When you're a kid, there's usually enough time for school and homework plus a few hours of tennis every day. Ahhh yes, the good old days. When you didn't have to worry about paying the mortgage or putting gas in your car. As responsibilities begin to set in, we have less and less time for tennis. Especially if you don't get out on the court as often as you'd like, your body needs some kind of consistent workout.

Don't fall into the "weekend warrior" syndrome. It's when you're idle all week, probably working a desk job Monday through Friday, and you come out on the weekends to play competitive tennis. That's all fine and good if you're conditioned for it, but as we get older, the body can tolerate less and less before it breaks down.

To make sure your body is ready for the wear and tear that you put on it with a hard game of tennis, find a daily exercise routine that you can stick to. The best combination is stretching, cardio and strength training. If you can only do one, that's better than nothing at all. In fact, maybe the easiest thing to start with is some simple stretching every morning. It doesn't take more than 20 minutes to limber up your body to get ready for the day.

Supplementing your on-court tennis with off-court training is something the pros have been doing for years and years. It's especially popular now with the emergence of the power game in tennis. Everyone is fighting to be the best they can be and to continually move the bar higher as they go. Not only is it not good enough to just play tennis, it's not healthy either. If you don't exercise and strengthen other muscles and tendons, they will weaken over time and you will develop tennis-related injuries.

If you don't like the gym, go out for a walk or a bike ride. During the winter months, put on some music and do a few sets of sit-ups and push-ups. There are lots of exercise tapes available for a variety of activities including aerobics, step aerobics, dancing, yoga, kickboxing, etc. Pick your favorite and get started in the comfort of your own home.

The best thing you can do for yourself is to find a daily exercise routine that works for you and stick to it. You can vary your workout routine from day to day depending on your tennis schedule, or keep parts of it consistent to improve overall conditioning. Get up and do something...anything! You'll feel better after you're done, and your tennis game will benefit.