She has thighs of steele, a gorgeous body and as the first woman to get this far in Wimbledon since 1998, super-human talent on the court. We can’t help you replicate the latter but we can steal a page from Laura Robson’s fitness tricks with this gym floor workout. Based on the moves Robson uses herself to keep fit and toned, she has created it with help from her personal fitness trainer Dejan Vojnovic
Key aspects of the workout, which replicate movements needed for a variety of tennis shots, include exercises with Power Plate, ViPR and medicine ball. These exercises provide a whole body workout, which works more muscle groups compared with isolated machine based exercises.
Laura Robson says, ‘Training for big tournaments such as Wimbledon requires additional gym floor exercises to help strengthen certain muscle groups to maximise my match potential. This workout works all the key muscle groups I use when I’m training. I can’t guarantee they’ll make you a tennis-pro but you’ll have fun while working up a sweat.’
Steal the workout:
Side lunge into opposite side step over with single arm driver
Standing with legs shoulder-width apart, lunge out to right side while simultaneously swinging right arm over head
Step across your left leg planting right foot firmly on the floor while simultaneously swinging left arm over your head
Repeat movement for 30 seconds then switch legs
Multi-directional single leg hop
Multi-directional single leg hop
Balance on right foot
Hop to 12 o’clock and back to centre
Hop to 3 o’clock and back to centre
Hop to 9 o’clock and back to centre
Hop to 6 o’clock and back to centre
Repeat movement for 30 seconds then switch legs
ViPR – mogul step low to high swings
Hold ViPR in neutral grip
Skip to right side, as your right foot lands turn right hip and swing ViPR from low to high across your body
Repeat technique on left side, alternate for 20 reps on each side
ViPR – travelling ice skaters
Hold ViPR in neutral grip
Hop from one foot to the next, travelling forwards from 2 o’clock to 10 o’clock
Travel backwards hopping from 4 o’clock to 7 o’clock
Hopping from each point, drive far end of the ViPR down and across body
Repeat for 30 seconds
Power Plate – single leg jump with 2 footed landing
Set Power Plate to 1 minute, low amplitude, 30-40Hz
Place right foot onto middle of plate
Drive force through right leg to lift body as high into the air as possible
Land on Power Plate with both legs, bending legs to absorb impact
Repeat with same leg for 30 seconds then switch to left leg
Medicine ball 2-handed serving action with front lunge
Select a fairly heavy medicine ball
Place right foot in front of left as if to serve a tennis ball
To start, hold medicine ball low then bring it up behind your head, leaning backwards slightly
Throw medicine ball forward and down, while at same time stepping through with back leg
Keep smooth movement by going straight into a repeat rep by stepping backwards and moving medicine ball from inside hip back over your head
Repeat on same side for 12-15 reps then switch to other side
2 and 10 o’clock lunges with medicine ball single arm balance and hold
Hold underside of medicine ball with right arm
Lunge out to 2 o’clock while reaching out and forward with the medicine ball, balancing the ball with one hand
Hold position for count of 2 seconds then return to standing position
Lunge out to 10 o’clock while reaching out and forward with medicine ball, balancing the ball with one hand
Hold position for count of 2 seconds then return to standing position
Repeat 2 and 10 o’clock lunges changing height at which you reach out with the ball (low, medium and high)
After 12-15 reps change hands
2 and 10 o’clock cross body lunge and reverse dumbbell fly
Hold a light-medium weight dumbell with left hand
Lunge out to 2 o’clock with right foot, bringing both arms with dumbell behind you – inside arm moving downwards and outside arm moving upwards (like a backhand slice)
Return to standing
Lunge out to 10 o’clock bringing both arms with dumbell behind you
Repeat for 12-15 reps then switch legs
STOP PRESS! To celebrate the Wimbledon championships Virgin Active is opening up all of its health and racquet facilities nationwide free to non-members, to encourage the nation to give tennis a try. Readers can sign up to secure their place at www.virginactive.co.uk/trytennis throughout the tournament and for the week following Wimbledon too.
Like this article? Sign up to our newsletter to get more articles like this delivered straight to your inbox.
