Pickleball is one of the best sports if you’re looking for a fun way to get active and burn calories. As pickleball’s popularity has skyrocketed in recent years, more and more people are realizing the fitness benefits of this fast-paced racket sport. In this blog post, I’ll provide everything you need to know about how many calories you can burn while playing pickleball.
Calories Burned Playing Pickleball
So, how many calories does pickleball burn? Here’s an overview:
- 30 minutes: 150-250 calories
- 60 minutes: 300-500+ calories
These are general estimates, but calories burned can vary significantly based on weight and intensity. Heavier players will burn more calories in a given time. The more effort you exert, the more energy (calories!) you’ll use up.
Compared to other activities, you can expect to burn about 50% more calories playing pickleball than walking at a moderate pace. The stop-and-go motions combined with quick sprints mean you’ll elevate your heart rate!
Singles vs. Doubles
When looking at calories burned to play pickleball, you’ll burn more in a singles match than in doubles.
You have to cover the whole court in singles, getting in extra movement and activity. Doubles still burn calories, but allow occasional rest while your partner hits the ball.
Over an hour, a 155lb person will burn:
- Singles: Upwards of 500 calories
- Doubles: Around 400 calories
So, if you’re focused on fat burn, go for those demanding singles rallies! Doubles is still an excellent workout, though.
Extra Pickleball Calorie Burn Info
Along with your weight and game intensity, a few other factors impact calories used during pickleball:
- Fitness level: less fit players burn more calories playing than athletic players, especially in the beginning. As your fitness improves, you’ll burn less calories playing at the same pace.
- Environment: Outdoor summer heat causes more calories to burn than indoor temperate games.
- Age: younger adults generally burn more calories than older adults while playing.
- Game length: longer play sessions burn more calories overall, although the burn rate per minute decreases with fatigue.
If you sustain active play, you can burn 350-500+ calories per hour playing pickleball. Thanks to pickleball’s quick motions, it’s easy to break a sweat and elevate your heart rate over 120 bpm.
Fitness Benefits of Pickleball
Its clear pickleball provides an excellent calorie burn but also builds core strength, agility, coordination, and flexibility. As a low-impact sport, it’s easy on the joints while working all major muscle groups.
Regular pickleball play helps:
- Improve cardiovascular endurance
- Increase muscle tone, especially in the legs/core
- Boost balance and agility
- Enhance hand-eye coordination
- Minimize the likelihood of heart disease and other chronic ailments.
As a social yet competitive sport, it builds relationships and mental acuity. Pickleball is fun AND good exercise!
How Often Should You Play?
Health professionals advise adults to engage in 150 minutes of moderate exercise, such as pickleball, weekly.
Aim to play for 20-30 minutes daily, 3-4 days weekly. This will benefit health and fitness while allowing proper rest and recovery between sessions.
Beginners can start low with 1-2 days per week and 15 minutes per session. Work up from there once your body adapts. Competitive and experienced players may play an hour or more, 4-5 days a week.
Listen to your body and take at least 1-2 rest days, especially after high-intensity play. Muscle repair and recovery take time and help avoid overtraining injuries.
The Takeaway
In summary, pickleball is a fantastic fat-burning, fitness-boosting sport. In 60 minutes of play, the average person can expect to burn 300-500+ calories. Singles matches burn the most calories, while doubles promote more rest and recovery between sprints across the court. But both are excellent workouts.
If you sustain active volleys, pickleball skyrockets your heart rate due to its quick stop-and-go motions. It effectively targets all major muscle groups and also enhances hand-eye coordination. For fitness benefits, aim to play pickleball 3-4 days per week for at least 20-30 minutes as your schedule allows.
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As a pickleball enthusiast and founder of MY Best Pickleball, I’m here to share insights, tips, and a vibrant community dedicated to elevating your pickleball experience. Join us on the court and explore the best of pickleball at mybestpickleball.com!