Train Off the Court to Win On It! Why Functional Training Is the Secret to Pain-Free Pickleball

Pickleball might look playful—but don’t let it fool you. It demands quick reactions, sudden stops, sharp direction changes, and constant coordination between strength, power, endurance, balance, and focus.

While most players just play more pickleball to get better, true performance—and injury prevention—starts off the court.

Movement Is a Miracle—Prepare for It Accordingly

Every time you lunge, pivot, or sprint on the court, your body is orchestrating a symphony of muscular, neurological, and cardiovascular coordination. If you’re not preparing your muscles, joints, nerves, and brain for those demands in advance, you’re setting yourself up for pain, plateaus, or injury.

What Is HIFT—And Why Does It Matter?

High-Intensity Functional Training (HIFT) is a modern, research-supported method that blends strength training, cardio, and real-life movement patterns into short, effective workouts.

Think multi-joint, explosive, and highly functional exercises that mirror exactly what you do in a pickleball match.¹

Instead of isolating muscles on machines, HIFT trains your body as a whole—just like the sport itself.

Functional > Traditional

Instead of sitting on weight machines, try:

• Standing on one leg with a soft knee—can you stabilize?

• Lateral or diagonal movement with stops—can you decelerate and stay balanced?

• One-legged squats or sits to a bench—can your hips and trunk control you under load?

• Catching a medicine ball overhead-thrown by a partner from behind and lowering it to the floor in front of you—can your spine absorb, decelerate, and redirect energy?

These drills train you for game-like demands, such as:

• Sudden direction changes

• Reaching forward awkwardly while maintaining trunk control

• Sprinting and stopping on a dime

• Sustaining longer volleys with cardiovascular “burst” capacity

Don’t Forget the Backside

Your glutes, hamstrings, and spinal stabilizers are critical for bending, reaching, and recovering upright. Without foundational strength and control here, you’ll lose power, compromise technique, and eventually, develop pain.

Incorporate:

• Stiff-legged deadlifts

• Back extensions with rotation

• Bent-over rows

• Medicine ball throws and catches

• Controlled trunk deceleration drills

  
  

*But always seek professional guidance to ensure proper form and progression.

The Bottom Line

You don’t need to train like a pro, but you do need to train like a pickleball player—off the court.

Functional training doesn’t just improve your game. It helps your joints last longer, your body recover faster, and your brain stay sharp and ready. By mimicking the movements and demands of pickleball in your workouts, you’ll feel better, play longer, and stay injury-free.

So remember:

The work you do off the court determines how long you can stay on it.

Play smarter. Train functionally. Play forever!

— Dr. PickleDink™

Reference

1.) Wang X, Soh KG, Samsudin S, Deng N, Liu X, Zhao Y, Akbar S. Effects of high-intensity functional training on physical fitness and sport-specific performance among the athletes: A systematic review with meta-analysis. PLoS One. 2023 Dec 8;18(12):e0295531. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295531. Erratum in: PLoS One. 2024 Feb 16;19(2):e0299281. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299281. PMID: 38064433; PMCID: PMC10707569.