If you started playing pickleball for the health benefits, you might want to try a different exercise routine.
New research from scholars in Canada shows that typical players log about half as many steps during an hour of pickleball as they would if they spent the same amount of time on a brisk walk.
“The peer-reviewed study, published in the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, suggests that pickleball can provide a moderate workout for middle-aged or older people. But they would need to play as much as 4.5 hours a week to meet recommended exercise guidelines,” The Washington Post reported.
How do you play pickleball?
Pickleball, a net sport that resembles tennis, badminton and pingpong, is played with a paddle, a perforated ball and two or four players. Players hit the ball back and forth across the net until someone fails to return it in bounds.
“Pickleball players compete in a smaller space than tennis players; up to four pickleball courts can fit on a standard tennis court,” according to The Washington Post.
Who plays pickleball?
Because there’s less ground to cover, pickleball is particularly popular among older adults who have aged out of more physically demanding sports.
But during the pandemic, the sport caught on among younger adults, too, and there are now political battles playing out across the country over whether community tennis courts should be turned over to pickleball clubs.
“When officials in Asheville, N.C., submitted plans to convert the three tennis courts in Murphy-Oakley Park into eight pickleball courts, tennis players rebelled. In Arizona, there was so much bad blood between the two factions that a law firm provided guidance to homeowners’ associations on how to avoid lawsuits. Tennis players in Hawaii complained that the organizers of the Pacific Rim Pickleball Cup had created a potential safety hazard on the courts because of the “gooey adhesive” they had left behind after they laid out pickleball lines with yellow tape,” The New York Times reported.
An executive for USA Pickleball told the Times that his organization has logged 1,000 new pickleball sites in the past year. But still, supply can’t keep up with demand.
Pickleball’s health benefits
The new study on pickleball’s health benefits is unlikely to make a dent in the sport’s popularity. But it does serve as a reminder that you have to play quite a bit if you want to meet recommended weekly exercise goals.
“While (the research showed) the game reached a vigorous level of activity a respectable 30% of the time for many players, it may not provide as much physical challenge for people who are young or already in good shape,” according to The Washington Post.
The study was conducted among 53 recreational pickleball players ages 29 to 73, and drew on data from smartwatches capable of tracking heart rates and step totals. Researchers concluded that pickleball only counts as a “vigorous” exercise in rare circumstances.
“Both singles and doubles pickleball players spent about 40% of their time in the moderate heart rate intensity zone, roughly 30% in light activity and about 30% in the vigorous zone,” The Washington Post reported.