Barbara WintroubHow 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
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
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 |
 Balancing |
Stronger hips make for stronger pickleball.