Ready for the ultimate cardio workout? Grab a racquet and head to the tennis courts for Cardio Tennis. This isn’t your average tennis game. In fact, it’s not a game at all—it’s a high-energy workout that combines the best features of tennis with cardiovascular exercise.

Don’t let the name mislead you. During a Cardio Tennis workout, you’ll focus on fitness rather than forehands and backhands. The program is designed to torch calories and deliver a full-body workout. This social, fun class is for players of all ability levels. If you’ve never played tennis before, this is a great introduction to the sport. If you’re an accomplished tennis player, Cardio Tennis will help you train and improve your tennis game.

So, what exactly is Cardio Tennis?
It’s a 60-minute class focused on fun and fitness rather than tennis instruction. Here’s what you can expect:

• Warm-up: Dynamic movement exercises, catching/tossing skills, and light hitting
• Cardio workout: Expect about 45 minutes of non-stop action designed to keep you in your target heart zone. The class involves drills and games that are both cooperative and competitive. The workout usually involves 6-8 players per court and uses the agility ladder, transition balls (categorized as red, orange, or green with lower compressions to make the ball slower, easier to hit, and adding more cardio to the experience), music, and heart rate monitors. Basically, you’ll play non-stop tennis for an hour, burn hundreds of calories, and hit dozens of balls.
• Cool down: Includes light stretching and activities to safely bring the heart rate down.

Cardio Tennis was launched by the Tennis Industry Association in 2005 and Zenergy is one of over 1,700 facilities offering the program in the U.S. In fact, there are more people playing Cardio Tennis than squash in the U.S. The purpose of the program is to help people train in their heart rate zones, burn calories, and train for tennis. Many players improve their tennis because of the repetition the large number of balls they hit, and the realistic and challenging play situations.

Ready to torch some calories, improve your tennis skills, and have fun? Rob Kolb offers Cardio Tennis workouts on Wednesday and Friday mornings at 9:00. Grab a racquet and a heart rate monitor and come sweat!