By Dana Sullivan
Photos by Ken Karp

OK, you know about core strenght. Now take it one step further.

For the last few years, the fitness buzz has been about core strength. Every athletic success, we’re told, stems from the core, the area of your body consisting of the abs and lower-back muscles. But one respected tennis trainer has upped the ante. He says that to be truly successful on the court—or the golf course, baseball diamond, or in the swimming pool—we need more than a strong core. “Hip and shoulder stability and strength are just as important,” says Mark Verstegen, M.S., founder of Athletes’ Performance, a training facility in Tempe, Ariz., where he works with athletes like Mary Pierce and Nomar Garciaparra. Verstegen calls the package—the core, hips, and shoulders—the “pillar.” If your core and shoulders and hips are strong, Verstegen says, you’ll draw more energy from every movement and protect yourself from rotator-cuff and groin injuries. “Movement doesn’t come just from your arms and legs, it also comes from what they’re attached to,” he says.

Here’s Verstegen’s three-day-a-week pillar workout for beginners. Start with one set of six reps of each move and work up to two sets of 10 reps. “After two weeks you’ll notice a difference on court,” he promises. For more workouts from Verstegen, visit coreperformance.com.

FRONT PILLAR BRIDGE WITH ARM LIFT
How it will improve your game: Gives your hips, core, and shoulders added strength and stability.

What to do: (1) Position yourself face down with your forearms and toes supporting your body. (2) Lift your right arm and hold for two seconds. Switch arms and repeat. Complete six repetitions on each side.



OPEN-STANCE MEDICINE-BALL THROW
How it will improve your game: You’ll store energy in your trunk.

What to do: Face a wall, your torso 3-4 feet away. Hold a medicine ball at waist level. (1) Rotate your trunk away from the wall, taking the ball behind your hip. (2) Initiate the throw by attacking your hip toward the wall, following with trunk and arms. Catch it as it comes off the wall and repeat six times. Switch sides and repeat.


GLUTE BRIDGE
How it will improve your game: Stabilizes hips and torso, which allows you to store energy and release it for more powerful strokes.

What to do: (1) Lie on your back, knees bent, arms at your sides. Place a rolled-up towel or a tennis ball between your knees. (2) Lift your hips into the air and form a bridge with your upper legs and torso. Lower to start and repeat six times on each side.


LATERAL DYNAMIC PILLAR BRIDGE
How it will improve your game: Strengthens torso so that when you’re going for a wide ball, your pillar stays on its base of support, the hips, so you don’t waste time pulling your body back into the ready position.

What to do: (1) Lie on your right side with your forearm on the ground under your shoulder. (2) Keeping your body in a straight line and your elbow under your shoulder, push your hip off the ground, creating a straight line from ankle to shoulder. Hold for 10 seconds. Switch sides and repeat.


PHYSIOBALL Y, L, AND T.
How it will improve your game: This series of moves will strengthen your rotator cuffs.

What to do: Lie face down on a physioball with the ball under your abdomen and chest off the ball. (1) With thumbs facing up, open your arms up and out into a “Y” position (like signaling a touchdown); repeat six times. (2) Flex your elbows to create a 90-degree angle with your upper arm. Squeeze your shoulder blades together to raise your upper arms so they create an “L” on each side. Repeat six times. (3) Pull your shoulder blades together and open your arms out to the sides so you’re in a “T” shape; repeat six times.