A Ten-Minute Warm-Up That Actually Prevents Injuries
What to do in the ten minutes before you step on court.
Most padel injuries happen in the first fifteen minutes, to people who walked straight on court.
Two Minutes Moving
Light jog, side steps, a few gentle lunges. Raise the heart rate before you stretch anything.
Hips and Ankles
Padel is played in short, sharp lateral steps. Ankle circles and hip openers do more for you than hamstring stretches.
Shoulders Last
Arm circles, band pull-aparts if you carry a band, then slow shadow swings. The shoulder needs to be warm before the first overhead.
Skip Long Static Stretches
Hold-for-thirty-seconds stretches before play reduce power. Save them for afterwards.
Rally Before You Compete
Five minutes of gentle cross-court rallying at half pace. Add overheads only in the last minute.
Serve a Few
Two or three practice serves each. It is the one shot nobody warms up and then everyone hits at full stretch.
Cool Down Too
Five minutes of easy walking and stretching afterwards is why you can play again on Thursday.