Try these tips to avoid exhaustion in the third set.

By Bob Condor
Photo by Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images

Late in the third set of a tough match you hear it. Your body is talking to you: “I’m tired. I don’t think I can go on.”

Truth is, it’s your brain talking, not your body. “The brain controls the body,” says Mark Kovacs, senior manager of sport science for the USTA and a Ph.D. in exercise physiology. “If the brain senses you have fatigued a certain area of the body, maybe your serving shoulder, it senses you have fatigued the whole body.”

Once that happens, Kovacs says, you think about your compromised condition rather than the ball zinging toward you, and you lose concentration and start making unforced errors.

Researchers are debating what fatigues the muscles during strenuous exercise. A 2008 Columbia University study showed that a tiny calcium leak inside muscle cells might be what makes us tired rather than the long-held theory of lactic acid overload. The calcium leaks were discovered in study subjects after three straight days of intense cycling workouts. Calcium seeping into the cells theoretically weakens the force of the muscle and activates an enzyme that effectively eats away proteins that are the foundation of muscle fibers.

Researchers have yet to develop therapies or drugs that put this finding to use to relieve muscle fatigue, so for now, as Kovacs says, you have to rise above your brain’s messages. Here are tips to stave off third-set exhaustion.

Before the match
TRAIN THE TWITCH We have two basic types of muscle fibers, slow twitch and fast twitch. Fast-twitch fibers help with explosive movements such as a serve or a full-speed running forehand, while slow-twitch fibers help a tennis player resist fatigue over a three-hour match. Kovacs says that to develop fast-twitch fibers you must work at a high intensity, whereas slow-twitch fibers are trained by exercise that’s longer in duration and less intense.

Phil Campbell, a Tennessee-based speed coach who trains high school, college and pro athletes, recommends you do interval workouts three times a week on nonconsecutive days for fast-twitch muscle development. After a short warmup, alternate all-out effort for 30 seconds and a recovery pace for 90 seconds for 20–30 minutes.

Move of the Month: Pilates Spine Twist Gain strength and flexibility with this simple exercise Core strength and flexibility are two keys to injury prevention for tennis players. That’s why Pilates can be so helpful. It gives you more power in the midsection and lengthens all the muscles in your body. “Pilates works your body 360 degrees around, developing strength as well as complete range of motion, which is so important for tennis players,” says Ellen Barrett, a Pilates instructor and former college tennis player who created the Slim Sculpt DVD. Try this move to strengthen your core and increase flexibility in your lower back. 1. Sit upright with your spine tall and your legs straight (bend your knees slightly if your hamstrings are tight). Raise your arms straight out to your sides at shoulder height. Lower your shoulder blades away from your ears. 2. Inhale to prepare, then as you exhale, twist your torso to the right without shifting your hips. 3. Take another deep breath and twist further as you exhale. Inhale and return to center. Repeat to the left and return to center. Repeat 10 times.                                                                    --Kate Hanley

EAT UP You need to eat before matches, nerves or not. Most sports nutritionists recommend five to six small meals daily. Time your meals so you eat a moderate amount of protein, carbs and healthyomega-3 fats about 90 minutes to an hour before hitting the courts, says Susan Kleiner, a Seattle-based nutritionist who has worked with pro football players and Olympians. Some ideas include half a turkey sandwich with an apple and peanut butter, a tuna or chicken tortilla with avocado, or oatmeal with almonds, milk and brown sugar.

DRINK COLD WATER A British study published in the September 2008 Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise journal shows that drinking cold water in the half-hour before exercise and during the activity reduces physiological strain and helps you tire less than those drinking the same amounts of water at body temperature. Cold water before and during exercise lowered core body temperature, heart rate and sweat levels during the first half-hour of exercise. Drink 16–20 ounces of cold water leading up to play, then 4–8 ounces of a cold beverage on changeovers as you compete. That way you can conserve energy for later in the match.

During the match
DOCTOR YOUR WATER If you’re going all out on court, you may need something besides just water in your bottle, says John Ivy, chairman of the department of kinesiology at the University of Texas in Austin. He says that we need to replenish electrolytes when exercising intensely. The American Dietetic Association recommends you drink 5 ounces of a sports beverage every changeover in place of water when you’re sweating hard. And make it a cold one.

PACK IN PROTEIN Kovacs says you need in-match protein if you’re playing for two hours or more. That’s because your muscles need protein to repair, so it may help reduce muscle fatigue during long matches. One option is to add a small amount of protein powder to your sports drink or eat an energy bar with 10 to 15 grams of protein. “Just be careful not to consume too much protein during a match,” Kovacs says. “It can cause gastric problems.”

After the match 
DRINK A SMOOTHIE ASAP Ivy is adamant that you have a recovery drink as soon as you finish a strenuous workout. That’s when your muscles are most receptive to insulin and nutrients, which facilitates muscle-fiber recovery. “You have a window of about 30 to 45 minutes,” Ivy says.

Your target number of carbohydrate grams should be about 40 percent of your body weight in pounds, Ivy says, and you should have 1 gram of protein for every 3 grams of carbs. Try chocolate milk or juice with ice, a generous amount of frozen or fresh fruit and a scoop of whey protein. Whatever your smoothie preferences, have it as soon as possible. Ivy says waiting two to three hours for a recovery drink can reduce the rate at which muscle glycogen (muscle fuel) is stored by about half, and result in muscle damage.

DON’T FORGET DOWN TIME Columbia University’s study on muscle fatigue showed that a few days of rest can stop calcium leakage in muscles. So you might be best served to lay low in the days following a tough tournament rather than immediately going back to work on your game.