The Pickleball Thread

Search didn’t find a thread like this, so here it is.

My wife and I are playing a fair amount of pickleball. Roughly 2 times per week on average.

I started playing indoor regularly around 2 months ago and it is fun. Strategy, athleticism and surprisingly high calorie burn. Tonight we played drop-in for 3 hours with a few breaks, and I burned 1,000 calories. Nothing I do burns as many calories as pickleball. Lots of sweat!

We have basic paddles and I wear my NB 1080 running shoes.

Outdoor season is starting. Alot of people have mentioned they prefer indoor because of the controlled environment and lack of elements (wind, rain, sticks and debris on the courts).

Any pickleballers here?

Looking for amateur tournaments to build our DUPR ratings.

Played 3 hours of drop-in last night with a fun group.

Another 3 hour drop-in session coming up Saturday evening.

Played 2.5 hrs of drop in tonight. 1,000 calorie burn. I am beat!

Getting better but so are the people we play against!

3hrs of drop-in play last night. I changed from bounce serve to drop/non-bounce and picked up some ball speed.

I played on the same team for two games with an excellent player and he gave me some helpful suggestions.

1000 calorie burn per Garmin. It feels good but/and wipes me out.

Swimming at my pace is the same calories per hour burn rate as pickleball. But I swim for one hour and play pickleball for 2-3 hours so I feel much more drained after pickleball.

Similarly my 2.5 mile/20 minute standard run burns the same calories as my 1 hour swim. So the burn rate per hour is not what wipes me out but rather total calories burned.

Played 3 hours of drop in tonight. Good competition, nice people, nice (indoor) facility.

1100 calories burned per my Garmin. It feels that way, I am beat!

Used to play a lot over the last few years, however, my golf obsession has taken over....so any free time I have goes to anything golf! lol.

I do get out a few times per year and really enjoy playing! Will prolly play more this summer as my wife's parents condo community had new pickleball courts installed.

With multiple interests, choices must be made!

Playing in a small tournament on Saturday, most likely above our skill level. It will be a learning experience for sure!

Tournament was postponed two weeks because of weather!

So we played 3 hours of drop in at a new-to-us facility. Nice courts and lounge, and good competition with the other players. Another 1,000 calorie burn - always amazed by the intensity of this sport.

Played in a local tournament. We “won bronze” in a 4-team round robin. Lol

First time playing outdoors for me. The courts were tennis courts with pickleball lines added. Tough to adjust to at first. Wind compensation was interesting.

We played 6 games. It was a fun event.

Played almost 3.5 hours of drop in pickleball. It was fun and we mixed the teams to create even matchups. Pickleball is a good workout and I usually burn 1,000 calories in a 3 hour session. A higher hourly burn rate than cycling and swimming but less than running.

2 hours of drop-in pickleball at the community recreation center in Prince Rupert, BC. Many good players, all friendly and welcoming.

Another 2 hours of drop-in pickleball in Prince Rupert. Played some fun games with good players. Headed toward Vancouver tomorrow!

Played 2 hours of drop in yesterday in Three Rivers, CA. Nice group of people and great court. The court was resurfaced a month ago and it was nice.

We learned how to play 3-person and it is a good option when the teams/participation is not even.

We are starting to "stack", meaning each player plays one side of the court, always. This caters to personal strengths, especially right- vs left-handedness. I am a lefty and play the right side. My wife and most people I am partners with are righties and they play the left side of the court. Stacking occurs when the person serving is on the "wrong" side of the court for the serve, and the non-server stands behind (stacks) the server.

Played 2 hours of drop in tonight in Telluride, CO. Great town with four pickleball/tennis courts. The courts are reservable, and there are drop-in hours throughout the week. We reserved a court from 5:30pm - 7:00pm and played singles for a while. Another couple came to the court without a reservation (no drop-in during this time slot) and we invited them to play. Great competition and we met some new people.

Weather was nice in the mid-70s. Sun was behind the smoke of the large Ferris Fire, west of Telluride. Smoke from the fire came into Telluride in the late afternoon but by 8pm the air had cleared.

Played 3 hours of drop-in at our local pickleball club. It was fun, and just about flattened me from an energy expenditure point of view.

I burn 1,000 calories during a 3-hour pickleball session, according to my Garmin 965. The body does not have 1,000 immediately available calories, so stored energy needs to be converted into usable energy at a higher rate than it can be metabolized.

The result is a feeling of depletion, otherwise known as bonking. I don't see this posted on fitness sites. Maybe people don't know what it is, or accept it more than I do. It takes time for the body to metabolize and restore its caloric balance. During that recovery time period, I feel pretty wiped out.

And I will continue to play pickleball, so the question for me is how to manage calories in vs calories out. Comments are welcomed!