Have you ever participated in Cardio Tennis? Carolyn and Erin have but we’re not sure we were doing it correctly. That’s why we wanted to host Michele, Cardio Tennis Consultant for USTA to record, “Cardio Tennis – a Heart Rate-Based Workout”.

The Inception of Cardio Tennis

In the early 2000s, Tennis industry experts realized group fitness activities were more popular than traditional sports. From that, Cardio Tennis was born! They launched it at the US Open in 2005 with hundreds of people participating, After its launch, Michele and her tennis colleagues figured it would become popular in the United States but it was so well-received that it went global! Michele has had the privilege of traveling all over the world introducing people to Cardio Tennis as a heart rate-based workout.

How Cardio Tennis Should Be Taught

Much like Orange Theory or any other group fitness class at a gym, Cardio Tennis should be run as a heart rate-based workout. The difference between those classes is, you can’t hit a tennis ball like you can in a Cardio Tennis class! Unfortunately, many tennis coaches run cardio tennis as an extension of a tennis clinic. It makes it hard to combine different levels of players’ abilities. When Cardio Tennis is run correctly, participants wear a heart rate monitor and stay in certain heart rate zones for a set amount of time.

A lot of coaches put on music and feed a lot of balls and call it “Cardio Tennis.”. That’s not the right way to teach it. There’s a very set format with time hacks — just like any group fitness class. If a tennis player takes a Cardio Tennis class in Atlanta, it should be run the same way as a Cardio Tennis class in Alabama.

Seek Out Cardio Tennis Classes with Heart Rate-Based Results

We hope more people will seek out Cardio Tennis classes. If you need to do cardio, why not have that cardio class also involve your favorite activity (tennis!)?

Click this website for more information. View the videos to get started on the path to a great heart rate-based workout.

Tennis Warehouse’s Tip of the Week

We hope you’re enjoying our Tennis Warehouse’s Tip of the Week segments with Michelle. Use discount code SECONDSERVE in your Tennis Warehouse cart and get $20 off clearance apparel orders over $100. Clearance apparel can be found here!

For more in-depth discussions about gear, check out Michelle’s Talk Tennis podcast.