TENNIS
TIP<br>*****************************************************************<br>Hold
Your Breath To Hit A Better Shot!<br>Proper
breathing (controlled and rhythmic inhalation and
<br>exhalation) is essential to playing well; it relaxes you
during periods <br>of stress and allows your muscles to
work in a well-coordinated <br>fashion. Developing a
synchronized, smooth breathing pattern in <br>between points
offers many obvious benefits, and because of this it
<br>is often assumed and recommended to do the same
while <br>executing your stroke. Yet, following this
advice and applying the <br>same breathing pattern when
hitting your shots can be detrimental <br>to your
performance. Why? Because studies that have measured
<br>breathing synchronized with film analysis have shown that
athletes <br>inhale then hold their breath during the
entire execution phase. <br>They exhale only well into
the follow-through portion of the stroke! <br> <br>By
holding your breath the core portion of your body (the
chest, <br>stomach and back) become a stabilized unit in
which the arms and <br>legs can move about to generate
force. For example, try pushing a <br>heaving object
without having a solid base to help you resist from
<br>sliding as seen if you were trying to push a person
heavier then <br>you, a refrigerator, or even a car. The
result is that you will <br>actually <br>be pushed or
slide backwards because you are not able to
<br>overcome inertia to get the object moving (Remember
Newton’s <br>law – a body at rest tends to stay at rest
while a body in motion <br>tends to stay in motion). On
the other hand, if you can brace your <br>body so
that it will not move you can now overcome<br>Read
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