Venus, Sharapova, Henin;OUT

So sad to see these players lose.

Venus got waxed and Maria put up quite a fight.Henin got beat up by the bazooka forehand of Sam Stosur.

Do you see how fitness is a factor?

Start hitting the iron tomorrow.

Start your cardio fitness on Wednesday.

Start winning because you are fitter than the field.

Beach sand

You can get FIT anywhere.

Before the sand gets too hot, go for a nice walk barefooted.
Dig your toes into the sand as you push off. Work those calves.Jog if you can. Then walk. Then jog.

When your calves start to burn, go back to your towel and Margarita.

Enjoy this beautiful, sunny day.

Boy's and Girl's Tournament

The best 16 and under boys and girls are playing in a tournament today, Sunday and Monday at The Ashe Tennis Center in East Falls.

Yesterday, I saw some good matches.

Saw some future college players and one potential ATP and WTA top 50 in the world player.

Got to hang a little with some of the top coaches in our area. Cha, Eric, Chris. Missed Justin. As a kid he was on my court being tortured with drills and sayings made up just for him. Now, he coaches some top juniors.

The weather looks dismal right now as I await my first lesson of the day.

Hope it holds off so all matches can start and finish.

Have a great weekend whatever you do. Be safe. Don't text and drive.....

Aerobic Endurance Training

I have been barking about being FIT to HIT since I used to play with a wooden racket.

Here are some types of aerobic endurance training I like to do to stay "in the game"

Type 1:
LONG, SLOW DISTANCE. 1-2 times per week for 30- 120 minutes. Now, I must admit I have NEVER lasted for 2 hours unless I was roller blading with friends. On a sunny Sunday afternoon with a few stops for icecream at Dilly's Corner and a burger at Meil's.

You will improve cardiovascular function and use more fat for fuel.

Type 2
PACE/TEMPO. 1-2 times per week for 20-30 minutes. This is more my time line. And pace/tempo improves energy production from both the aerobic and anaerobic source.

Type 3
INTERVAL. 1-2 times per week. 3-5 minute intervals. Start the feed and try to keep that one ball going for 3-5 minutes. At noon on a hot, sunny day wearing your "play Hy on grass" sweatshirt. Yeah!

Type 4
REPETITION. Once per week. 30-90 second interval. Get the ball machine plugged in or have your pro feed you some patterns. Hitting the wall or a back board works well too. There is a school near me that has "the" perfect wall. The Principal has asked me to stop my noise a couple of times.

Type 5
FARTLEK. Once per weeek 20-60 minutes. I like this endurance type a lot. All you have to do is start out with a long, slow run combined with a short burst of hy intensity sprint as far as you can get then start your long, slow run again. I like to do this upHill. Lauriston is my favorite street to Fartlek.

Today is my Fartlek day.....before it rains again...

Cause Nets Ova

Well, I was worried for Svetlana Kuznetsova.

I had visions of 2004 against Myskina and 2005 against Henin dancing in my head. My heart racing and illegally coaching her from my couch.
Yesterday, I had four heart attacks.
Svetland was down 6-4, 5-4, with Petkovic serving. She saved 4 match points and finally pulled that set out 7-5.

I think she is playing tight. Nervous. Wants it too much. I know that sounds strange coming from me..... Wants it to much.......breathe...move, smack the crap out of the inside out forehand. You are a champion. Play like a champion.

And yes, respect your opponents, but NEVER put them on a pedestal. You will NEVER beat them towering over you like that.

***Tournament Directors: NEVER make the players choose if they should play or stop due to darkness or rain. You are in this position to make the big calls. MAN UP.

The Monfils vs Fognini match at 4-4 in the 5th set and darkness falling upon the land should have stopped.. They were not playing in the gloaming anymore.....it was dark...no sunlight...no lights in the Stadium....STOP PLAY

Hydrate!

De-hydration is enemy #1 to a tennis player.

The weather is getting hotter and hotter. You must stay well hydrated.
As the sun beats down on you during a long match and you feel thirsty and fatigued....be concerned about your hydration.

