One of the best exercises that you should be doing is rowing. With so many variations, there is always an option for you. It can be as easy or challenging as you want it to be. Regardless of age, playing level, or experience the rowing exercise is a must for you if you play Pickleball. If you are looking to reduce your risk of injury, improve posture, and help improve your play on the court then it is a must for you.
Injury Prevention
Let’s start with injury prevention. Since we all love playing so much, for hours and hours, we make the same repetitive motion over and over again each time we play. When you break it down you can do hundreds of reps of the same motion just in one day. If you play multiple days per week then multiply that number by each day you play. Pickleball takes a large toll on your shoulder and back, especially after breaking it down. To give yourself the best chance to reduce injury risk, make sure those areas of your back and shoulders are strong but also train them for endurance. This is where rowing comes in; your goal should be to do some type of rowing exercise 3-4 days per week.
Posture and Position
Now let’s talk about posture and position and why it matters to you. We’ve all seen it, in the first game everyone is playing with proud posture and good position, but after the first couple of games and a few hours have gone by everyone is bent over, tired, and good positioning is out the window. Now shots are being missed, the paddle isn’t staying up, and your chest is pointed to the ground. The back is made up of endurance muscles, so they must be trained to be able to hold the position you want on the court for long periods of time. Whether you are playing for hours with your friends, or at a multiple-day tournament you need to train your body to meet the demands you are asking it to do.
Variations
Included in this blog are different rowing exercises you can try. There are way more examples, but these can help you get started. If you have questions about different variations, more challenging ones, or just how to incorporate them into your workouts please feel free to email me or message me on Instagram and I would be happy to help.
This is a guest post written by Ty Woody, who can be reached here: Email: twoody5446@outlook.com and Instagram: @realcoachtywoody.
