Core · Bodyweight
Pickleball
How to do the pickleball, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Extension
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Pickleball is a fast-paced paddle sport that combines lateral movement, hand-eye coordination, and quick reflexes. It emphasizes agility, shoulder control, and lower body balance.
- 1Expect to feel light on your feet with quick lateral movements and bursts of sprinting
- 2You should feel your arms and shoulders working as you swing the paddle and control shots
- 3Enjoy the cardiovascular challenge and coordination required throughout the game
Common mistakes
- Don't ignore proper warm-up or hydration before playing
- Avoid sudden twisting motions that could stress your knees or ankles
- Don't overgrip the paddle or tense your shoulders; stay relaxed to prevent fatigue
Muscles worked
The pickleball works the biceps, triceps, mid chest, lats, lower back, upper abs, lower abs, quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves, side delts, forearms, upper traps, and obliques.
- BicepsSupport
- TricepsSupport
- Mid ChestSupport
- LatsSupport
- Lower BackSupport
- Upper AbsSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- QuadsSupport
- GlutesSupport
- HamstringsSupport
- CalvesSupport
- Side DeltsSupport
- ForearmsSupport
- Upper TrapsSupport
- ObliquesSupport
Kovo programs the pickleball for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More abs & core exercises
- How to do the ab wheel rollout
- How to do the ankle tap plank
- How to do the ankle taps
- How to do the resistance band dead bugs
- How to do the resistance band pallof press
- How to do the rollout
Last reviewed April 2026.