Staples – Shubert Blog

Written by: Resendiz on 8th October 2011

Staples - Shubert Blog |

Hey folks, sorry I’ve been out of touch the past few days, have been having some pretty tough days of practice lately! On more positive news, I just received my very first media credential clearance for the upcoming HSBC Event at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on October 14th!! I’ll get the opportunity to go behind the scenes for 10sballs.com and interview/watch/record some of the LEGENDS of TENNIS! Idols like Sampras, Agassi, Courier, McEnroe, and Chang to name a few! Seriously, we’re talking the legends here, so I think the show is going to be awesome. I’m really excited for this opportunity and am going to prepare for it as if it’s a tournament of my own. The situation does kind of present itself in the same way the Claremont Future was for me back in September – It’s a first time thing for me you know. I can only hope to go into the Staples Center with a clear head, strong goals, and try to put myself in the right situations. There will be a press conference ahead of the main event which I will attend and then of course when the action starts, I’ll be right there camera(s) in hand(s) documenting all the great tennis and hilarity to ensue.

Well, that is my big upcoming news, let me share a little bit of what my daily routine has been like the past few days! I’ve started training on a track, like Murray and Roddick. I’m sure there are other players out there who also hit the track, but those are the big name guys who you can find pictures of online. My coaches have worked in Barcelona and Miami and have seen Murray running 200m sprints. So, naturally, I’ve started running 200m sprints. They are serious tests for the body. There’s no other way to describe them. If you can do them consistently in under 32 seconds, your legs will become “beasts”. And that’s of course what my plan is; I want to be a beast on the court so I have to train like one. It also explains why those guys are always going deep into Slams, and their legs are HUGE. Murray and Roddick can do 20 or 30 of these 200m sprints consistently hard. That’s incredible because I’m spent after about 8. It trains your heart, lungs, and of course, your legs. After running these, I’ll also do stadium stair workouts. Currently I’ve been at Santa Barbara City College’s track and field stadium, and their stadium has about 70 stairs. One step at a time the first time up, then, skip a step, then skip two steps. By the time I get to the top, I feel like my body is betraying me, almost passing out. Everyone can remember when Murray and Roddick had physiques that were kinda shrimpy? Or rather, not as well defined? And then now you look at them as they’ve matured and their legs are tree trunks and their bodies are chiseled.

When I hit the court after these morning track/stair workouts, my legs are trembling already. They feel tight, hip flexors and groin are overworked, and my feet start to feel like they wanna cramp up in my running shoes. Some stretching, more hydrating, rolling out with my roller stick, and I begin hitting tennis balls. After about 10 minutes all the side affects leave from the running and I really start to burn the legs with tennis movement. It feels great to be honest. The only thing that doesn’t feel great are mishits due to windy conditions. It’s so tough to constantly move your feet in the wind when your feet are dead! For the most part however I’ve been having really good workouts on and off the court. I’ve also supplemented these workouts with light weight workouts on my legs at the gym as well as yoga. It’s the first tiem I’ve touched weights in over a month. But I believe the little leg strengthening workouts I do more or less just activate some blood flow, break up some tightness, and hopefully prep my tendons and muscles for a little more growth. At night, I make sure I stretch alot, hydrate, roll on a foam roller, and take some ibuprofen if I have any serious pains in a hamstring or calf. Taking tennis and training this seriously definitely affects my social nights out, but in the long run I have to believe that the work I do during the day will pay off. If I start messing around and going out at night a lot, that could jeopardize my sleep routine and my body. Rafa might have the ability to go out until 5am clubbing (As he mentions he does with his buddies back home in his autobiography), and then wake up for 9am training, but I’m just not at that level yet hahaha. All work and no play definitely does make Jack a dull guy, but come October 14th, there will definitely be some fun and excitement to work with at the Staples Center! Stay tuned!

Always trying to improve,

Shubert