Did you know that the WHO recommends that adults be physically active for at least 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity (walking or light cycling)? But that you can settle for half that if you are physically active with high intensity (football, running, pickleball)?
Physical activity is one of the important pillars for a healthy and good life. You will probably find that it is easier to find the motivation to be physically active if you think it is fun and at the same time you can join a community with others.
Pickleball is a popular and fun activity. If you have already jumped on the pickleball wave or are motivated to give it a try, we are here with some good advice to get you started and at the same time reduce the risk of discomfort or injury.
Exercise
Even if you are very motivated from the start, it is important that you dose your training correctly. This means that you should recover occasionally, so that you are not on the pickleball court every day and that you, as a beginner, do not play for 2 hours in a row. Your body needs to get used to the load and the new movements you make on the pickleball court.
Pickleball requires you to be in good shape. A good piece of advice is to build up a good level of fitness with running and cycle rides with hard intervals inserted, so that your heart rate rises noticeably. In this way, your body, and especially your legs, get used to being physically challenged and this will be felt positively on the pickleball court.
The right technique and a strong body prevent injuries
The most frequent injuries in pickleball are fiber ruptures, but discomfort and injuries can also occur in the back, knees, shoulders and elbows.
It is important that you receive instruction in the correct hitting technique - you will become a better pickleball player and at the same time the risk of discomfort in your shoulders and elbows will be significantly prevented. The right hitting technique means that you vary the use of the forearm and shoulder muscles and do not overload the same muscles while playing. Therefore, be aware that you learn to use the correct hitting technique from the start.
In addition to hitting the ball correctly, it is also important that you strengthen your body's muscles.
You can use the time outside the pickleball court to get stronger in the muscles that are particularly at work during pickleball.
Below are examples of relevant warm-up exercises and strengthening exercises for the upper body and legs.
Warm up
Warming up is an important part of injury prevention training. The body's responsiveness, muscle strength and mobility as well as physical endurance are improved by warming up the body before you go on the pickleball court.
Do 10 repetitions with each leg.
Leg Swing: Support yourself against the wall and swing your leg as far forward and up as you can and then back. Work on keeping your upper body still with good posture.
Side jump: Stand with your hands at your sides. Hop to the side on one leg and land softly on the foot, bending the knee slightly when you land. Jump in the same way to the other side.
Lunges: Stand with legs together and hands at sides. Lift the active leg and take a long step forward. When the foot hits the floor, you bend down at the knee and thereby lower your whole body down towards the floor just before you touch the floor with your back leg. Push off and return to the starting position. Repeat with the other leg.
Strength exercises for arms, shoulders and legs
The following exercises must be done with a small weight object and an exercise band.
Do 2 rounds of 8-10 repetitions of each exercise.
Arms:
Training the muscles of the forearm
Sit at a table and rest your forearm on the table and keep your wrist straight over the edge of the table. Hold a small weighted object in your hand with your palm facing up. Lower your hand with weight towards the floor and slowly lift it up to the starting position. Feel that you are using your forearm muscles.
Same starting position but turn your hand so the palm is down. Bend your hand upwards with the weight and slowly lower it down to the starting position. Feel that you are using the muscles on the upper side of your forearm.
Shoulders:
"Newspaper exercise": Stand with an elastic band between your hands, elbows bent in an approx. 90° angle and pointing out to the side. The thumbs must point towards each other. Then extend both elbows fully so that the elastic extends in front of the chest. Return to starting position and repeat.
"Bow and arrow" with rubber band: Hold a rubber band with both hands in front of you at shoulder height with palms facing up with a shoulder width between the hands. Pull your one elbow straight back, while the other arm is held straight forward - the elastic band must provide resistance in the pull back. Slowly return to the starting position.
Legs:
Squats: Stand with a hip-width distance between your legs and an elastic band around both knees. Bend down until you have approx. 90 degrees at hip and knee. Knees and toes point straight ahead. Keep tension in the elastic all the time, so that you avoid the knees falling towards the middle. Slowly push yourself up to the starting position again.
Side lunges: Start standing with feet hip-width apart and an elastic band around the ankles. The hands are kept on the hips. Take a big step out to the side and lower your hip down over the weight bearing