Inspiration from a fit, former tennis pro in her 50's
Getting my ass kicked by a former top 100 player in the world inspired me to start Tennis Fitness Mastery, my new program to help tennis players play pain-free.
If you missed yesterday's announcement about Tennis Fitness Mastery, you can check that out here.
Today is the origin story of how a former female pro in her 50’s kicked my ass and inspired me to start my new program, Tennis Fitness Mastery.
June 2022 - Tamarindo, Costa Rica
I show up to the weekly clinic at 15 Love, a beautiful little club with 2 courts less than a 5 minute walk to the beach here in Tamarindo where I’ve been living for the last 14 years.
I see a very fit woman in her 50’s warming up. Her movement is fluid, her strokes precise, and she hasn’t made a mistake in the 3 minutes I’ve been watching..
We start with some easy drills and she still hasn’t missed. Her name is Tish, and I learn she used to be in the top 100 in the world when she was 20.
As the more intense rally points start, little did I know she had another gear - every point I played against her I felt rushed, she was taking the ball early and effortlessly putting the ball in tough spots.
90 minutes later I was cooked…but also inspired.
Let the Competition Begin
I asked her more about her tennis life and she told me about these ITF tournaments all over the world that she travels to and plays in tournaments. They’re master level so you play against other players within the same age range.
She shared how much fun it is to play competitively again - to feel the pressure, to prepare well, to keep her body in shape and her mind sharp. To keep pushing herself to grow.
She was speaking my language..
She gently encouraged me to give it a shot. “You’d love it.”
So I gave it a shot.
And some action below…
But My Body Was Not Ready
I was loving it..
The preparation. The pressure. The physicality.
Healthy competition was bringing out the best in everyone. I was pushing and challenging myself..
But there was a big problem!
As I started playing more, my body started hurting all the time. I had knee, low back, and achilles pain. Once the knee pain was gone, the back would flair up. Then the back would be manageable and then the achilles would start up.
It was endless. It sucked. I had to stop playing a for a while…
I was 42 years old, clearly past my prime but I still felt like I had more fight in me. I wasn’t done yet. Pickleball could wait for now.
If I wanted to keep competing, I had to find a solution.
So I put on my intellectual nerd hat and looked at the problem through all the different modalities I’ve been studying and practicing over the last 15 years.
I looked at biomechanics, strength training, mobility work, joint health, even mental and emotional techniques.
What I discovered was that my body wasn’t ready for all the physical demands of tennis. I was missing a lot of movement requirements for what tennis required and I was paying the price with pain.
For example:
Years of ankle sprains left me with tight ankles that was causing more stress on my knees which eventually led me to 2 surgeries to fix a damaged connective tissue in both knees.
And years of working hunched over at a computer left me with tight shoulders with limited range of motion. Without full range of motion, every serve I took put extra stress on tiny rotator cuff muscles which would seize up and cause all sorts of pain.
So I started healing my body from the ground up by giving it the right inputs.
Fixing my feet was one of the most powerful things I did to get back to playing pain-free.
Doing a daily 5-min mobility routine designed to address the limitations from sitting at a computer has changed the way my body functions.
Basic strength training a minimum of 2x per week keeps my muscles strong and connective tissue supple.
I’ll be sharing more over the next days and weeks of how I’m bulletproofing my body with simple practices so that I can continue to play life full out..
But I want to ask you a quick favor..
What is most interesting to you?
As I build out this new offer around tennis and fitness, I’m also exploring content in the performance, longevity, and mental health space.
I’d love to know why you’re here.
Tennis and fitness is one area that I’m obviously passionate about - If that’s your thing, there’s no doubt I can help you out.
But I’m also exploring areas of health, performance and longevity, everything from flow states to surfing to mindfulness and even plant medicine experiences. These are all areas of interest that I have spent lots of time thinking about and experiencing firsthand.
I want to know what you’re interested in.
Can you take 30 seconds and reply back with your a ranking of your top 3-5 areas of interest:
Get out of pain and bulletproof your body from injury
Build strength and improve performance of your sport or activity you love
Lose weight and build a body that looks and feels great
Learn how to use the science of flow to get more done
How to intelligently use psychedelics to improve connection and creativity
Anything else?
Thanks in advance, I’ll talk to you soon..
Nick