WORKING OUT WITH JIM COURIER
By Andrea Leand, September 1999, Tennis Magazine
Jim Courier admits that he's a self-made machine on court. Not blessed with a lot of natural speed or strength, the 29-year-old's ferocious workouts are his formula for maintaining his fitness. Top-notch conditioning carried Courier to the No. 1 ranking in 1992 and, more recently, to a heroic five-set win over Greg Rusedski in the U.S.' first-round Davis Cup victory over England. How else do you think he got nicknamed the Grinder?
''What else do I have?'' Courier says of his fitness level. ''I have to be in great condition to get the job done. I have to be able to grind through guys to win matches. But I've changed my routine over the years.''
Bucking a recent pro trend toward extensive off-court training, Courier focuses almost all of his conditioning where it will do the most good. ''About 85 percent of my conditioning work is done on the tennis court,'' Courier says. ''Just being able to run down a ball doesn't mean you can hit it. You have to know how to run and hit together.'' Indeed, much of his four to five hours of daily training consists of multiple running drills.
Off court, Courier limits his routine to weight-lifting and occasional running to build stamina and prevent injury. The 11-year tour veteran believes that maintaining muscle strength will allow him to compete for another three or four years.
''The weight-lifting is very important for me,'' Courier says. ''For the last few years, I suffered from a ëdead arm' and I couldn't hit with power for any period of time. But weights help with dead arm, and they prevent other injuries, keeping my body strong enough to train the way I want to. Because the day I can't work out that way is the day I'll stop for good.''