Is Pickleball Good Cardio? | Paddle2Racket

Pickleball has taken the world by storm. Whether it is a six-year-old or a 60-year-old, all are euphoric about this great game but is this cardio good for them?

Pickleball has more than 60+ members and a head federation that governs its matters. It has gotten so popular that they even have a rebel federation claiming to be the real deal. We believe it has amassed this reputation because of the health benefits it offers. But is playing Pickleball enough cardio for you?

Pickleball is indeed one of the best cardio exercises you can practice as it is a complete workout for all your muscles. Usually, exercises target one or two muscle groups; however, Pickleball helps you achieve your exercise goals better than any other workout.

Still, just claiming something does not make them legitimate hence through this guide, I will inform you the muscle groups Pickleball help you exercise, what benefits you gain from them, and the reasons that make it the best cardio you can do.

I've been a Pickleball enthusiast since March 2020; I believe this sport helped me through some dark days. Therefore, with authentic research from one of the top health magazines and other backing articles from respected journalists, I want the world to know how beneficial Pickleball can be for you.

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Muscle Groups Pickleball Help You Exercise

There are many reasons why Pickleball has gained the fame it is currently enjoying. It is fun, a great way to spend your energy, and being the ultimate mood elevator is perfect for people of all ages and sizes.

Hence, it is the ease with which you can play the game that has made this game the preferred choice for elders in America. We all have elder loved ones, and we have seen them struggle as they get old. Yet Pickleball has garnered their interest because it allows them to stay mobile, have fun and keep up with health all at the same time.

Younger and fitter people also experience the same muscle group exercise through this sport. Compared to the benefits it provides to the overall health of elders, it is the sport that is helping them prolong their life.

Therefore, without any further ado, let me tell you about the muscle groups. Pickleball helps you exercise. Plus, when it comes to impact, the following groups feel the most when they play Pickleball:

Leg Muscles

I don't need to explain the importance leg muscles have for every human. It literally helps them walk; however, this importance is exemplified at least ten folds when dealing with elders. One of the first signs of aging is losing your leg muscle power, and leg muscles being one of the most hard-working muscles in the body, it affects your mobility and overall strength significantly.

Leg muscles provide balance and stability to the whole body. They are the reason you can walk, run, lift, and perform many other tasks; hence, when you start losing power in them, feeling depressed is natural. Exercising with gym weights or other alternatives is not possible when you age.

Pickleball stands out as it is one of the easiest sports to play. It allows you to exercise your leg muscles and keep them strong as long as you actively play. Unlike gym weights, Pickleball does not put added pressure on your legs. It lets its exercise in the most natural manner possible.

Disease Leg Muscles Exercise Helps You Prevent - Arthritis

Arthritis is one of the worst yet most common diseases elders go through, especially in their leg and joint muscles. Based on medical research, one of the primary reasons for the onset of Arthritis is a lack of adequate blood flow. However, Pickleball exercise can help you resolve this problem and keep Arthritis at bay for as long as possible.

Chest Muscles

The chest is the next muscle group that the cardio of Pickleball helps you exercise. When you provide proper attention to this muscle group, it helps you breathe better. Your breathwork is optimized when you exercise this muscle, especially in your elder years.

Chest muscles also determine your posture, and your posture determines the blood flow and stability of your body. Since all bodily functions and systems depend on one another, your overall health is improved when you exercise one muscle group.

Chest Muscles Exercise Prevent Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular diseases are one of the most significant causes of premature deaths globally, and one of the significant reasons they are caused is when you have weak chest muscles. If you pay close attention to chest muscles through Pickleball cardio, you can avoid such complications.

Hands & Shoulders

The hands and shoulders are the last core muscle group that Pickleball helps you exercise. We need our hands for everything we do in life, and if you don't care for them properly they become weak and you can suffer from various joints, bones, and finger diseases.

These diseases are excruciating, and complete recovery from them is often close to none. The best you can do if you suffer from them is to manage the pain, which is not pleasant at all. Hence, a significant benefit Pickleball serves you is that it keeps your hands and shoulders healthy to live a pain-free, agile, and mobile life.

Hands & Shoulder Muscles Exercise PreventsFrozen Shoulder

Frozen shoulder is one of the most irritating and excruciating pain you can go through. This pain feels numb at times and feels like an itch you cannot scratch. It gets incredibly aggressive at night and makes it impossible for you to sleep properly.

This disease is caused due to aging when the required blood flow stops reaching your hands and shoulders; you can suffer from a frozen shoulder. However, all this unpleasantness could be avoided if you exercise them properly, and Pickleball is a great way to kill two birds with one stone.

