch your arm out to the side. Bend your elbow at 90 degrees making and 'L' shape with your arm. Drop the ball from your hand and try and catch it before it hits the ground. Keep your arm as still as possible and you should only rotate your elbow to move your hand to catch the ball.

Don't miss out

Keep up-to-date with the latest Tennis at Home exercises on TwitterFacebook and Instagram or sign up to our free LTA Newsletter

Cookies on LTA site

We use cookies on our site to ACE your experience, improve the quality of our site and show you content we think you’ll be interested in. Let us know if you agree to cookies or if you’d prefer to manage your own settings.