This week’s tennis training topic is another exercise that made a brief appearance in the new Netflix documentary, “Break Point.” Shortly after the 19-minute mark of S1E1, there is a glimpse of American doubles specialist Nicole Melichar Martinez stretching an elastic band diagonally across her body in two directions. According to my stopwatch, she is on screen a scant 1.4 seconds. Chances are that even if you noticed it at all, you didn’t have time to wonder what she was doing.
The exercise Melichar Martinez was performing is called “Diagonal Elastic Band Pull Aparts.” It is a great way to warm up the shoulders before playing, so you will see many of the pros doing it before competing. Diagonal Elastic Band Pull Aparts have also been a sporadic part of my own fitness regime after it was included in the prescribed Airrosti rehab following a shoulder injury.
This exercise is great for desk jockeys and people who sit slouched over a computer monitor all day. (Hey! That’s me!) In addition to shoulder mobility, it works the neglected middle back muscles and corrects a muscular imbalance inherent to sitting in a chair all day. In turn, that leads to improved posture.
Diagonal Elastic Band Pull Aparts can be done with any form of resistance bands. Basically, you grip the band in each hand with one slightly above the shoulder and the other around the level of your stomach. Then you simply extend the arms to pull them apart diagonally.
I typically do five in one direction before reversing the hand positions to do five the other way. In the “Break Point” clip, Melichar Martinez is seen doing a single repetition before reversing. It is possible she is doing single reps or perhaps the producers showed her on the transition for visual appeal.
In any case, Diagonal Elastic Band Pull Aparts are a great exercise for recreational tennis players, especially those who sit a lot during the day. The minimal investment in time and energy can return big dividends in terms of shoulder mobility and posture improvements. This is definitely one you should consider adding to your fitness regime.
 | Resistance Bands Set |
