Staying Healthy and Avoiding Injuries

Written by: Jonas Eriksson | October 28, 2020

I am a health nut. I put a lot of focus on staying healthy and avoiding injuries and I have a few things I do to stay in decent shape.

I have always loved exercise. My body craves it. That doesn’t make me “Mr. Ripped”, because I love eating good food and drinking wine too. Life for me is all about balance, but priority number one is feeling good, staying healthy, and avoiding injuries. I am not getting any younger (nearing 40 now) and I want to be able to play tennis frequently for years to come.

My tennis schedule is somewhat flexible, but I play on average four times a week. In Malta, we mainly have hard courts so it’s not the most friendly for the knees. Warming-up and doing some dynamic stretching is important to stay loose and not hurt yourself. I have been using the Martin Method Fitness courses to improve my tennis fitness.

I test new equipment all the time for Tennisnerd so I need to make sure I don’t aggravate my elbow or wrist. I have had some problems in the past when I’ve played a lot, but nothing very serious. One elbow and wrist-saver has been the Flexbar (link to Amazon) which I use frequently to strengthen my arm and prevent injury. When someone told me about the Flexbar it sounded a bit too good to be true for a rubbery bar, but as long as you work with it, it works!

Tools and Food

Using the Flexbar certainly helps to prevent injury. I am now also reviewing an Achedaway Pro massage gun (Amazon link) to relieve sore and tense muscles. It’s the first time, I am using a massage gun, but I am pretty much sold on it after the first week. My forearm has a tendency to get tense and the massage gun really helps relax it.

Another tool I use frequently to relax tense muscles is a foam roller. Read more about the foam rolling here. It can hurt a bit, but it’s sure worth it. My lower back can get especially tight after playing sets and serving a lot.

Besides those tools, stretching, using resistance bands to build strength, and taking walks, I am pretty careful with what I eat. Well, okay, let me rephrase that, I like chocolate and pizza as much as the next guy, but I try to get lots of important nutrients every day. I use Your Super superfood powders daily (I use three different powders daily). I also eat extra Multivitamins, take Vitamin C supplements, Glutathioneย and Arginine.

I try also to eat pretty healthy and generally avoid fast foods, soft drinks, and too many sweets or fats. Nothing outrageous, just common sense stuff. My weakness is a glass of red wine or two and a glass of whiskey. It’s my preferred treat!

Besides that…

I try to sleep my 7-8 hours every night, avoid stressing about the small stuff, I don’t read much in terms of news and social media banter, and keep a generally positive outlook on life. Nothing is perfect and everlasting, so why worry too much about it? Instead, I like listening to music and podcasts to enrich my life and learn new things.

I also prefer being outside instead of in front of the computer (although I do spend too many hours in front of the screen)…

This was a bit of a general post about things I do to stay healthy in both mind and soul. Having a like-minded wife surely helps!

What are you doing to stay healthy and avoid injuries?

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3 comments

  1. I highly recommend at least a 5-10 minute warm-up and stretching before playing. I hardly ever see anyone doing that, but I find if I loosen everything up first the following tennis session is much higher quality and enjoyable. Just get to the court a bit early!

  2. As someone reaching his mid thirties this was interesting to read. I’ve noticed more back aches than I had in my twenties after playing longer session which makes me think that I may need to improve on my technique. I toss the ball too far behind me so my back bends, something which I could recover from easier when I was younger. Maybe you could also mention how important proper technique is to stay pain free, how to ensure proper technique as well as how rackets + strings enter the equation. Perhaps some thoughts for another article on staying healthy for longer as a tennis player?

  3. Hey Jonas,
    could you share more specifically what routines you do with the flexbar and how often and how long? Do you use it on off-days only – if not before or after tennis. Something like this would be appreciated.
    I have slight wrist an elbow pain after each session for a while now. Fortunately it has never been so painful that I couldnโ€˜t play but still Iโ€˜d like to start doing something, before it finally gets to that point.
    Cheers, Spin

Jonas Eriksson

Jonas has been known as "tennis nerd" mainly for his obsessing about racquets and gear. Plays this beautiful sport almost every day.