Category Archives: Pickleball & Fitness

April 2012 – Hip Hip Hooray!… How to Strengthen Those Sideways Muscles

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How well do you move sideways? Do you feel as if you are weaker laterally than linearly? All of us are. We live in a linear — forward — world. We lean forward when sitting at the computer, driving and watching TV, and we walk mostly forward unless we are playing pickleball and have to move sideways. The challenge is to find the muscles that move us that direction and see if they still work. The following exercises are easy to execute even while on the pickleball court waiting to play. All you need is an elastic band or large elastic rubber band and a bench.

Leg Press

Leg Press

1. Leg press: Seated on the bench (sitting tall of course), place your hands on either side of your legs. Press your legs outward while trying to push your legs together with your hands. Press for a count of 10, do 5-10 times; breathe out while pressing.

Clam Shell

Clam Shell

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Clam Shell — Side: Lie on the bench with legs stacked and bent. Glue your heels together; open top knee 20 times (or more) till you have a burning sensation in hip muscles. Do each leg 3-5 times.

3. Clam Shell: Tie legs together above knees with band and repeat above exercises.  (Not for the faint of heart)

4. Rubber band around lower legs, do sidestepping keeping legs apart throughout exercise. Sidestep around the court one direction then change directions. Work toward a burning sensation in the hips (not sharp pains).

5. Balance on right leg while trying to lift the left leg backward. Touch the bun muscles to see if they are working. Do 10 times then change legs.  Repeat exercise 3-5 times.

Sidestepping

Sidestepping
Balancing

Balancing

 

 

 

 

 

Stronger hips make for stronger pickleball.

 

February, 2012 – Fitness, The Abominable Abdominals

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Abdominal SnowmanLet’s start the new year off right by strengthening the core or the deep abdominals. We have crunch muscles (rectus abdominis), wrap-around-your-body muscles (transversus abdominis) and obliques (like placing your hands in a jacket pocket muscles). If you want a six pack (not to drink but to show off) then you need to do crunches like our snowman. But if you want to strengthen your back, then you need to work your transverse abs. These muscles, which wrap like a cinch from front to back, are the real core muscles that give you a waistline, keep your chest from falling to your hips, keep you from getting stenosis [Ed: narrowing of the spinal canal] and from overusing your neck muscles. Ok, you say; I am ready to have a slim waist, strong abs and back, stand tall and not use my neck muscles. How do I go about this undertaking? Plank, Plank and more Plank!

The following pictures begin with the easiest plank then evolve to more difficult plank positions. The reason the plank is so important is that more abdominal core muscle fibers are used than in any other position.

Abdominals Exercise PhotosHold all positions for a count of 10 to 20, rest and repeat 5 times.

Picture #1- is a plank against a wall
Picture #2 – is quadruped (on hands and knees) with right arm and left leg extended. Change arm and leg, do 5 on each side.
Picture #3 – is bent knee pushup position
Picture #4 – is bent knee side pushup position
Picture #5 – is full pushup position
Picture #6 – is full side balance

You can do one, two or all of the exercises. Feel how your deep abs turn on to support each movement. Pull in on your navel as you exhale and hold plank. Do the exercises every day if possible and watch to see how strong you become. Your pickleball hitting will be stronger, your endurance better and you will play back-pain free.

October 2011 – Do You Have Cement Feet on the Pickleball Court?

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By Barbara Wintroub

“Float like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee” – Muhammad Ali

Great words of advice for all us pickleballers.

Do you sometimes feel that your feet are stuck in one spot on the court floor and you’re unable – or unwilling – to move?  So many players find a position on the court and never move from there. I see their feet ‘locked in cement’, so to speak, so they reach for the ball instead of moving their feet to the ball.

If you watched the US Open tennis matches on TV, you may have noticed that the commentators all talked about how quickly some players got to the ball and some did not.   Their comments were to take your feet to the ball.

Balance is another key issue.  Not only should your feet move, Feet under bodybut your body should stay over your feet most of the time for good balance.  If you reach over with your foot and stretch for a shot, you cannot get back into position in time for the next shot.  (See photo at left showing INCORRECT position.

 

Photo at right shows CORRECT position.)  Are you on your heels when you’re at net or on the balls of your feet?  Here’s a law of physics that applies:  “A body in motion tends to stay in motion and a body at rest tends to stay at rest.”  If you are on  the balls of your feet, you are in motion and can keep moving.  If you are on your heels, you are at rest and will have to restart your momentum to get to the next shot.