Thirst is a delayed response. By the time you feel thirsty, you are already slightly dehydrated. So, give that bod the water it needs, even before you think you need it.

Drink water with all meals and snacks, anything sweet or salty and in a 1:1 ratio with caffeine, alcohol and soda. Drink water before, during and after exercise.

Going to the nearest restaurant bar with your teammates after league match for a beer does not count unless you have one beer then a glass of water. 1:1 ratio.

Good hydration que? Your urine will be clear or pale in color. You are not going to flush right? Carbon Footprint Reduction....

Juice.teen Henin wins

Who said you have to be 6'2" to be successful at professional tennis? Justine Henin is pettite and "kicks butt" on every surface. Though I was not happy with her behavior a few years ago, I can't deny the girl can play.

It's Dirt season. Har-tru, Red clay. The running game. The FITness game.
Soon grass season will be upon us.

I am in training for the USTA Grass Nationals.
Ran up Shurs Lane a lot faster yesterday. So proud of myself.

Went to the tennis club before my run to collect a moving part(screw) for one of my ball carts. I left it in the stadium on Sunday. Found it.

No one wanted to run with me so off I went by myself.

Started my run and soon discovered that my iPod needed charging. I ran that hill with NO music. Just the sound of my in through the nose, out through the mouth cadence.

And the thought of the kids with Cystic Fibrosis who can't do this. I ran for them.

Back in February 2010, I played in the CF Pro-am in Allentown. Darcy, Yulia, Kenn, Andrea. Friends of mine who got auctioned off and played their butts off for the cause.

As you go through your day today, easy on the rage...some are worse off than you.

Dirt Dawg:Tsonga

Holy red dirt, Batman.
It is way too early in this tournament to have a 5 set match.

The French Open is here.

In an earlier Blog I mentioned FITness on dirt courts.

Tsonga admits that "I was not at the top of my shape with regards to running". Yeah boy-e, you need to run Shurs Lane with me in 90 degree weather.

Umm, Venus? Nice see through "style". It's all about keeping em talking, right. Well, you did it, girl.

Hy and Cha must fix your serve though. Seven double faults? Really? Really!

Roge-Fed is cruising through.

Oudin? I can't "believe" you lost.

Watch the French Open on NBC, ESPN, Tennis Channel and TV5.

Gotta run. Literally, Shurs Lane is calling my name. I want to run it faster this week.

Whip Lash...

I seriously hurt my neck yesterday playing in the Pro-am. Chasing a serve to my backhand, I whipped my neck. Ouch. Stiffness and pain.

Do you know of an on-call Chiropractor?

My massage therapist would fix this neck right up, but she is away for the weekend.

Tennis was great all morning until the rain. We switched to Aronomink CC to play on the har-tru courts. They were under water. So we played a paddle Pro-am instead.

Competitive pros will play any racket sport. All for a good cause.

If you want to watch and cheer some AWESOME tennis, the finals of $25,000 Philadelphia Clay Court Championships is at Great Valley Racket Club starting at 4pm. 7th seed Jhonson Garcia from the Dominican Republic vs 2nd seed Marcus Sarstrum of Sweden. Sarstrum won this tournament last year..See you there?

Singles back draw and doubles matches will get underway at 1pm.

Great Valley Racket Club
10 North Morehall Road
Malven, Pa

SOLD......$1100

Today from 1130am to 430 pm the Pro-Am is LIVE..

I will write more later. Have to pack bananas, and water and bagels for my long competitive day.

Come hang on this awesome campus. Tennis will be awesome.

Pro-Am Auction

Caught up with "life" yesterday. My day off from hitting tennis balls.
My legs were beat up.
Not only did my UpHill run beat me up but my Singles Drill at 9pm Wednesday night totally did me in. John was on time for class and he did not miss for 15 minutes straight until the other players showed up.


I had to eat the proper quantity of protein to supply my broken down muscles with the building blocks needed to rebuild even stronger after my UpHill run.

Being Raw-Vegan, leafy-green vegetables, legumes and seeds help. Especially hemp seeds. Combined with carbohydrates, these proteins are able to infuse my tired muscles with more energy than carbos can by itself.

