Pickleball Athlete: Training is REQUIRED no matter what your age or level might be!

Pickleball is a growing sport. And it is growing FAST!

Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports right now. It is something I myself have just gotten into and I love it already. I did not understand the hype at first, but Pickleball has really grown on me. It is fast paced, but also a sport LITERALLY ANYONE can do. It is active and involves social interaction and teamwork which is awesome.

Pickleball itself involves coordination, agility, power, balance, and overall physical strength and fitness. Therefore, in order to play this sport fairly well, we need to discuss the importance of training for your sport. I get it, you are playing for fun, but this does not mean that you just pick up and play. You have to train and progress your physical fitness to decrease your risk of injury as well as to further your playing. We all want to be competitive no matter who we are or how old we are!

So let’s break down the movement demands of Pickleball.

The court is fairly small especially compared to the tennis court measuring at 20ftx44ft and the amount of ground you might have to cover depends on if you are playing as a single or doubles. Regardless, Pickleball requires you to move laterally, forwards and backwards, and a rotational component as well. You are performing all these movements while watching the ball, trying to swing at the ball, avoiding your partner, etc.

You will be required to perform multi-planar movements which require pliability, strength, and power of the lower body and upper body (ie quadriceps, glutes, core, obliques, shoulders). Pickleball requires you to have powerful strength of many different muscles, but you must also have good single leg support and balance which is required when running to the ball or lunging for the ball.

We could break each muscle group down further to be honest, but you get the idea. The pickleball athlete (whether this is someone that just plays for fun a couple times a week or a professional) should be training. This does not mean you have to be in the gym six times a week pumping iron. However, it does mean that you SHOULD have some sort of exercise program. If you just show up and play, you are putting yourself at risk for injury. You must train the muscles you are using to reduce your risk of injury as well as improve your overall Pickleball strength which is known as sport-specific training.

The Physiological Demands of Pickleball

Pickleball requires explosive movements (ie sprinting towards the ball or across court) as well as endurance. This means there is an anaerobic as well as an aerobic component to Pickleball. What does that actually mean? This means that the sport of Pickleball is a good combination of quick movements (sprinting, quick turns) and endurance (standing, jogging, moving for longer periods of time). You might have heard of “fast-twitch” vs “slow-twitch” muscles. Pickleball will use both of these “kinds” of muscles. Therefore, you should train a mixture of speed, agility, power, and endurance aspects of fitness to participate in Pickleball.

Common Injuries in Pickleball

Like any sport, there is a risk of injury. Some of the most common injuries according to the evidence out there (as well as what I have treated) include both acute and chronic injuries. Some of the acute injuries associated with Pickleball include hamstring strains, ankle sprains, groin strains. More chronic injuries that a Pickleball athlete might show up with might include back pain, rotator cuff strain, neck pain, knee pain when sliding or lunging. And these are just a few examples.

In Pickleball, it appears that lower body injuries are much more common than upper body injuries. A lot of these injuries occur due to the stop/start and sudden changes of direction that occur during this sport. Additionally, forceful pivoting or jumping can lead to injuries (plantar fascitis, achilles tendinopathy, etc.).

As we age in general, we often lose strength, power, and force development if we do not train our bodies. Therefore, resistance training as well as aerobic training is crucial to combat the effects of aging as well as to maintain or improve your Pickleball level of competitiveness.

Pickleball Exercise Program:

As we have already mentioned above, a fitness program and training is important for the average/general population. However, I believe it to be even MORE important for an individual that is active in sports or daily life. This means that if you are active (with gardening, pickleball, golf, softball, etc) you should be training your body still. You should have a resistance program to train the specific muscles you are using. I have put together an example exercise program below for what it might look like for a Pickleball athlete. This is NOT for everyone. It is just a rough program to demonstrate what one should be doing to train your body to compete or participate in your favorite sport/hobby.

Programming:

Pickleball: Playing 2-3x/week

Walking/biking: 4x/week for at least 30 minutes at a moderate level of intensity

Resistance training: 2-3x/week

Plyometric+mobility day: 1x/week

Resistance training Day 1:

1. Kettlebell Goblet Squat

2. TRX incline row

3. Lat pull downs

4. Palloff press

5. Push presses

6. Dead lift with Kettleball

Resistance training Day 2:

1. Standing heel raises on step

2. Dumbell Pull over

3. Single leg RDL

4. Lateral lunges

5. Lateral deltoid raises

6. Heels elevated squat with KB

Again, this program is not very specific for a reason. This is just to give you an idea of what it should look like on a weekly basis for this Pickleball athlete. As written above, the individual will be playing Pickleball two or three times a week. Then, I want them to walk (aerobic activity) or bike at least four times a week to keep up their endurance/aerobic capacity. Then, they should have two days of resistance training.

As you can see, the resistance training involves whole body strength and movements. The idea is to build functional strength for them as a Pickleball player, but also as a person. So that individual is not afraid to pick up their grandkid, step up a curb, carry the groceries, etc.

Thank you for stopping by and reading this blog of mine. I really appreciate it! If you are interested in a Pickleball fitness program, please reach out today at 412-790-9717 or email me at kelly@powerinmotionrehab.com. I would love to help you today!