Let’s figure out what all this means to playing pickleball.  If you keep your feet moving, you may be pooped before the first game is over, if your endurance isn’t great enough.  If you reach for the ball, you will probably hit up on the ball allowing the opponent to blast you with the return.  If your feet are not under your body, your chance of falling will increase.

We need some work to fix these potential issues.

Let’s address foot movement and endurance first.  Pretend you are jumping rope one foot to the other like Mohammad Ali did in “Rope a Dope”.  Start jumping for maybe 20 seconds, then 30, then 45 etc.  Your goal is to make it through the first game with energy to spare.Sidestepping

 

Second, do some shadow drills like side stepping on the base line and pretend hitting a forehand, then side stepping down the baseline in the opposite direction and pretend hitting a backhand.  This will help you get more energy to do this when you play a real game and you will be building leg strength and balance and taking your feet to the ball on each shot.

Third, have someone hit to you at the kitchen line, but remember to be leaning forward with weight on the balls of your feet at all times.  This position helps you “float and sting” when hitting your net shots.Stand on one leg

Fourth, see how long you can stand on one leg.  Then try the other leg.  Is one weaker?  Stand on that one several more times to strengthen it.  How’s your balance?  Try closing your eyes while you stand on one leg, then the other.  You can both strengthen each leg and improve your balance with this exercise.

Being in shape is of utmost importance when playing pickleball.  Presently, I am at the San Diego Senior Games playing and especially watching the players.   I watched some wonderful matches.   The thing that I noticed was that some players seemed to move better.  The ones who won the matches were usually active the entire match, weight moving forward all the time, following the movement of the ball with their body.

Try some of these suggestions and see if they help. If they do, let me know. I would love to hear from you.

September 2011 – Maintaining Both Health and Fitness

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By Barbara Wintroub

As we charge into our later years, no holds barred, we concurrently insist on maintaining both our health and fitness. This reality brings me to the question:   Are we really good to our bodies with what we do to them?

I received a wonderful article about balancing exercise and rest for our muscles written by Gunnar Mossberg (gunnar@mossbergpt.com) on July 19th at http://www.signonsandiego.com. In his article, Gunnar quotes world-renowned exercise physiologist Per-Olof Astrand (Google him for more information).  According to Per-Olof Astrand, our body holds a reserve of 70% of its total energy, leaving 30% for work, ADLʼs (activities of daily living) and other workouts (which would include pickleball).  Rest periods are used for tissue recovery and repair.

What if we continually use more than our 30%, what really happens? We experience tissue breakdown and overuse injuries. Hmmmm, sound like anyone we know?  Looked at from first the positive, then the negative perspective, the formula might be said to be:  ‘Training + rest = health’ , or ‘Too much training + little rest = tissue breakdown, fitness breakdown and performance breakdown’.   Joint osteoarthritis, spinal disc degeneration and tendon issues are just a few of the problems.

If you are older and/or have a reduced fitness level due to illness or surgery, your 30% energy could be reduced significantly. Doing the same workout we did when we were younger or even last year could be detrimental to our health.  Therefore, you need to take a long look at your fitness program.

Do you train correctly?  By correctly I mean managing your training over time to build fitness.  One such approach is called ‘pyramid training’.   Pyramid training begins slowly at the bottom of the pyramid, then time and intensity move up a level as your fitness level improves, until you reach the top of the pyramid and you peak for your event.  Take an Ironman Triathlete or marathon runner who trains for a major event. As the athlete’s fitness level improves, it gets easier to do the same amount of exercise so s/he can push a bit more each time.  Eventually that person is able to do a 4-5 hour marathon or a 13-15 hour Ironman Triathlon.

You might have only 30% of total body energy available, but the exercise becomes easier as your fitness level rises, so you can exercise more for the same 30%.  That is what is called being fit.   But here is the catch. Many times the athlete gets sick or injured the week before the event because they pushed too hard at the end of their training period without proper rest periods.  Bottom line:  rest is key to improved performance.

Here are a few things to do on your way to increasing your fitness:

1.  Don’t red line your heart by working out to exhaustion
2.  Use lower intensity, endurance-type exercise such as bicycling, swimming and jogging slowly as cross training.  Cross training is what makes you stronger and more fit.   More pickleball just gives you overuse syndrome.
3.  Drill on the pickleball court part of the time and play part of the time.
4.  Sit down and rest when you get tired.
5.   Nap if possible.
6.  Eat healthy foods like green leafy vegetables, fresh veggies, fresh fruit not juice.  Leave out carbs with white sugar.  A banana, low fat yogurt and a bagel for breakfast is not a balanced healthy way to hit the pickleball court.  Why not? Any low fat product has more sugar in it (not more calories, but more sugar).  A banana converts to sugar and a bagel is starch (which converts to sugar).   Put a little almond butter and banana on the bagel or tuna on the bagel for some added protein.
7.   Stretch after you exercise.  Stretch all the time.   Stretching even a little goes a long way for your health.

