October 2010 – Pickleball Fitness

By Barbara Wintroub, Director – Retrofit Pilates

Tournament season is upon us.  Playing, sitting, playing, sitting is tough even for the best of players.  Playing warms us up, sitting cools us down.  Our body parts seem to solidify in the chair the longer we sit.  This makes standing, never mind playing at our best, nearly impossible at the end of the day.  So, here are some chair exercises to keep you busy and warm between matches.

fitness position 1

Figure 4: Cross your right foot over your left knee.  Push gently on the right knee to loosen your right hip.  Sit up tall then lean forward trying to place your chest on your right leg.  Exhale while you are suffering for a count of 5.  Change legs and repeat the exercise.  Do this at least 3 times on each leg.

fitness position 2

Pretzel:  Cross your right leg over your left leg.  Place your right hand on your left leg, left hand on right leg.  Sit tall, then lean forward trying to pull legs apart with hands.  Change legs and repeat.  Do this exercise 3 times on each leg.  Remember to exhale and groan while pulling legs apart.

fitness position 3

Toe Taps/Heel Taps:  Sit tall toward the front of the chair.  Place your feet directly under your knees, legs at a 90 degree angle.  Keep heels connected to the ground.  Lift your toes (all of the them) off the floor, then tap them quickly on the ground and lift them again.  Do 10 times.

fitness position 4

Plant toes on the ground.  Lift heels, then tap them quickly on the ground.  Do 10 times.

fitness position 5

To keep you focused try to alternate toes and heels at the same time.  Do 20 times.

fitness position 6

 

Arm Scissors:  Hold arms straight out from your sides, parallel to the ground, squeezing your back (scapula, wings) together.

fitness position 7

Swing arms forward, chest high, in front of you, slicing the air like scissors – right hand on top, left hand on top, right hand on top – before taking the arms back to position one.  The arms stay chest high for the entire exercise.  Do 10 times.

Take a couple of inhales and exhales to complete your workout, because they just called your match on Court 1.  Good luck!