Exercise & Fitness Articles

The next progression for increasing the power of your serve is the squat jumps. Since power and explosion are paramount in service power, the squat jump is a perfect tool to use.

Progression 2: Squat Jumps

How to do it:

1) Stand with your feet shoulder width apart

2) Slowly bend your knees and lower your hips as you were performing a squat

3) When your thighs reach parallel, drive your feet into the ground & thrust your feet forward, while exploding up into the air

4) Land with your feet shoulder width apart

5) With a fluid motion repeat for 10-20 reps

Beginners: For beginners, it may be more difficult to smoothly transition from one squat jump to the next without pausing. If you are having trouble, between each rep, pause for a second to gather yourself and repeat.

Intermediate: For people who have good stability and balance, the goal here is to perform one rep to the next in a fluid motion without pause. To add intensity, each progressive set work to decrease the time your feet touch the ground on each rep.

Advanced: To really increase the intensity and activate fast twitch muscle fibers used in the serve, add weight.

To begin, you can use either a barbell placed on your shoulders (as in a squat) or you can use dumbbells placed in each hand hanging to your sides.

Start with a weight you can curl with your biceps at least 6 times. As the exercise becomes easier and easier, increase the weight in increments of 5-10 pounds.

For advanced athletes using weight, perform 2-4 sets of 6-8 reps. The goal here is not to fatigue the muscles, but to stimulate fast twitch muscle fibers.