Pickleball Performance Training - Squat and Hinge

It's all to do with the training: you can do a lot if you're properly trained...

The next post from our fitness guru, Nat Littauer, is specific to strengthening the body parts that help prevent injury and maximize performance at the NVZ line. Nate discusses 2 exercise movements - the squat and the hinge.

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Pickleball is a game of close quarters. While it contains similar components of other court sports such as tennis and badminton, it has a unique aspect that needs to be considered when playing and training to hone your Pickleball skills. The kitchen line is where a majority of the Pickleball action takes place, and in order to succeed at the line you must be prepared for a few things.

First, the initial rush to the line after a serve in order to have a good vantage point creates a huge amount of force when you stop at the line. These forces, due to the quickness of the movement to get there, can place large amounts of stress to the hip, knee, and ankle joint. Second, the amount of vertical movement that takes place when you make and return the various shots in order score/not be scored upon.

In order to adequately prepare for these two major aspects of movement at the kitchen line, we need to train to primary patterns: the squat and the hinge. Before I go any further, I know that in the past people have often relayed the message from a 1960's Sports Illustrated article saying that squats are bad for knee health, however this movement pattern has been highly researched and proven to aid in injury prevention when performed correctly. The hinge is also the movement pattern that is often associated with the deadlift, which many have also thought to be a movement that is bad for the back (this also comes down to proper teaching and technique to maintain safety). 

Pickleball Performance Training - Warm Up Structure

It's all to do with the training: you can do a lot if you're properly trained...

Let's follow up yesterday's post on the importance of warming up with an explanation of what elements form the foundation for an effective warm-up. This is the second post from Nate Littauer of Xcel, who has developed a pickleball performance training programs available to all players in the local area. Nate will also have a special presentation during the upcoming Land of the Sky pickleball tournament. Details will be forthcoming.

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In my last post regarding Warm Ups for improving your Pickleball performance, I addressed the benefits of a proper Warm Up and how it decreases injury risk. But what is a proper Warm Up? What does it look like and how long does it take? These are common questions that many people have input have on and personal opinions. 

The difficulty lies in the fact that no single Warm Up routine is the right one. There are so many different Warm Ups that prove themselves to be highly effective for achieving a ready state for play, so no specific routine can be classified as "the best way." What we do know, is that there is a common pattern among Warm Ups that proves to be correct, or in opposite, Warm Ups that are not correct.

Pickleball Performance Training - Importance of Warming Up

It's all to do with the training: you can do a lot if you're properly trained...

I wrote a post several months ago on a new pickleball performance training developed by Nate Littauer of Xcel. As the name implies, the training develops strength and balance related to the specific movements of pickleball play. We have a core group of local players that has gone through 13 weeks of the program. I feel certain that each of us strongly believe that the program has been very helpful.

Nate has offered to contribute an occasional post to this blog. I find that to be an exciting opportunity to develop a cutting-edge program for a growing sport. Today is Nate's first post with an important topic that most players completely ignore - the importance of warming up.

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Like any other sport, the increased popularity of Pickleball has brought a new form of fitness and competition to a wide age range and demographic. According to USA Pickleball, the estimated participation increased more than 12% from 2016-2017! That is a huge increase for any sport. And like any sport that grows, the athletes that play need to be on their top game to perform.

In talking with some the local area players, one of the few things that was brought up as a concern was injury prevention. Pickleball is unique in that the playing population has a huge age range. The style of play allows players to play competitively far longer than most other sports, which is great for those with a desire to compete. With that increased age demographic, the types of injuries that could be sustained can result in issues such as knee replacements, hip replacements, and tendonitis. These were all concerns of area players.