HIIT Versus Sport Specific Training

Every sport has specific skills players need to master, but sport specific drills might not cover every aspect of athletic performance. A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research shows what young tennis players gained from two forms of training.

Twenty-nine male teenage tennis players were assigned 6 weeks of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) or on-court drills. Both groups trained for the same amount of time with passive rest between blocks of effort.

All subjects increased their level of fitness by about 5%. Tennis skills drills were more effective for improving agility and technical skills. HIIT helped players run 400 meters much faster, but subjects in that group didn’t enjoy the experience as much as subjects participating in tennis drills.