Cellular Nutrition Needs of the Competitive Tennis Player – PART 1

The rigor of training and competing as a tennis player places a lot of extra stress on the body and nutritional supplementation is critical.

Dr. Kenneth Cooper began the exercise revolution in the early 1970's and actually coined the term aerobics. He is truly the father of preventive medicine. His study of several of the athletes that came to his Aerobic Center in Dallas found that when they over-exercised during any workout, the number of free radicals they produced would go up exponentially and just shoot off the graph. It did not matter what type of exercise his athletes were doing.

These excessive free radicals are known to damage tissue, especially muscle tissue during intense workouts and recovery is delayed. Many tennis players will find themselves actually doing worse and having poorer and poorer workouts the more they push themselves. Thinking that there is no benefit unless they go all out, the serious tennis player can actually develop what Dr Cooper called “The Overtraining Syndrome”.
This syndrome refers to the excessive damage to the muscles and overall immune system during intense workouts via excessive free radicals. Not only did these athletes develop fatigue, muscle weakness, inability to complete workouts, but also noted frequent infections and a depleted immune system.

The answer is to optimize the body's natural immune system, antioxidant defense system, and repair system to protect the competitive tennis player.
Every competitive tennis player needs to have all the antioxidants and their supporting nutrients at optimal levels, which is what I refer to as cellular nutrition. It not only helps to protect their health, but also, allows for quicker and more complete recovery from workouts. It will also optimize athletic performance. When you combine the concept of nutrient timing with an aggressive nutritional supplement program, you are giving your body the best opportunity to perform at its optimal level.

I define cellular nutrition as providing the cell with all the essential micronutrients at optimal levels or those levels that have been shown to provide a health benefit in the medical literature. This should be a high-quality, complete and balanced product that follows pharmaceutical-grade Good Manufacturing practices and USP (US Pharmacopeia).

This cellular nutrition should provide you with a wide array of antioxidants and their supporting minerals and B cofactors. This should include optimal levels of calcium and magnesium along with a filtered fish oil capsule. Every tennis player needs to be consuming this level of supplementation.
Many tennis players like to supplement their diet with glucosamine sulfate. Glucosamine sulfate has been shown to increase joint fluid and actually rebuild cartilage. It is a tremendous nutrient for runners and tennis players,since their joints are traumatized so much.