www.swahayoga111.com www.strongrepublicpersonaltraining.com Pickleball has quietly become the Coachella Valley's defining sport. Walk past any community center, resort complex or neighborhood park and you’ll find courts full of players well into their 60s, 70s and even 80s. The sport is social, accessible, fun and genuinely good for you. It also sends more adults over 40 to physical therapists, orthopedists and sports medicine clinics than almost any other recreational activity in the valley. The problem is that most players compete four or five days a week without preparing their bodies for the sport's demands. After nearly two decades of training adults over 40, I can tell you with certainty that the players who stay healthy and keep improving are commonly the ones who strength train. Here are five reasons why: 1. It protects your joints from the sport itself. Pickleball puts your body through a lot. You’re cutting side to side, twisting through shots and starting and stopping on a dime. That combination places significant demand on knees, hips, shoulders and ankles, especially in bodies over 50 with decades of wear behind them. Strength training builds the muscles surrounding those joints so your tissues, not your cartilage, absorb the impact. The difference between a player who stays on the court and one who ends up in a sling or brace is almost always what they’re doing off the court. 2. It makes you a better player. Stronger legs produce faster first steps and more explosive movement to the kitchen line. A stronger core generates more power through your swing without straining your back. Stronger shoulders deliver better control and less fatigue. Every physical quality that influences pickleball performance responds directly to strength work. 3. It saves your shoulder. Shoulder injuries are the single most common complaint I hear from older pickleball players. Repetitive overhead and reaching motions performed on an under-prepared shoulder lead directly to rotator cuff irritation, impingement and eventually tears. Twenty minutes a week of targeted shoulder work (rows, presses, and external rotation exercises) prevents most of these injuries before they start. 4. It keeps your back out of trouble. Reaching for drop shots, rotating for backhands and bending for low balls at the net all put stress on your back. Most players over 50 don’t have the glute strength or core stability to protect it. The players who develop chronic low-back pain often share a common pattern: a weak posterior chain. The players who stay pain-free almost always train theirs. 5. It extends your pickleball career by years, possibly decades. This is the one that matters most. The players I see still competing at a high level in their later years share a single habit: they lift. They’ve recognized, often after a scare or an injury, that if they want to keep playing the sport they love for another 20 years, their bodies need more than just the sport itself. Pickleball alone will not keep your body ready for pickleball, but two focused strength sessions per week will. If you’re playing three or more times a week and feeling something nagging, that’s your body sending an early warning. You need to listen to your body. Pickleball brings people together, keeps us active, and makes aging feel like an opportunity instead of a limitation. But like anything worth doing, it rewards preparation. Train for the sport you love. Your future self, still playing, will thank you. Gerry Washack is the owner of Strong Republic Personal Training with locations in Palm Desert, La Quinta and Palm Springs. Visit www.strongrepublicpersonaltraining.com. www.DesertHealthNews.com November/December 2026 Pickleball is a leading cause of sports injuries in older adults. Fitness The Valley's Leading Resource for Health and Wellness 18 Step Inside. Retreat and Revive. We look forward to welcoming you. (760) 408-5454 39935 Vista del Sol Drive • Rancho Mirage Introductory offer 3 classes for just $33 swahayoga111.com LOOKING FOR PERSONAL TRAINING? We specialize in custom workouts for adults over 45 PALM SPRINGS • PALM DESERT • LA QUINTA strongrepublicpersonaltraining.com Scan code to view offer 14-DAY JUMP START Up to 6 Personal Training Sessions $199 Limited Time Offer! REPUBLIC PERSONAL TRAINING Experience our judgement-free zone and feel like family Why Every Pickleball Player Over 40 Should Be Strength Training
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