The 3 Exercises Pickleball Players Should Do For Better Strength & Mobility
The 3 Exercises You Must Do For Stronger And Healthier Play On The Court!
In the past few weeks I have been having 100's of conversations with pickleball players around the United States. It's been great to hear how everyone is enjoying pickleball even during the winter months! However, I'd say about 80% of them mention how they've been dealing with nagging injuries that are limiting their movement when they play.
Many of you know that I run The Pickleball Prehab Club, a daily fitness program for pickleball players to improve strength, speed, and mobility. We do daily workouts and exercises to help keep players strong on the court, while also out of pain. Below, I'll share 3 exercises that our members are doing this week to help keep them strong and healthy.
- Lateral Split Squat
- Similar movement that you will do on the court
- Works on hip, knee, low back strength
- Improves function on the court
The lateral split squat is a fantastic movement that we do a lot in my programs. It's one that you'll do most often times at the kitchen line or transition zone. Being strong in this position will help you on and off the court. We usually do these for 3 sets of 8-10 reps each side. Feel free to add a little bit of weight!
2. Bridges
- Get hips into better position
- Strengthen glutes and hamstrings
The bridge should be a foundational movement that you're doing off of the court. Many players are coming to me with hamstring pulls nowadays because they aren't doing enough posterior chain strengthening (backside of the body). Make sure you're doing bridge variations every few days, so you aren't dealing with those pesky hamstring injuries down the line. Try these for 3 sets of 12-15 reps!
3. Downward Dog Toe Touches
- Shoulder Stability
- Scapular Strength
- Improved Overhead Shots
Downward Dog Toe Touches can be an amazing exercise for pickleball players. Pickleball is what we call an "overhead" sport. Even though not all of the shots are coming from "above" your head, it will still happen. Racquet sports are notorious for shoulder injuries and pickleball is no different. We have to make sure we have strong and stable shoulders for those overhead shots! Prehab with exercises just like this one for best results! Try these for 10 reps total!
Now it's your turn to try some of these moves out this week! 2024 is going to be a great for you on the court, lets invest in our health so we can stay strong, and healthy on the court!
If you want to hop in our Pickleball Prehab Club program, you'll get daily workouts with videos just like these. We are welcoming new members and also have a refer and receive promotion coming up. Refer a friend to the program, and if they sign up you'll get 1/2 price off your next month of training!
Happy Pickling!
-Garrett
Garrett