Master Pickleball: Top 5 Strength-Building Workouts

The Rise of Pickleball’s Popularity and Its Health Benefits

Pickleball, a sport originally invented in 1965, has witnessed a massive increase in popularity in recent years. This growth was particularly notable during the Covid-19 pandemic when people were seeking novel ways to socialize outdoors. Despite its reputation as a sport for the older demographic, the Association of Pickleball Players (APP) estimated in 2023 that nearly 50 million Americans across all ages engaged in the sport in the previous year and the number keeps growing.

Beyond its social aspects, pickleball also offers significant physical health benefits. As per a 2022 study, compared to walking, playing pickleball doubles increased players’ caloric expenditure by 36%, their perceived exertion by 44%, and their “enjoyment levels” by 150%. Further research from the 2023 Apple Heart and Movement Study highlighted that the health benefits of pickleball are similar to its higher-intensity counterpart, tennis.

Despite its seemingly relaxed play style, pickleball requires a fair amount of athleticism. The game may be less intense than other racquet sports like tennis, but it still demands the enhancement of rotational power, agility, and speed. To help players improve these aspects and protect against injuries, The Ultimate Pickleball Workout Program was launched, available exclusively for MH MVP Premium members.

Strength training plays a critical role in enhancing your performance in any sport, including pickleball. The benefits of strength training are highly beneficial; it can increase bone density, decrease injury risk, and improve muscle force production.

As the sport continues to grow in popularity, pickleball-related injuries are increasing. The most common way players get injured is through falls. Therefore, this workout plan, designed by Men’s Health’s fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S., helps safeguard you against injury while enhancing your performance on the court.

This workout plan revolves around four main training principles, namely rotation, lateral movement, explosivity, and unilateral training. These principles focus on replicating the movements performed during a match, leading to improved performance on the court.

By joining the MH Ultimate Pickleball Workout Program, you’ll get a downloadable PDF complete with program instructions, editable workout charts to keep track of your reps, and exercise breakdowns with images. This PDF is mobile-friendly, so you can easily access it from your phone whenever you hit the gym.

The workout program emphasizes explosive bodyweight movements, so you don’t need much equipment to follow it. What you will need is a pair of dumbbells, a kettlebell, a resistance band with handles, a looped resistance band, and an adjustable weight bench.