I'm not sure if I should call it a hobby or not, but I really enjoy trying professional athletes' and celebrities' workouts. I'm a big fan of Halle Berry's ab workouts, and I always do The Rock's upper-body workout whenever I want to feel completely gassed.
In 2019, I had the opportunity to train with pro tennis player Danielle Collins shortly before she took on the competition at the US Open. It was hard (as expected) but also really fun. Danielle's strength coach, NSCA-certified trainer Josh Cooper, PhD, CSCS, took us through an intense workout that focused on rotational power, agility, and reaction. Because Danielle was preparing to compete, Dr. Cooper said it was a "peaking-phase, low-volume" workout. This means we did fewer sets and reps and focused on more tennis-specific movements like medicine-ball tosses.
If you're a tennis fan or curious as to how professional athletes train, you'll want to try this full-body functional strength workout. It's going to challenge you — and, I promise, your butt and abs are going to be sore for a few days. Check out Collins's full-body workout ahead.
Equipment needed: A medium-weight medicine ball; eight to 10 pounds is a good weight to begin with. You'll also need access to dumbbells and a cable machine (but we'll offer alternative moves if you don't have one). If you aren't sure how heavy you should go, use this guide for help choosing your workout weight.
Directions: Before getting started, be sure to do a quality warmup, such as this dynamic warmup routine. This workout should be performed in supersets/trisets. This means you'll complete two or three exercises back-to-back, taking little to no rest in between each exercise. Once you complete the superset or triset, rest for 45 seconds to one minute and repeat for the designated sets.
Do two rounds of superset one.
Do three rounds of superset two.
Do three rounds of superset three.
To modify, perform a set of standard medicine ball slams followed by a set of medicine ball rotational throws.
To make it harder, do this exercise while holding two dumbbells by your sides or one dumbbell at your chest.
If you don't have a cable machine handy, do a Romanian deadlift using dumbbells, a kettlebell, or a barbell.
If you don't have a cable machine, do a single-arm row using a dumbbell or kettlebell.