Unfortunately, stiff, achy muscles need movement to get the lactic acid out. You just can't sit around because you ache. So, I went walkabout to find Walt Whitman's tomb......Found it. A nice walk to extract some acid.

Two months ago I was asked to be play in the Pro-Am at
Episcopal Academy

I said yes.

Today, I get auctioned off. Bought by another human being, or several.....yes, I know what you are thinking.

This is for a good cause. And on an ego level, I want to be sold for the most bucks. So I will wear the right outfit to accentuate the upper legs and buttocks. LOL.

I will hit balls with perfect technique and accuracy to up the bidding and ham it upHarlem Globetroter style to excite the crowd. Again with the intention to bring in more dollars until the auction hammer hits the wood.

These events are so much fun. Not only for Pros but for our "owners" as well. There are a few scenarios for who will play with us. Usually, we play with who ever bought us. Often we are given a partner chosen by our owner. Or partners are drawn from a hat, auctioned off and play begins. I personally prefer my partner drawn from a hat. Then there are no Serena-Hy combinations too strong for the field....

The winning team's owner gets first pick from a list of very cool and very expensive "prizes". If you want to get in on the bidding, it all starts at 630pm tonight at Episcopal.

Before all of this I am taking a 5 year old to Wissahickon Creek to search for frogs.

In this picture she is wearing my jacket, sunglasses and signature hat. Mini-me. Well, at age 5, I was not playing tennis. On the day this picture was taken, all the 5 year old players wanted to wear my jacket, sunglasses and hat.

Tori is a really good tennis player. As soon as I figure it out, I will post some video of her playing. She is like a 5 year old Serena Williams. Anyway, she loves frogs and her mom thinks anything slimey and buggy is NEVER coming into her house. So, Tori and I are going to bring some frogs into her house. First we have to find them...

If you want to join us, we will be near Valley Green searching for frogs today..

Are you FIT to HIT?

Yesterday, my run up Shurs Lane kicked my butt. My iPod was blasting for motivation. "100% pure love", "adult education" and "aint no other man" helped me keep a good cadence up that hill. It all ended with "don't call me baby".

When I finally got to the light pole on Ridge and Shurs, my thights were hard as rocks and I needed help from Roxborough Memorial one block away but I sucked it up and ran back down the hill to "buttons" and "gonna make you sweat".

My thought throughout this run was, if you're not FIT you might as well quit.

Are you FIT to HIT?

Har-tru season is HERE.
Can you last 15, 18, 20 shots to win the point?
Can you run from side line to side line for 8 straight minutes?
Can you swing 20 times at that damn slice shot your opponent likes to hit?
Can you bend so low you touch the dirt, 15 times in a row?
Can you slide to that slice shot 18 times in a row?
Can you do it?

Can you last? No? Excuse me, I did not hear you.

Join my UpHill FIT Club and never lose a tennis match because your opponent has better lung endurance, better leg endurance and better stroke endurance.


The FrenchOpen is starting 0n May 23. Just watch the fitness level of these players.
"ONLY THE FITTEST OF THE FITTEST SHALL SURVIVE"

Arrive at your league match and tournament match FIT and ready to HIT.
Check out all I have to offer you to improve at
Calendar of Programs

On an incline today

Fat Edna is at it again.

From 1995 to 2006, I have won 6 National Grass Court Championships. In the 35's. After 2006 a major health issue then surgery then "recovery" has hampered my forward progress.

This year, I want to win the 35 Grass Nationals "one more time". I think 7 is a nice number. Don't you?

How am I going to achieve this knocking on 49's door? INCLINE.

I live in Manayunk and during my 6 championship run years ago, I used the hills of Manayunk as my cardio workout. I sprinted. I leap froged. I ran from Main to Ridge on Shurs until I wanted to throw up...then I crawled home for a protein shake, a bath and my bed.

On this gloomy afternoon, I am heading to Shurs Lane. Have to get my cardio as close to a Himalayan Sherpa to win on grass at 49.

If you want to join me on any of my runs, I would love the company.

Text @ 215-802-0797

Email @ hyintensity10s@aol.com