»RUSTY: Hi! Welcome to a new episode of Pickleball 411.
I'm Rusty, and this show is all about providing helpful information about
the sport of pickleball. This week we're going to talk about the best kind of stretch to do
before you play and why you should do it. So, let's learn and play.
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»ANNOUNCER: Pickleball 411 is powered by Hyland's Leg Cramps. Proud supporter
of pickleball players everywhere. »RUSTY: Today on Pickleball 411 we are coming to you
from the beautiful Red Mountain Resort here in St. George, UT. And we are fortunate enough
to be joined by Rebecca Dalley, certified personal trainer and expert in health
and fitness here in Red Mountain Resort. What else? »REBECCA: I love to play pickleball.
»RUSTY: So, for pickleball players, you may be wondering if you should stretch before you play.
Rebecca's going to talk to us about the importance of stretching and the best way to do it.
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»REBECCA: Before you play pickleball, the best type of stretching to do is dynamic stretching as opposed to
static stretching. According to recent research, which we'll put in the information below,
static stretching may actually potentially reduce your optimization and performance.
While dynamic stretching can actually optimize your performance and actually help reduce
the risk of injury. Let's go stretch!
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The first dynamic stretch we're going to do is commonly known as the windmill. It's going to help to
open up the back, the hamstrings, the calves, the chest and the shoulders. Go ahead and
start with your legs about hip distance apart. Extend the arms out to the side at shoulder
height. Take your hand and reach it to the opposite foot.
Stand back up and repeat.
If you're a little less flexible in the hamstrings, go ahead and soften the knees.
So, keep the movement smooth and continuous, and repeat this
up to 10 times. ♪♪ upbeat music ♪♪
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Pickleball often involves lunging and balance. So, this stretch is going to have you moving across the court
as you lunge and stretch. So, go ahead and take a big step forward,
bending the front knee, stretching the arms up over the head, twisting to the
outside of the knee. Continue moving in that fashion across the court.
Make sure when you're doing the exercise to not allow
the front knee to move past the toes. So, make sure that you keep
your knee behind your toes, not lunging forward too far, keeping
the ankle directly underneath the knee. If balance seems to be an issue for you,
go ahead and use a friend, a pole, or the back of a chair. Simply hold on
to the chair, step back into your lunge, release down, twist
to the outside of the knee, and repeat.
Make sure to do both sides.
Pickleball obviously involves a lot of shoulder movement.
So, I'm going to show you some stretches to help open up the chest and shoulders to get you ready.
So, starting with the arms, you're going to move them in big circles.
Let the momentum of your arms help open up the shoulders.
Reverse that pattern and start
to move backwards. You want to repeat that for
7 to 10 times. Once you're done with that, you're going to use the weight of the
arms and crisscross them across the body. We want to do this
with a certain amount of oomph.
This will help open up and stretch the chest
and the shoulders. ♪♪ lively music ♪♪
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»RUSTY: So, that's our Pickleball 411 for today. Thank you so much, Rebecca, and
Red Mountain Resort here in St. George, UT for letting us shoot here and learn
about stretching before you play pickleball. Now, there's only one thing left to do, and that's go play!
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»ANNOUNCER: If there's something you think Pickleball 411 should cover, we'd love to hear from you.
All you have to do is send us an email and tell us your idea. This episode
of Pickleball 411 has been brought to you by Hyland's Leg Cramps.
America's #1 over-the-counter leg cramp medicine. For more information, go to
Hylands.com ♪♪ upbeat music ♪♪
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