There are many pickleball tournaments coming up this season.  You need to be healthy and ready to compete.  Being an athlete is tough on your body, so plan your exercise and rest wisely.

August 2011 – Strenngthening Arms & Shoulders

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By Barbara Wintroub

Norm Davis, the USAPA Director of Training, received the following question from a gentleman in the USAPA’s Training Room:   “I am an older player, and am looking for exercises that will strengthen my arms and shoulders so that I can put more on the ball.”   These exercises are in response to that request.

Upper body strength is not only for picklers, but also those who want to pick up grand kids, work in the garden, push yourself away from the dinner table and many other activities.  All of the following exercises can be executed with weights or elastic bands.  I took an elastic band and wrapped it around the umbrella pole at the pickleball court.

*NOTE: when using weights do not use heavy ones and do not make large range of motion movements.   Do two sets of 10 exercises.

Picture #1 is for the forehand.  Position yourself as if you were hitting your forehand while holding the band.  Try using your arm, legs and abdominal muscles to pull on the elastic band.  Hit the ball with your body and your arm.

 

 

Picture #2 is for the backhand.   Position yourself as if you were hitting your backhand while holding the band.  Follow instructions above.

 

 

Picture #3 is cross punching like a boxer.   Do the punches across your body, make sure you turn at the waist when punching.

 

 

Picture #4 Bicep curls.  Keep elbows in front of the body, bring hands to shoulders.

 

 

 

Picture #5  Chest Press.  Palms facing down, lower body toward the floor like a sumo wrestler then push both hands out in front of your body.

 

 

Picture #6  fitness position 6Deltoid strengthening (top of the shoulder).   Bend arms at a 90 degree angle at your sides. Lift the arms from the shoulder and lower arms from the shoulder.

Picture #7  Triceps Press. Position yourself as if you were hitting an overhead.   Stand on the elastic band with one end in your hand.   Slowly straighten the arm and slowly bend the arm.

Happy pickling and see you in September when the snowbird season begins.

July 2011 – How to Fall-proof Your Body

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By Barbara Wintroub, Retrofit Pilates

bwintroub@retrofitpilates.com
http://retrofitpilates.com

Are you feeling a bit physically unsteady on the pickleball court or, even more generally, in your everyday life?

According to an article in ADVANCE for Physical Therapists by Mannewitz PT and Hulett PT, one out of every three people older than 65 falls each year.   Add the pickleball component and that number could be higher.  Balance training helps prevent unnecessary injuries while playing pickleball or performing more regular day to day activities.

Walking is a form of falling and regaining balance.  The same is true for running for a dink or backing up for an overhead.  Balance is dynamic and applies to many daily activities like standing up from a sitting position, getting out of your car etc.  Decrease in balance can be a result of a sedentary life style, decline in vision and hearing or rehabbing from hip or knee replacement.

This article will provide suggestions and exercises to improve general balance and will also provide two drills to improve forward/backward and side to side movements on the pickleball court.  Always consult your physician before beginning any new exercise program.

Here are a few balance exercises you can do around the house and on the court:

1.   Stand on one leg while brushing your teeth and washing your face.   Alternate legs.   Repeat 5 times on each leg.

2 Stand with your back close to a wall (so you don’t fall backward), raise both hands over your head while looking up (stand and reach).   Repeat 5-10 times.

 

 

3. Stay at the wall, stand and reach, then try to go on your tippy-toes and stay there for a count of 5-10.  Repeat 10 times.  This exercise strengthens calf muscles also.

 

 

4. Balance on your right leg with the left leg out behind you.  Pick up a pickleball from the floor.  Alternate legs.  Repeat 5 times or more on each leg.   (This exercise is the golfer’s ball pick up method).

 

 

5.  Stand at the baseline of the court.   Slowly jog forward.  Touch the net with the paddle, then back step to the baseline.  Repeat exercise 5-10 times.

6.   Stand on the baseline at the far right side, side-step to the other side; stop, and then side step back to the starting position.  Work up to continuous movement 5-10 times across the court and back.

Now you are ready to do those amazing one leg, flying, half court volley shots that will truly amaze and astound your opponents!

