INSTRUCTION By Alice Tym
Six Hand Exercises for Pickleball Success!
Quickness, strength and endurance are all
features of table tennis, and one of the things
I notice at table tennis tournaments is the
number of hand exercises table tennis players
do before, during and after matches. Stretching and
strength are their objectives. Pickleball players need
these same qualities. Good stretching also prevents
injuries. Here are six good hand exercises.
THE NAMASTE
Put your hands together as in prayer or namaste. Bring
your hands in close, touching your breastbone. Then
extend your hands as far out straight as you can go, still
keeping them in the namaste. This helps your shoulders
as well. Push your hands tight against one another.
Now extend your fingers far to one side then back to
the other side while keeping the palms of your hands
pressed tightly together. Think extension. Now separate
the fingers and continue waving back and forth. Feel the
stretch. If you have your paddle up for a high volley, you
will understand the relevance of this exercise.
THE MAGICIAN
Magicians are very dexterous. They flip cards with
their fingers. Hold your hands up with the fingers and
thumbs spread far apart like a fan. Now bring the
thumb and forefinger together without moving the
other fingers. Next, bring the forefinger and the
middle finger together. Don’t move the other
fingers. Next, move the middle finger and
ring finger together and then the pinkie
to the ring finger. Now, reverse the
sequence. I noticed that the middle
finger of my right hand likes to lean
to the right from years of holding a
tennis racket. Make those fingers line
up like they should, and stretch them
out wide apart after each sequence.
You can do this exercise between games
to prevent fatigue.
when your opponent drives a hard shot at you. You don’t
want a wrist injury.
THE BOXER
Extend your arm straight out. You may as well work
on your shoulder strength at the same time. Have an
open hand palm facing out like you are indicating
an exaggerated “STOP.” Then make a tight fist. Do 10
repetitions before relaxing your arms to your sides. You
will be ready for those quick volley exchanges.
THE REFEREE
Put your arm straight out with the palm of your hand
facing the ceiling. Then rotate your palm to face the
floor. Do 20 repetitions up and down. Then do the same
exercise with your arm bent at the elbow. Think dink!
Your hands will be so ready.
THE ORANGE
For strength, a simple exercise is squeezing a tennis
ball repeatedly. It is important to do stretching exercises
if you do strength exercises like THE ORANGE. This
exercise is so simple. Keep a ball in the car and squeeze
it while you are sitting in a drive-through. You will have
the forearm of a longshoreman.
Strong, supple hands are important
in pickleball. Last-minute direction
changes require “good hands.”
Don’t neglect them. These
exercises are easy and don’t
require a lot of time.
You can do them while
watching television.
Take it from the table
tennis community—
these exercises are
worth doing! •
THE WRIST RESISTER
Use one hand to stretch the fingers of the
other hand back toward your wrist and vice
versa. Push your flat hand back to stretch your wrist.
Nothing fancy. A pickleball paddle can do this to you
28 TO SUBSCRIBE, CALL 888.308.3720 OR GO TO THEPICKLEBALLMAG.COM