Anyone out there a tennis player? page

[jtrain_36]

I've found that since going Primal I've had more energy to get through the longer and tougher matches. I was wondering if anyone else felt the same. Also was curious as to what the Paleo views were on tennis, obviously Grok didn't play tennis, but all the sprinting has to be Primal right?

[iniQuity]

Play and exercise are primal, so yes tennis is 'primal' ... but don't get so attached to the label, I think that doesn't usually end well.

I played tennis in HS (third singles, which is to say I was the third best player on the team, but that doesn't mean I was good, we were just all pretty bad) but I wasn't eating primal then. However, my diet in HS wasn't entirely terrible and I was always active so I didn't have issues with practice or games.

My worst memory is getting spanked by a kid in one of the richer towns we played against, I didn't win a single game, he beat me in straight sets and aced me almost every time he served. My entire team lost horribly though, those kids were probably playing since they were 3. In retrospect it's actually not such a bad memory after all, we were all laughing about it on the bus ride home, even our coach. I think we got ice cream, even though we were all well past that age, we just needed some up-lifting..

[ciep]

Absolutely. Love it. Not very good but whatever.

I like ini's response - don't get attached to the label of 'primal', but yeah... it's play, it involves lots of sprinting and agility, and includes the mind a lot too (skill and strategy components). Great way to stay healthy if you enjoy it.

[ppham27]

Definitely qualifies as play. Don't try anything too crazy like playing barefoot, though. I've found that you need shoes with cushioning because of all the cutting and changing direction you do.

[jtrain_36]

Funny that you should mention playing barefoot, I also comment over at talk tennis (the tennis warehouse forum). I had to try my hardest to convince someone not to play barefoot and I don't believe I succeeded, at least they'll realize I was right after completely tearing their feet apart though.

[jsa23]

I don't play tennis much like I used to, but it would seem to fit well into the overall Primal view of athletics: The nature of the sport makes it closer to sprinting(or at least intervals) than sustained cardio, and it's definitely play.

I wasn't paleo/primal when I was playing tennis back in high school and had a fairly lousy diet, but I can only think of 2 occasions where fatigue/endurance was really an issue. Both happened to be days where I was playing in local tournaments, where we played multiple(best of 3 sets) matches in a day. Both days were 90+ degrees, and both days my first match was quite close/tough. By the 3rd set of the 2nd match(6th set overall) I was just dead.

Of course when playing tennis, when you get tired your footwork is the first thing to go. And when your footwork goes, so does the accuracy/consistency of your strokes.

[Dice Monkey]

Yep, I enjoy tennis a lot. It's frustrating because in my area there isn't much of a tennis community. There are people who get together and play but it's not really focused on improving and skill development, moreso social.

I've actually been out of it for a while, but am jumping back in this week. I know it's time for a restringing, so I guess I'll start there.

[Cavemanseph]

I believe Novak djokovic is paleo and since he changed his diet he has hardly ever lost!

[morganpmiller]

If extended lateral movement didn't make me feel like I had the legs of an 80 year old, I might consider playing tennis

[MightyMouse]

Its been a long time since I played, but use to do varsity. My team sucked though, so I got stuck at #1 seed and got my ass kicked all the time