June 2011 – Dealing with Injury

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By Barbara Wintroub, Retrofit Pilates

bwintroub@retrofitpilates.com

retrofitpilates.com

This fitness instructor finally injured herself pushing her body way beyond her limits.  After 3 visits to the ER, 1 to Urgent Care, several meetings with the Physical Therapist (PT) and 2 MRI’s, I was diagnosed with “over use syndrome”.   All I know is I have been in terrible pain for 3 weeks and cannot do much of anything.  Since I make my living teaching fitness and my free time is taken up playing sports, this debilitating injury has caused quite a hole in my day.  I am supposed to “give my body a rest”.  What a concept!  What can I do in my new resting state of mind and body?

Here are my suggestions to myself.  Might any of them work for you?

Mental work:

- Start to meditate in the morning to awaken my senses and in the evening to give thanks for still being on the planet.
- Make appointments at the Apple Store and really discover how to use my new MAC.
- Connect with old friends and family using the on-line social network or the phone.
- There are always plenty of things on my ‘to do’ list.

Body work:

- ICE/HEAT can be your best friend.   Talk to a Physical Therapist, Doctor or Athletic Trainer (not another pickleball player) about when and how to use both.
- Wrap the body part (knee, elbow, ankle, etc.).  There are good braces and not so good ones.  Most ACE bandages are not great but make you think they are.  Talk to a knowledgeable Physical Therapist who can lead you to the best braces on the market.
- Rest the body part for 6 weeks or longer, then slowly begin a program to strengthen.
- Take an active part in your healing process by doing the things suggested to you by your medical experts.

There are 4 Phases to an injury.

Phase I: The injury takes place
Phase II: The body sets up a protection of the injured area by doing some or all of the following: swelling, bruising, pain, numbness and tingling lasting weeks
Phase III: The body begins to repair the area, which also takes weeks
Phase IV: Time to begin a rehab program to strengthen the weakened area

Since my problem is stabbing, shooting and radiating pain down my left leg, there is nothing to wrap.  I did Kinesio tape myself and now my body looks like a roadmap of colors.  Sometimes, I press on my back and the pain subsides.  Often I press on my leg or hip and the pain goes away.   Then I take prescription anti-inflammatory medication.

There are several things I know for sure at this point:

- The pain is terrible now.
- Because I want to continue my pickleball life well into my 80″s and 90″s, I need to rest now in order to have my body functioning well again later.
- I must limit my calories while not exercising; otherwise my pickleball clothes won’t fit when I return to playing.

Good luck to all the injured warriors out there. Time to go rent a movie.

May 2011 – Exercising in the Car

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By Barbara Wintroub

Whether you and your family are going on vacation this summer by auto or RV, you will be sitting in your vehicle for miles and miles without any exercise.   But you don’t have to become a ‘seat potato’!  I have invented exercises that you can do either behind the steering wheel or in the passenger seat.

As I was driving to the Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, Utah, last October, it hit me how many other folks were on the road spending hours in their vehicles.  I don’t like to sit still very long, so I decided to come up with a plan to exercise when I pull over to gas up or rest up.   Please don’t try doing these exercises while you are driving. Wait till you pull off the road.   But you can do them while someone else is driving.

TIPS:
- Sit up tall when doing each exercise.
- Try to keep your head against the head rest during all but the first exercise.
- Pull your abdominals in on the exhale, while you are holding for a count of 10.

1.   This exercise stretches your chest muscles and works your mid-back muscles:
Hold the seat with your right hand, lean forward, pulling your right shoulder backwards. Switch hands and repeat exercise. Use both hands to hold the seat, pull shoulder back and pinch together. Repeat 3 times or more and hold for a count of 10 on each exercise.

Passenger can do this exercise just like the driver.
2.   This exercise relaxes your neck muscles:
Place both hands on the ceiling of the vehicle and push against the ceiling, while allowing your shoulders to slide downward. Repeat 3 times or more; hold for a count of 10 each time.

Passenger can do this exercise just like the driver.

 

3.  This exercise works the triceps and fires the abdominals:
Place right hand (with a straight arm) on top of the steering wheel. Press down on the wheel tightening your triceps as you press. Hold for a count of 10. Switch hands and repeat. Then use both hands at the same time. Repeat exercise on each arm 3 times or more, then repeat both hands 3 times or more.

Passenger can press on their leg or the dash board.

4.   This exercise strengthens your mid-back and helps to hold your head up:
Place both hands on the steering wheel at 3 and 9 o’clock. Pull the steering wheel apart for a count of 10 while exhaling. Repeat 3 times or more.
Passenger can pull on a towel or yoga strap.

