WEST AUSTRALIAN NEWS PAPER September -1-2004

Body Bulletin  by Simone Hewett

Today is the first day of spring and if you've been hibernating over the winter , now is the time to start thinking about how to tone up before you have to bare the bod on the beach.  If you haven't done any exercise for at least three months or more, then it's best to start slowly and build up some strength and stamina, according to experts.  Here we look at three activities and how they can help you build up fitness.  

TENNIS.  

According to Brad Properjohn, tennis can provide a great all-round work-out.  A former ATP player and international coach, Properjohn operates from Bayswater Tennis Club, where he runs private and group coaching classes for children and adults. "I focus on teaching good, sound fundamentals as well as the fun side of things," he said. "Tennis takes a lot longer to learn than some other sports but it stays with you for life and you can play it at any age--it's like riding a bike."  Properjohn focuses on small groups, usually with a maximum of six participants, including classes for women. "I have a drop-in class on Tuesday nights from 7pm to 8pm and if only one person turns up, they pay $15 for the hour. If fore people turn up, then they end up paying less than that.  He also runs tennis workout classes on demand.  "It's an on-court aerobic work-out with all the Harry Hopman drills from the 60s, which is the sort of thing I'd do myself, " he said. "It's an hour and I try to incorporate all those shots that the person would be likely to play during a game.  They're pretty intense classes so I normally break them up into five 10-minute sessions, with a drink in between."  Properjohn said an advantage of having lessons was that most professional coaches offered a range of tennis racquets to test.  "Tennis is not purely an aerobic work-out because to do that you need to maintain a continually high heart rate but you can have anaerobic explosive serve-volley points as well," he said.