Catherine Parenteau wasn’t at all times a pickleball participant. Whereas the 30-year-old from Montreal, Canada, is now probably the most well-known execs within the sport—she’s at the moment ranked second in the world for ladies’s doubles—she did not step foot on a pickleball courtroom till 2015.
Parenteau first picked up a tennis racket at the age of 4, nevertheless it wasn’t till her tennis coach at Michigan State University launched her to pickleball that she fell in love with the game. Simply six months later, she competed within the US Open Pickleball Championships, the place she received the 5.0 combined bracket and determined to go professional.
Parenteau’s favourite side of pickleball is that it is for anybody. You possibly can play with your pals or you possibly can play along with your grandparents, she tells Properly+Good. That is why she’s partnered with Apple Fitness+ to carry pickleball coaching to the lots with the workout program referred to as Strength, Endurance, and Agility for Pickleball, which launched January 6.
“This program helps you progress confidently, forestall damage, and play your greatest—irrespective of your ability degree.” —Kim Ngo, Apple Health+ coach
Extra concerning the new Apple Health+ pickleball coaching program
Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport within the America, in accordance with a 2024 report from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. With the intention to be robust and forestall damage, pickleball conditioning is a should, in accordance with Parenteau and Kim Ngo, an Apple Health+ coach.
“Pickleball retains you in your toes with fast bursts of motion and quick response instances,” Ngo tells Properly+Good. “With HIIT and energy exercises impressed by the sport, this program helps you progress confidently, forestall damage, and play your greatest—irrespective of your ability degree.”
The Apple Health+ program takes inspiration from Parenteau’s personal coaching routine and options two HIIT workouts and two strength workouts:
- HIIT for Endurance in Pickleball: This exercise consists of strikes like lunge variations, quick ft and jumps, and you may do every transfer twice for 60 seconds every. It ends with a 90-second cardio problem meant to spice up your stamina and response time on the courtroom.
- HIIT for Agility in Pickleball: This exercise consists of strikes that emphasize fast footwork, route modifications, and steadiness, like skaters, jumps, and landing squats with a flip. Every transfer is finished 3 times for 30 seconds every.
- Decrease-Physique Power for Pickleball: This exercise focuses on constructing energy and energy in your glutes, quads, and hamstrings that will help you transfer across the pickleball courtroom with ease. You may do 5 workouts—lunges, squats, and hinges, for instance—one time by. You may want two heavy dumbbells to finish this session.
- Higher-Physique Power for Pickleball: This exercise consists of strikes like rows with a rotation and diagonal lifts to strengthen your arms, chest, again and core. You may do three strikes two instances by that’ll assist your pickleball serves and drives. You may want two medium dumbbells to finish this session.
Parenteau’s all-time favourite train to enhance her recreation
Parenteau loves incorporating diagonal lifts, typically known as dumbbell woodchops, into her personal energy routine. “They assist enhance serves and backhands in pickleball,” she says. Plus, having good upper-body strength helps you progress higher in your on a regular basis life, making lifting heavy gadgets simpler, and prevents bone and muscle loss.
Within the video beneath, licensed private coach Charlee Atkins, CPT, breaks down precisely the best way to do Parenteau’s favourite pickleball coaching train.