 

 

5.   This exercise helps build buns of steel, instead of spongey buns:
Squeeze your bun muscles together as if holding a $100 bill. Hold for a count of 10 while exhaling. Repeat 10 times or more.
Passenger can do this exercise just like the driver.
I call these exercises, along with five others, the ‘Travelers Ten’.  You can really tire out your muscles (in a good way) while you are in transit.   I found that by the time I reached my destination, I had a full body workout and felt as if I had been at the gym most of the day.  You can also do these exercises on the way to the pickleball court, so you are warmed up by the time you hit the first ball.

Happy traveling! And keep exercising…..

April 2011 – Pickleball & Dehydration

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By Barbara Wintroub, Retrofit Pilates

bwintroub@retrofitpilates.com
http://retrofitpilates.com

Hot weather seems to have come upon us right in the middle of pickleball tournament season in Palm Desert, CA and Surprise, AZ.  One person was whisked away at the Catalina Spa Tournament and I hear several succumbed to heat and dehydration at the Grand Canyon Games.

It’s time to investigate the dehydration problem in more detail.  Did you know that when you exercise and drink only water, if you do not keep food in your stomach, the water just stays in your stomach and sloshes around?  Food keeps your stomach juices flowing to absorb the water.  You can actually become dehydrated if you’re drinking water and not eating.

You really need an electrolyte concentrate composed of a specific ratio of sodium chloride, sodium citrate, potassium, magnesium and calcium.   A formula containing optimal portions of water and salts for absorption into the body provides for fast, easy and effective rehydration.

NASA scientists were put to the test to come up with a formula for astronauts returning to Earth with severe dehydration.   The scientists have a drink with no carbohydrates, caffeine or sugar in it, but their tests show effective results and a 20% increase in endurance (see NASA website).

If you are good at Google searches, you can even find recipes for homemade fluid replacement drinks, but most running and cycling stores can lead you in the right direction when it comes to electrolyte drinks.

For proper hydration with a combination of water and electrolyte drinks, you need to begin drinking fluids several hours before you play, continue to drink during play and then continue hydrating during recovery after you play. This provides the most effective cumulative effect of electrolyte replacement.  Watch for early signs of dehydration. If your mouth is dry and sort of sticky even though you don’t feel thirsty or you have stopped needing to visit the ladies’ or men’s room during your competitive day, you are already in trouble.

What you wear also plays a big part in the dehydration issue.  Do you wear a hat?  Heat escapes through the top of your head.  If you are cold, wear a hat.   If you are hot, wear a light mesh cap to shield your head from the sun and allow air circulation.  Keep your hat wet or place ice in your cap.

Are you wearing the latest coolmax or polyester shirt?   Bad choice!  This fabric wicks the water away from your skin – great for winter time when you can be chilled in cold weather, but bad for summer time.  Wear 100% cotton, keep it wet, stand in the shade with a wet shirt for instant “cool-ness” or actually play pickleball with a wet T-shirt on to keep your body temperature down.  Wear loose fitting clothes that are light colored.  Black is for evening wear, not for daytime pickleball.

Here’s something different for a quick cool down: try ‘heat snorkeling’.   Take a glass and fill it almost to the brim with ice cubes.  Hold the glass up to your mouth and blow gently in the glass then inhale.  The ice causes the air you are blowing into the glass to cool down drastically and, in turn, the cold air is forced out the glass and right into your face and back into your lungs.

After you play, soak your feet in cold water and run cold water over your wrists for 10 seconds each hand. This will reduce your temperature for about an hour.

Drink, drink drink. Eat, eat, eat. He who is last standing and in good shape wins. Then go party where you can wear black and drink and eat some more.

Take care, be smart, remain upright.

March 2011 – Mr. Pickleball

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Submitted by Barbara Wintroub

83 competitors from Arizona, San Diego and the Coachella Valley got the opportunity to be a part of the first “Mr. Pickleball” award presentation to Christopher Thomas. Chris, the USAPA Regional Ambassador for the West region, has worked so hard to get pickleball into just about every resort and tennis facility in the Coachella Valley.  A few the venues he’s penetrated are Del Webb Sun City, Mission Hills, Tamarisk CC, PGA West, Del Webb Shadow Hills and several tennis centers such as Civic Park and Cahuilla Park.

A group of his fans and local dedicated picklers got together to present him with a plaque, dinner and movie tickets to thank him for his commitment to pickleball.  Barbara Wintroub made the presentation with Stephanie Ice, Jesse Dawson and Karin Walton assisting.

The plaque said, “In appreciation of the dedication, commitment and untiring promotion for the sport of Pickleball in the Coachella Valley, The Pickleball Community presents to Christopher Thomas “The Mr. Pickleball Award” January 2011.”

We now have enough pickleball clubs that we can start a league.  Thank you Christopher!