Core · Bodyweight
Tennis
How to do the tennis, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Timed
- Movement
- Extension
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Tennis demands explosive lateral movement, upper body strength, and quick reflexes. Expect sustained rallies and high bursts of effort.
- 1Expect lateral shuffling, sprinting, and precise footwork; you should feel your legs and cardiovascular system working hard
- 2Coordinate your racquet swings with your footwork, feeling your shoulders, arms, and core generating power and control
- 3Enjoy the rhythm and quick reactions required for volleys and groundstrokes
Common mistakes
- Don't skip a proper warm-up, especially for your shoulders and legs
- Avoid overextending or twisting your body awkwardly to reach the ball
- Don't play through sharp pain or excessive fatigue; take breaks to recover
Muscles worked
The tennis works the biceps, triceps, mid chest, lats, lower back, upper abs, lower abs, quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves, side delts, forearms, upper traps, and obliques.
- BicepsSupport
- TricepsSupport
- Mid ChestSupport
- LatsSupport
- Lower BackSupport
- Upper AbsSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- QuadsSupport
- GlutesSupport
- HamstringsSupport
- CalvesSupport
- Side DeltsSupport
- ForearmsSupport
- Upper TrapsSupport
- ObliquesSupport
Kovo programs the tennis for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More abs & core exercises
- How to do the ab wheel rollout
- How to do the ankle tap plank
- How to do the ankle taps
- How to do the resistance band dead bugs
- How to do the resistance band pallof press
- How to do the rollout
Last reviewed April 2026.