Shape discusses the benefits of adding tennis to a fitness routine and includes tips from Chelsea Long, MS, CSCS, TPI, exercise physiologist at HSS.

Long explained that tennis is a complete, total-body workout and can improve cardiovascular fitness and motor control and beyond the physical benefits, there are social benefits. “You're getting a little competitive action during the week; you're meeting new people,” she added.

She said, “The muscles you work for tennis are similar to those you work during lots of rotational sports. You need a lot of hip stability and strength [and] glute strength. You're working your quads, your hamstrings, your entire core musculature, your shoulder blade musculature, your deltoids, your biceps, your forearms, and your upper back.”

She recommended incorporating cross-training movements into an existing routine to help on and off the tennis court. “To benefit tennis, you want to do good hip stability and strength exercises, good core work, [and] good shoulder stability and strength exercises,” she noted.

Long also advised adding in lower body exercises. “You want to do some bridges, some side steps, squats, a hip hinge — so a deadlift — and then single-leg variations of those to make sure you're performing single-leg exercises."

According to Long, single-leg exercises are important for all sports that require some sort of running motion, since “being strong enough to jump on one leg is a good pre-requisite to being strong enough to run.” This also helps prevent injuries.

People with pre-existing injuries or sensitivities should ease into playing. She said people with current or past dominant shoulder injuries "would want to make sure that they have the proper strength, mobility, and stabilization in their shoulder prior to playing a sport like tennis.”

She added, “And then anybody who has hip pain or hip injury or knee injury, you want to make sure that those joints are stable and strong before you start adding power and rotational components, such as tennis.”

Read the full article at Shape.com.