Serena likes to do this exercise for added core strength, correcting alignment issues, and providing balance to the body.

Serena Williams workout training routine is what propels her to the top of the women’s tennis world. Serena was injured and in a major slump a few years ago. As a result, she turned to one of the premier sports performance trainers, Mackie Shilstone, to create an effective fitness and diet routine. Shilstone created a workout for her that consisted of drills to improve Serena’s endurance, increase flexibility, strengthen her core, and build overall muscle functionality everywhere from her legs to butt to arms.

Serena has actually admitted that she does not enjoy working out but does so to keep her body healthy and free of injury. Not to mention, Serena’s workout has helped give her some of the most famous biceps and leg and butt muscles in tennis history. She told Harper Bazaar, “To this day, I don’t love my arms. People want more fit arms, but my arms are too fit. But I’m not complaining. They pay my bills.”

Serena told Star Magazine, “I hate working out more than anything, but I have to — when I’m running, I think about how much I want to win. That’s the only thing that keeps me going. I don’t know what to suggest to anyone else. I guess everyone has to find that one thing that encourages them and just think about it the entire time you’re working out.” Even the top athletes in the world don’t always enjoy working out but they recognize the benefits. That’s what can seperate Serena and another tennis player. It’s knowing that hard work is the only way to get to the top.

As you can see, Serena has one of the strongest physiques in the history of women’s tennis. This gives her a tremendous advantage as her shots are more powerful and intimidating to opposing players.

In terms of her actual workout routine, Serena believes she got a lot out of the program designed by Shilstone. Serena told The Times-Picayune, “I’ve gotten a lot out of his program. As an athlete you exercise your whole life, so you pretty much know what to do, but he definitely has a different outlook and different outtake and makes it fun. I am more fit than I’ve ever been. And that’s so exciting to have someone to push you to those limits.” Having a workout partner or a trainer can really benefit you. Not only will they spot you on the heavier sets, but they are an added source of motivation and knowledge to train at the highest levels.

Serena normally does a couple hours of tennis practice followed by an hour or two of cardio and strengthening in the gym. Also, when she’s at home in Los Angeles, she runs the half-mile up a hill to her sister Venus Williams’ house instead of driving. When running uphill, you use your body weight as a resistance to push against. This adds much more resistance on your legs and body, and your cardiovascular conditioning can increase from training like this. This can explain why Serena has some of the strongest and muscular legs that women’s tennis has ever seen.

She also does Bikram yoga and Pilates two or three times a week. Serena prefers Bikram yoga because she typically burns more than 600 calories in just one class, feeling the burn in her legs, butt, and the rest of her body. Bikram’s classes typically run for exactly 90 minutes and mainly consist of a set series of 26 postures and two breathing exercises. This type of yoga is most ideal when in a room heated to 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40.6 degrees Celsius) with humidity of 40%. This is categorized as a form of hot yoga. Serena told Star Magazine, “You need a lot of patience for yoga, but I love Bikram yoga because it’s in a super warm room so from the moment you walk in you’re just pouring sweat.” Not only does yoga burn those extra calories, but it is a great way to let loose and to work muscles that you wouldn’t normally train in a gym. Yoga has been proven to help with injury prevention so such a workout can explain Serena’s great longevity on the tennis court.

In addition to hot yoga, Serena does Pilates for added core strength, correcting alignment issues, and providing balance to the body. When it comes to serving and hitting the ball, tennis players use one side of the body more than the other. This creates more imbalances than other sports so Pilates greatly helps with that issue by strengthening the weaker side and providing more flexibility and greater range of motion. She told Harpers Bazaar, “I wanted to get really fit. I wanted to lose some weight. So I’ve been doing Pilates and yoga, trying to lean out my body so I won’t be bulky.”

Serena Williams diet centers on smaller portions for every meal. Eating smaller portions can increase the metabolism and keep you lean. If you eat too much at one time, your body can have a hard time digesting. Therefore, you should stick to small meals, something Serena does. She eats a lot of grilled or baked chicken or fish, and steamed veggies. She told Harper’s Bazaar, “I can never turn down a good piece of cherry pie, but all I know is that in 10 years, I don’t want to be as wide as the couch.” Sometimes indulging in junk food can actually boost the metabolism so it wouldn’t hurt for Serena to eat that cherry pie once in a while.

Along with her sister Venus, Serena helped bring true notoriety to women’s tennis and served as one of the more influential figures in the sport’s history.

She is also one of the strongest women’s tennis players of all time. She was clocked with a 129 mph (206.5 km/h) serve, the second fastest ever after her sister Venus. Statistically, Serena is the better tennis player by a slim margin. However, who is truly the stronger and better-conditioned tennis player between the two remains to be seen.