This book is an easy read with small pages, large print, a picture on each page, many diagrams, numerous lists and summary tables.  It is a great reference book for athletes, coaches and trainers.  And while the book is targeted at tennis players, the majority of information in the book would be applicable to all sports and levels of athletes.

This book succinctly outlines all the factors an athlete must consider in order to maximize performance. It briefly covers a long list of crucial factors such as warm-up, stretching, cool-down, nutrition, training concerns, mental training, overtraining, recovery, outsmarting your injuries, tapering and peaking.

In particular, I found the chapter on nutritional concern written by Patricia Chuey extremely helpful.  Very readable, this chapter concentrated on just what an athlete needs to know about nutrition, and provided helpful examples.  As with the other chapters, much of the material covered would be applicable to other sports and varying levels of athletes.  The chapter relayed interesting information, such as the fact that decreased water intake may cause fat deposits to increase, and that alcohol should be avoided 6 hours before strength or anaerobic training as it can cause hormonal changes that inhibit the adaptive process, risking the positive effects of the training session. 

Chuey also had a great quote for all those who enjoy junk food;

"Remember the 80-20 rule: Eat well at least 80 percent of the time but leave some room for soul nourishment and pure pleasure. If you're going to ingest foods or drinks that offer little nutritional value such as coffee, beer, jelly beans, pop, sugary cakes and so on, make the indulgence worthwhile.  If the food offers no nutritional value, at least aim to get maximum psychological pleasure out of it."

Another very useful section of the book is the "Outsmarting Your Injuries" chapter.  An athlete screen is included, with seven short tests that help the athlete identify areas of discomfort, stiffness or tension.  If the athlete fails a test, a list of exercises is recommended to focus on the problem area to quickly and effectively correct the situation.  The rest of the chapter focuses on key considerations for the lower back, core stability and pelvic malalignment. 

The book is an excellent reference book, and I would highly recommend it.  It covers a large range of topics, concentrating solely on what you need to know.  If you are an athlete, work with athletes, or are a coach or parent this would be great reference book to find the answer to any question you have related to athletic performance.

Fit to Play Tennis Book Review

Title - Fit to Play Tennis

Authors - Carl Petersen & Nina Nittinger

Edition - 1st (2003)

ISBN 0-9734314-0-7

Published by - Fit to Play, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Book Review Rating - 3/5

Pages - 209

Cost - $23.95 CAN. + Applicable Taxes + S & H.

Article written by Rick Kaselj - rkaselj@healingthroughmovement.com

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