How many and which muscles are actually needed to hit a fast serve? No one knows, but if the conscious mind thinks it does and tries to control those muscles, it will inevitably use muscles that aren’t needed. When more than necessary are used, not only is there a waste of energy, but certain tightened muscles interfere with the need of other muscles to relax. Thinking that it has to use a lot of muscle to hit as hard as it wants to, Self 1 will initiate the use of muscles in the shoulder, forearm, wrist and even face which will actually impede the force of the swing.
