The Pickleball Channel recently made a Pickleball 411 video Warming Up with Alex Hamner and Jennifer Lucore. We had fun showing Rusty Howes and his crew what WE do. Here is some more insight to our pickleball warm up.
It is really important to warm up prior to pickleball play. Here is my routine: once I arrive at the venue of play I leave my pickleball stuff in the car and do a 5 minute jog. Just start jogging; move those legs and start to clear your mind of all non-pickleball activities in your head. Get your heart rate up a bit. Some may even prefer a fast walk – whatever works for you to get your legs warmed up. For those of you that have the weather to deal with, and play indoors, head straight to the walking/jogging track, hit the treadmill or even the stationary bike. Only after you’ve warmed up should you head over and start play because—as you know—once you get on the court social time starts and warm up is very limited. Once on the court it’s all about Let’s Play!
5 minute jog? I would guess some players get a chuckle out of this, only 5 minutes? Well, I did
say that this is what WE (Alex and Jennifer) do for warmup. I know of several players that are runners who can easily do five to ten miles of pleasure running…. Um, not for us. Not because it’s bad, we just don’t like distance running. The 5 minute jog is perfect for us. One disclaimer is I do enjoy sprints… quick bursts of speed, which ties in perfectly to this sport. As the video shows we also do some wrist movements, dinking and volleying. Not shown in the video is our practice of groundstrokes, third shot and serves. Also during tournament days, we do this pickleball warm up prior to each match.
Lastly, Bob Youngren’s (my dad) warm up; did you just chuckle? Yes it is true, no warm up for him. He has always just showed up on the court with no warm up and collected medals in both pickleball and in his early years with tennis. He does have his aches and pains and maybe, just maybe, if he did some warm up then his body would be happier after a long day of pickleball.
Find YOUR perfect pickleball warm up and stick with it. The goal is to stay injury free for more pickleball play.
What is the biggest hurdle for competitive tennis players wanting to play pickleball?
Great Video! Love the warm-up advice. Great reminder to jog before hitting the court.
I have changed my mind. Bob Youngren is now my new warm up role model, especially after all of my buddies’ catcalls in reaction to my labored version of the Jen and Alex crossover jog before play yesterday.
Bob Youngren is gaining popularity with his get out of the chair and Let’s Play warm up, Ha ha ha
My warmup: as I stroll onto the courts, I hold my wife’s hand.
Thanks for the insight, good stuff!