Love all this! I have also found kayaking gets me really deep in my abs, but I've talked to other people who really feel it in their arms and shoulders. Don't know if it's a technique or physiology thing, but you're guaranteed to feel it somewhere! Especially if you're kayaking to an island that looked a lot closer than it really is. Not that I know anything about that...
I wonder if you feel it in your abs because of having to keep yourself stable. I think I've experienced that before. And yeah, gotta watch out for sneaky not-so-close islands, lol
The pickleball tournament goal is one I hear constantly from new players. But here's what most of them don't realize until they're actually in a tournament: it's not cardio that fails them first. It's leg strength. Three matches in, their knees are gone, their split step disappears, and they're just standing flat-footed hoping the ball comes to them. A performance goal is smart. Training the right thing for that goal is the part most people skip.
Totally agree on this. For pickleball specifically, the players who fall apart in the third game aren't usually the least skilled, they're the least conditioned. What works: extended dinking rallies that force you to stay low and stable for 3-4 minutes straight, footwork ladder drills done until form starts breaking down, and circuit training that mimics the stop-start nature of actual points. The goal isn't just building muscle. It's teaching the muscle to keep working when it wants to quit.
Love all this! I have also found kayaking gets me really deep in my abs, but I've talked to other people who really feel it in their arms and shoulders. Don't know if it's a technique or physiology thing, but you're guaranteed to feel it somewhere! Especially if you're kayaking to an island that looked a lot closer than it really is. Not that I know anything about that...
I wonder if you feel it in your abs because of having to keep yourself stable. I think I've experienced that before. And yeah, gotta watch out for sneaky not-so-close islands, lol
The pickleball tournament goal is one I hear constantly from new players. But here's what most of them don't realize until they're actually in a tournament: it's not cardio that fails them first. It's leg strength. Three matches in, their knees are gone, their split step disappears, and they're just standing flat-footed hoping the ball comes to them. A performance goal is smart. Training the right thing for that goal is the part most people skip.
I think muscle endurance is overlooked a lot by people playing recreational sports. What do you recommend players do to train that?
Totally agree on this. For pickleball specifically, the players who fall apart in the third game aren't usually the least skilled, they're the least conditioned. What works: extended dinking rallies that force you to stay low and stable for 3-4 minutes straight, footwork ladder drills done until form starts breaking down, and circuit training that mimics the stop-start nature of actual points. The goal isn't just building muscle. It's teaching the muscle to keep working when it wants to quit.