Health and Social Benefits of a Pickleball Game
Simple yet compelling, the beauty of pickleball revolves around not only its enticing experience in the court but also correlates to a multitude of health benefits it provides.
Oftentimes, being considered as mere casual or post-retirement sports for the elderly, most of its benefits that correspond to an individual’s physical and mental well-being are often overlooked.
However, you might be astounded to know how it catalyzes social bonding and physical wellness to the extent that it supersedes other counterpart sports too.
To support my enthralling claims and provide coherence I would be shedding some light on the Health and Social Benefits of a Pickleball Game so that not only it gets the credits it deserves but also gains notoriety among other sports communities.
Key Health & Social Benefits While Playing Pickleball
Let’s explore how you can improve your mental and physical well-being when playing pickleball.
1. Improves Cognitive Development
It’s a fast-paced sport, so naturally, you would build hand-to-eye coordination after playing even for a couple of weeks which positively impacts the focusing capabilities of your brain, allowing you to perform split-second decisions much more easily.
Pickleball allows you to stay mentally sharp and alert at all times when playing the game on
court which is extremely beneficial if you want your child to build faster instincts and have a much snappier reaction time.
It also helps in the elimination of mental fog, so you can easily make split-second decisions and even execute strategies in both real-life academic and professional scenarios.
2. Sharpens Memory
An idle mind becomes dull and rusty and there is quite a lot of truth behind it because our body works on “use it or lose it” logic, so if you aren’t going to put your kind mind to challenges by making it spatially aware, you will eventually run into brain-related disorders such as Alzheimer’s.
Regular exercises or simply playing pickleball helps you stay focused and lets you keep up with the numbers or scores since the rule of pickleball is that you need to declare the score before serving it which also acts as a mini exercise for your brain.
3. Great For Heart
Most cardiovascular diseases usually arise due to sedentary lifestyles and not exercising regularly exacerbates heart problems which is the last thing you would want.
Pickleball on the other hand is an amazing solution to get rid of all your cardiovascular disorders since on the court, you will always be on the move because this sport requires plenty of maneuvering and even increases the rate of your metabolism.
Keeping your adrenaline levels pumped and your blood flowing would also greatly reduce the chances of other forms of diseases such as diabetes.
4. Helps In Managing Stress
Pickleball not only helps you become physically fit and stay sharp by building reflexes and ultra instincts but you could also make a couple of friends along the way.
It’s quite a social sport, so the chances of making new buddies are pretty much imminent. There are plenty of researches that claim that regular human interaction especially while partaking in such a healthy physical activity boosts mental well-being as well as regulates mood to extraordinarily high levels.
So in other words, the key to staying happy and calm is to hit the court and have the best time with the pickleball community.
Is Pickleball Good for Weight Loss?
Idle lifestyle corrodes one’s ability to be efficient in every aspect of your life, you would have a hard time focusing and performing even the most basic task in your everyday routine.
On the other hand, your metabolism levels would drastically reduce because your body will build up fats which will introduce lethargy.
Pickleball on the other hand will keep you in shape since you would lose more calories than your body could accumulate, ensuring your body remains calorie-deficient at all times, however, you might want to keep a healthy diet if you want to stay lean and fit.
Nevertheless, if you feel like you are overweight, hitting the court is no undoubtedly one of the best ways to lose chunks of weight if you feel like gyms aren’t your cup of tea.
It is also an amazing source of cardio so you could also build stamina alongside which will also make you better at the game, so in other words you are hitting two birds with one stone.
What Muscles Does Pickleball Work?
The straightforward answer would be that pickleball uses pretty much every muscle in our body, however, some of the major muscles are as follows,
1. Quadriceps & Hamstring
During a pickleball session, even if it’s a casual one, the most wear and tear our body suffers from is in our hamstring region which is located in the back of our thighs. The majority of our movement is controlled by the hamstring as it serves its purposes in relocating and bending our legs and knees during maneuvering.
Speaking of movement, the Quadriceps fall second in the line, especially around the upper thigh region, and provide support for legs so that a player execute those quicker shots with peak agility.
2. Triceps, Biceps & Deltoids
On the flip side, it is pretty evident that pickleball isn’t just about footwork, as our hands and wrists play a massive role in executing Dinks and lobs while swinging the paddle. Typically, Deltoiods make forehand and backhand shots feel like a piece of cake.
The Biceps and triceps act as supporting muscles when extending our wrists to repel the whiffle ball in split seconds across the net. The biceps and triceps also work in conjunction with the pectoral muscle which connects all the way to the chest for a perfect service delivery.
3. Latissmus Dorsi
Across the upper torso, Latissmus Dorsi comes into play which provides momentum to build up which is crucial during aggressive pickleball playstyle. This muscle acts as a webbing across the upper back and connects to the upper shoulder which provides support for pivoting the paddle.
Bottom Line
Pickleball has seen exponential growth in the past decade for all the right reasons and health benefits are certainly one of those that are topping the charts which caters to everyone equally so no individual of any age feels “left out”.
On the other hand, the anti-discrimination properties and lower toxicity and griefing output significantly boost social bonding amongst the community, making it one of the most sought-after sports across the globe.
