Pickleball is a sport that has grown to be very popular these days, regardless of age or athletic ability. It has shown to be an exciting way to not only socialize and meet new people, but to also get in shape and meet your fitness goals as you work towards a healthier lifestyle. Pickleball consists of a variety of fitness benefits that help to craft a full body workout that is enjoyable and effective.
Before beginning any type of new exercise or stretching routine, you should consult with a qualified healthcare professional.
We are going to dive into how effective Pickleball is as a workout, how it can benefit your overall health, and how physical therapy can be an effective treatment option for addressing pickleball injuries to ensure you can continue to play the emerging sport.
Pickleball can be an effective workout because it can increase your strength and endurance. Pickleball does this by requiring full engagement from your muscles. It requires movement across the court, which ultimately engages the muscles in your body and helps you with the rallies back and forth for each point. By participating in a sport like pickleball, your endurance will increase, allowing you to maintain the energy needed to sustain you from the beginning to the end of a match. Engaging in regular movements like serves, dinks, lobs, and volleys can contribute to strengthening your muscles over time.
When taking the plunge into the physical sport, we suggest easing into pickleball and increasing your fitness tolerance slowly over time. Choosing not to take some kind of preventative measure to prepare for game of pickleball can result in injury during gameplay. To prepare, exercises like goblet squats and lawnmower rows are excellent for increasing strength in your legs. Like squats and rows, split squats and dumbbell chest presses can help to strengthen your chest muscles for more power when you go to serve.
Pickleball is a sport that can involve various quick motions and sudden changes in direction or speed as you respond to volleys and plays from the opposing player(s). This can challenge pickleball players because it requires a certain level of balance, which can be beneficial for individuals looking to improve their coordination and balance over time. To make the best movements and to score important points in a match, a player must have a solid foundation to shift their weight as needed and to perform certain movements. Pickleball can also have tremendous benefits for improving one’s hand-eye coordination.
Hand-eye coordination is another aspect of balance and coordination that improves over time when playing pickleball. As you continue to participate in pickleball, other important aspects of your balance and coordination can improve as well, including your core strength and reaction time. When playing pickleball, balance is necessary when adjusting your stance to the ball’s whereabouts.
Depending on the ball’s position, you might adjust to strike the ball with a forehand, backhand, or be on the move. Your balance will be challenged as you adapt throughout the game, which will also allow you to anticipate on the court. Not to mention your ability to anticipate your opponents’ moves and act accordingly – staying one step ahead of them can also help to improve your performance on the court.
Pickleball can be seen as an effective workout because it provides benefits from all cylinders – it challenges your mind and body to prosper on and off the court. Regardless of athletic ability, pickleball is ideal for those who want to participate in a sport that improves their overall balance and stability but can be simultaneously fun and engaging.
Your cardiovascular health pertains to your heart and the accompanying blood vessels. To keep your heart healthy and maintain a healthy blood flow, it is important to incorporate certain things into your daily routine, such as eating a healthy diet, managing your heart rate, and stress levels, and staying active. One of the ways that pickleball can benefit your cardiovascular health is by doing just that – providing you a way to be active while making sure oxygen is properly circulating through your body. Pickleball requires intentional movement across the court.
The more you engage in gameplay, the more endurance you will build, sustaining you over time, and providing significant benefits to your cardiovascular health as you get more active. Those benefits to your cardiovascular system become more evident over time because of the demands that pickleball requires on the body. In order to compete on a consistent basis, players must engage their full body – areas like the core, arms, and legs will be used simultaneously.
Your coordination will improve as you play on a repetitive basis, which will not only improve your performance as a pickleball player, but also your cardiovascular health. Regardless of your expertise or previous experience playing pickleball, it provides value to you and your overall being. It can be a fun and exciting way to improve your cardiovascular health and overall well-being.
In conclusion, pickleball is a sport that can improve your overall health over time. It is another way to stay active that is also fun and engaging. It can benefit you by improving your strength and endurance, core strength and balance, and your cardiovascular health regardless of your athletic ability or knowledge of the sport. Pickleball is a great fitness workout that not only can improve your overall health, but also be another way to meet any existing fitness goals one may have. Are you ready to elevate your pickleball game without having to worry about being plagued by injuries? Then, Results Physiotherapy is the place for you.
At ResultsPT, our therapists are dedicated to improving your overall health and fitness journey. We are here to support your growth in the sport while also implementing the necessary measures to reduce the risk of injury. Let us guide you as you engage in the sport you love. Schedule an appointment with us today for a chance to address injuries related to your pain, develop better overall health and performance.
