The key to enhancing your pickleball game might not just be playing more. Instead, incorporating strength and mobility training into your routine could be the secret.
Pickleball and other racquet sports rely on many muscles and joints. In particular, they require great mobility of the hip flexors, adductors (the muscles in your inner thighs that move your legs inward toward the center of your body), and thoracic spine, says Joe Meier, CSCS, a Life Time tennis pro and strength coach.
Incorporate these moves recommended by Meier to help level up your performance.
Mobility
World’s Greatest Stretch
Use this stretch to warm up before playing your favorite racquet sport.
Full Instructions
- Begin on the floor in a high plank
position. - Step your left foot forward and to the outside of your left hand. Keep your right knee off the ground.
- Lift your left hand off the ground and rotate your torso toward your left knee to reach toward the ceiling; let your gaze follow your hand as you rotate through your spine. Hold for three seconds before lowering your hand back down to the ground. Do five repetitions with the left arm.
- Reverse the movement to return to a high plank and repeat on the other side, beginning by stepping your right foot forward to the outside of your right hand.
Strength
Two-Arm Bent-Over Row
Perform this exercise two or three
days per week.
Full Instructions
- Stand with your feet hip width apart and hold a loaded barbell in front of you with both hands.
- Keeping your back flat, hinge forward at the waist so your arms are extended straight down toward the floor.
- Tighten your abdominals and bend your elbows to row the barbell up to your rib cage.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades at the top of the movement before lowering the barbell until your arms are fully extended and you feel a slight stretch in the shoulders. Do two or three sets of six to 12 repetitions.
More On the Moves
If you lack mobility in these spots, you won’t be able to lunge to return a serve, rotate to hit the ball, or jump from side to side efficiently. Meier likes the “world’s greatest stretch” mobility exercise because it targets all the key muscle groups you need to improve your on-court performance and lower your risk of injury.
An important but often overlooked area when strength training for racquet sports is the back-body. Why does it matter? Just watch someone play and you’ll notice that they don’t often stand fully upright, says Meier. Usually, they’re leaning forward in a quarter-squat, because this athletic stance allows them to change direction more easily when they need to return a serve.
Maintaining this position and moving quickly around the court requires a lot of strength in the back, glutes, and hamstrings, he explains. Bent-over rows build strength in that athletic stance.
Level Up
From basketball to Zumba, discover the mobility and strength exercises that can enhance your favorite cardio workout and boost your overall performance. Learn more in “Level Up Your Favorite Cardio With These Strength and Mobility Moves,” from which this article was excerpted.