Major Overall Health Diseases Pickleball Cardio is Helping Prevent

Now that you know the major muscle group and the specific diseases Pickleball can protect you from, we would now like to highlight other primary health diseases sport protects you from. Therefore, without any further ado, here are the following:

Heart Attack

Although we have discussed cardiovascular diseases above, the umbrella of cardiovascular diseases is vast and heart attack is its major disease from which Pickleball cardio can protect you. It can do this because our heart is the most rigid working organ in the body; it works all the time to ensure our blood is pumped through regularly to stay alive, and playing Pickleball can help do that.

Pickleball increases our heart rate when we play it, but because of the mild nature of the sport, it can do it gradually and safely. This ensures your heart pumping ability doesn't suffer any setback and has adequate blood flow which keeps you protected from the dreaded heart attack.

Parkinson's

Parkinson's is another significant disease caused when the blood flow of your body is not proper. Research has shown that if we can keep our heart rate safely up through cardio, adequate blood flow has been proven to slow the disease down. You can almost slow it down to a stage where you don't have to suffer from it if you care for your overall health sincerely.

Depression

Physical diseases aren't the only disease that Pickleball can protect you from, as one of the worst diseases people develop in their elder stage of life is depression. Depression is the silent killer which creeps in when you least expect it. One day you will be fine, and the next thing you know minor physical setback has put you in a deep dark hole.

Still, cardio helps you beat this because when you play a sport like Pickleball, your body releases endorphins which help you combat depression.

Blood Pressure

Whether high or low, blood pressure is also one of the major diseases responsible one way or another for a vast number of deaths in elders. Pickleball can help you fight and beat this because, through exercising, your heart arteries get strong, and they can function at their peak performance.

When they do that, your blood pressure is contained without the help of any external medicine or operation. Thus, if you want to beat high blood pressure, regular mild exercise like a game of Pickleball can save your life.

Kidney Failure

The last major health disease cardio helps you from is chronic kidney failure. Now I know you may be thinking, what is the connection here? The connection is that the diseases Pickleball prevents, especially cardiovascular and blood pressure, ensure that you don't suffer from any chronic kidney disease.

This can slow the failure process while simultaneously helping you better its general condition day by day. Once you have put in enough work, it can even prevent your kidney from failing to full health.

Benefits of Playing Pickleball

After establishing the muscle groups which benefit the most from playing Pickleball, and how the exercise prevents serious ailments and diseases, let’s look into the benefits you gain. So, without any further ado, here are the following benefits:

Helps You Maintain a Fit & Healthy Body

Pickleball provides you excellent cardio regardless of the age group you belong to. If you are a kid, it can help you develop quicker; if you are a youngster, it can help you achieve your peak fitness, and most importantly if you are an elder, it helps prevent the deterioration of your body.

Plus, the one thing common between all age groups is that Pickleball cardio can help you maintain a fit & healthy body and mind at any stage of your life.

Elevates Your Mood - Keep Darkness at Bay

The most significant benefit is that playing Pickleball can elevate your mood. The darkness of anxiety, depression, or any other kind is far more painful than any physical pain you can go through.

Hence, playing a sport like this saves you from ever going down that rabbit hole because when you are investing your energy doing this, rather than stressing, you are gaining endorphins due to the amount of physical activity you do.

Resurges Will To Live

Getting old is a bummer. You are no longer as agile, attentive, witty, or charismatic as you once were, which can put you in a dark place. However, a game like this makes you feel good about yourself and that you can still do a lot more than you give yourself credit for.

It makes you appreciate your current stage in life rather than being bummed about it. You start to see life from a newer angle where it's okay to slow down and still be you. It resurges your will like the one you had when you were young and robust.

Let’s You Enjoy Life A Little More

Another benefit of playing Pickleball, especially at your older age, is that this cardio makes you remember to smile again. You have been a serious adult for a long time with bills to pay and responsibilities to manage, so when you are finally allowed to put your feet up. You can once again discover the kid within you to enjoy this sport just for fun with no stakes attached.

Help You Establish New Friendships

The final benefit of Pickleball is that it helps you find new friends. You find people of similar age and interest who have nothing to gain from you other than companionship. This pure relationship helps you establish new friendships through which you can avoid the loneliness of getting old.

About THE AUTHOR

Michael Stevens

Michael Stevens

Since initially playing at the collegiate level, I have amassed several decades of experience playing racquetball, tennis, and pickleball. I have played thousands of matches and games, and won medals and awards in multiple tourantments. I am constantly improving my game and enjoy mentoring and coaching other players in strategy and technique. I have authored dozens of articles on the sport.

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