Calories Burned Playing Pickleball
When stepping into a court, regardless of the sports you are playing, one of the biggest pet peeves of a player is pondering whether it will keep them in shape.
Since it is evident that not every sport is strenuous enough to keep your blood pumped up even if it feels similar to other sports. Let’s take Pickleball for instance, it has similar characteristics to badminton and Tennis with a much more lenient scoring system.
But don’t let it’s laid back and recreational attribute fool you into thinking that it isn’t a great source of cardio, in fact, it is one of the biggest leading sports as it has been garnering competitiveness all across the globe, rest assured you are going loose quite a lot of weight and build some muscle along the way.
However, being a Pickleball professional, one of the most sought queries I have ever been asked by friends and peers is, How many Calories are Burned Playing Pickleball? What is the exact number? Well, honestly speaking, the answer is more of a mixed bag and in some instances, you may or may not like what I am about to tell you.
But before we dive down into the rabbit hole, let’s understand how “burning Calories” works and which stimuli halt or catalyze the process.
Logic Behind Calories & How They Are Burned
In layman’s terms, Calories are the unit of energy required for our everyday physical needs and functionality. Calories are generated from the nutrition that we consume on a daily basis to power up our bodies.
The average daily requirement of calories for men is considerably more than for women, as a study shows Men of age ranging from 19-30 need 2600-3000 calories per day in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Females, on the other hand, require 2000-2200 Calories, generated in the form of glucose and fatty acids from the food they consume.
How Calories Are Burned
A calorie is burned based on multiple factors which include but are not limited to,
- Age
- LifeStyle
- Gender
- Height
- Weight
These Factors correlate to how your Calories will be burned, In General, there are three ways to burn calories.
- Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
BMR or Basal Metabolic Rate relates to the amount of Calories you burn at rest or in an idle state. While this might sound trivial, keep in mind BMR accounts for nearly 70% of calorie loss.
- Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)
It relates to the amount of energy burned during the metabolism of food, TEF ratio is subjective and depends on the person’s rate of metabolism and the type of nutrition they consume.
- Through Strenuous Activity
Keeping your Cardio pumped up is the fastest way to lose weight, when playing sports like Pickleball, mobility around the court with sheer intensity will ensure you burn calories rapidly.
How Many Calories Are Burned Playing Pickleball?
Assuming a session of Pickleball lasts around 30-50 minutes on average, an individual depending on their gender and weight usually burns around 300-400 calories on average.
The number of calories burned is raised exponentially with each increment of weight, assuming the increment is 50 lbs.
So in other words, if a person of 150 lbs loses around 300-400 calories, if he or she gains another 50 lbs, reaching up to 200 lbs in total, would result in 600-700 calories burned per session under competitive settings.
Does Single Format of Pickleball Affect the Burning Of Calories
Obviously, when playing alone instead of having a partner, you are required to control all the court all by yourself. Since there is nobody else to assist you when hitting your shots, your mobility ratio drastically increases.
Your Gender, weight, and Age are irrelevant to the amount of effort you put in the court, which in this scenario is way higher when playing with a partner.
Keep in mind, by default the maximum scoring is 11, however, can be increased depending on the type of league you are playing in, and will also have a direct impact on your Calorie loss.
On the flipside, the burning of calories is considerably lesser especially when playing in leisurely hours or during a casual format, as the bar of competitiveness and skill ceiling is generally lower.
So in that case, the Metabolic Equivalent of Tasks rule is Implemented (MET).
MET Value is taken as a general rule of thumb for calories burned depending on the type of person, age, and gender. As per studies, the MET value of Pickleball averages around 5-7.7, depending on the type of rules you are following in each session.
A person weighing 170 lbs would have a MET value of 6.5 if played under casual rules, which is 6.5 times higher consumption of calories than their idle state.
If the aforementioned individuals play pickleball for 30 minutes, considering the MET value, the total calories burned if the session lasts for 45 minutes would be 292.
Its mathematical representation would be,
6.5 x 30 = 292.
Bottom Line
As mentioned above, the values of calories burned playing pickleball directly correlate to the intensity and effort you put into the session. In a single format, the MET value exponentially increases when played in competitive mode.
Meanwhile, it is deemed the lowest if played in double format in casual settings since the energy required to cover the whole court is considerably lower as you have shorter maneuvering routes.
On the other hand, your age and gender also determine how fast your body burns calories, for elderly individuals the metabolism rate declines sharply as compared to an athlete in their prime.
Nevertheless, if you want to keep yourself in shape and want to enjoy the best possible experience with your buddies, there is no better alternative than playing pickleball since it will certainly keep your cardio numbers pumped up.
