Is pickleball enough training for pickleball?

Pickleball counts as physical activity; it gets you moving, raises your heart rate and keeps you active. But playing more pickleball doesn't automatically develop all of the physical qualities needed to support your game.

Think of fitness as the support system underneath your pickleball. Strength helps you control your body when you stop, lunge and push back toward the middle. Balance helps when the ball pulls you outside the ideal athletic stance. Mobility gives you usable movement in the ankles, hips, shoulders and trunk. Conditioning helps those attributes hold up as one game becomes three or five.

Federal physical-activity guidelines reinforce the value of combining different kinds of activity. Adults are encouraged to include both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity, while guidance for older adults also emphasizes multicomponent activity that includes balance.

The point isn't that every pickleball player needs a complicated training program. It's that a little work away from the court can support what you want to do on it. This doesn't mean you have to train like a professional athlete. The goal is simply to help you improve your performance and keep playing longer.

This week is part two of our four-part Pickleball Readiness series focusing on four key components to help elevate your game:

PB Fit

1 Better strength, better control

Strength helps you control your body as you move around the court. It helps you lower into a strong position, stop and change direction, push off to reach the next ball, and recover after a lunge. More strength can also help you produce and absorb force more effectively which is important in a game filled with quick starts, stops and changes of direction.

And you don't have to lift heavy weights to benefit. Research on resistance training has shown that developing strength can improve change-of-direction performance, one of the movements pickleball asks us to make over and over again.

2 Better balance, better play

Balance plays a role in almost every part of the game. It helps you stay stable when reaching for a wide dink, maintain control when changing direction, and recover more quickly after a difficult shot. Better balance can also help you get into a stronger position to hit the ball and reset for whatever comes next.

The benefits may extend beyond performance. Research on balance training suggests that incorporating balance work into training can also help reduce the risk of certain sports injuries. That makes balance worth developing for more than just better play.

3 Better mobility, better movement

Mobility helps you move more freely and comfortably through the positions pickleball demands. It can make it easier to get low for a dink, reach for a wide ball, rotate through a shot, or extend for an overhead. Having good usable range of motion can also help you move more efficiently and maintain better positioning and control on the court.

You don't need extreme flexibility. The goal is simply to have enough mobility to move well through the range of motion your game requires.

4 Better conditioning, better endurance

Conditioning can help you maintain your energy and the quality of your play as games and sessions add up. Research on fatigue and athletic performance shows that fatigue can negatively affect physical performance, endurance and sport-specific skills. Better aerobic fitness gives you a stronger foundation for handling the demands of longer sessions and recovering between periods of activity.

You don't have to turn every workout into a hard conditioning session. Walking, cycling and other aerobic activities can all help build the endurance that supports your game.

You don't need to improve everything at once. Strength, balance, mobility and conditioning all support your game in different ways. The better question may be: Which one could help your game the most right now?

Over the coming weeks and months, we'll dig deeper into each of these areas with practical exercises, training ideas and simple programs you can use to build a body that better supports the way you want to play.

P.B. Fit Tip

One simple exercise with a lot of carryover to pickleball is the reverse lunge. It develops leg strength and balance while reinforcing movements you use on the court, lowering your body, controlling your position and pushing yourself back toward the next ball.

Stand up straight with your feet together and your arms at your sides. Step back with one leg and bend your knee to lower into the lunge position. Your front knee should stay over your ankle, and your back knee should point toward the floor. Push off your back foot to stand back up and return to the starting position. Repeat, stepping back with your opposite foot to do the lunge on the opposite side.

Try 2 sets of 6-10 controlled reverse lunges per side a couple of times this week.

If an exercise causes pain or isn't appropriate for you, stop and seek appropriate professional guidance.

Next Week

Getting fitter can help prepare your body for pickleball, but how much you play matters too.

Next week, Part 3 of our Pickleball Readiness Series looks at playing volume, fatigue and some of the signals your body may give you when it's time to back off.

The goal isn't to play less. It's to play smarter so you can keep playing well.

Around the Court

You don't need to work on strength, balance, mobility and conditioning all at once. Pick the area that could help your game the most right now and start there. Small, consistent improvements can add up.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The PB Court Report shares general information, personal experiences, and research for educational purposes only. Nothing in this newsletter should be considered medical advice. Always consult your physician or another qualified healthcare professional before beginning a new exercise program, particularly if you have existing health concerns or injuries.