5-Minute Pickleball Warm-Up for Competition Day

Let's start with some visualization. You are at a tournament, you have been sitting for an hour and a half, it's so cold you can't feel your hands, and you just ate a decent meal for the first time all day. Now you get called to your court. What do you do to get ready?!

Some will perform a couple quick feet movements, some will jog a lap or two, and others will immediately start hitting. I am here to tell you that you will benefit greatly from doing a comprehensive pickleball warm-up for just 5 minutes!

Noobs and Veterans

Whether you have been traveling the country to play tournaments or you are looking to just get into tournament play, everybody needs to warm up! I never let my athlete, Catherine Parenteau, go into a match without a pickleball warm-up. We tend to start the day with a longer warm-up and throughout the day the warm-ups get shorter and shorter.

A solid 5 minutes of movement in your pickleball warm-up can be imperative to your performance during the match. Without a sufficient warm-up, it's very easy to give away a couple points in the beginning of the game that you typically wouldn't.

Over the course of the next few posts I am going to give you a different pickleball warm-up routine each blog that you can do in 5 minutes that will get you prepped and ready to play your match. You can use these during recreational play or in a tournament.

All warm-up exercises that are dynamic in nature or take moving will be done from sideline to sideline. So, jog/backpedal means start at one sideline, jog to the other, and backpedal back. Okay, our first pickleball warm-up is the "No Equipment" warm-up!

This one is great if you don’t want to use equipment or don’t have access to any equipment. All you need is your bodyweight here! Take a look at this warm up in full speed HERE!

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Warm Up - 1: No Equipment

Jog/Backpedal
High Knees/Butt Kicks
Hamstring Scoop/Quad Pull
Lateral Lunge w. Twist/Leg Cradle
Shuffle/Shuffle
Carioca/Carioca
Shuffle to Sprint x2ea

Once again, this pickleball warm-up should be completed in 5 minutes! Within this dynamic warm-up,, you are able to move the body, increase the heart rate, increase blood flow, stretch the lower body, plus prep the central nervous system (CNS) with speed work.

I like to incorporate some kind of speed or power work at the end to ensure that you are moving at or faster than game speed before the first call. We don't want the first fast movement done when the game is beginning. You need to be prepped and ready come that first call of 0-0-2.

What's in a Pickleball Warm-Up?

So what's needed in a pickleball warm-up? There are some boxes that should be checked off when prepping for competition.

Kind of what I specified above, you need to: Increase blood flow to the muscles, an increase in heart rate (which will vary per fitness level), some form of stretching (typically not static stretching so that you can increase your heart rate at the same time), and some type of CNS primer. These elements in combination together make a comprehensive tournament warm-up, but only hitting some of these can make it a pretty subpar experience.

The priming of the CNS can be an overlooked aspect but your central nervous system is your fight or flight system and pickleball is a reactionary sport. You really want your nervous system to be ready to go when the first serve is up.

Don't ever miss the CNS prep!

Sprints, jumps, and throws are very important to help you be at your best! If you could only choose one aspect of the pickleball warm-up to do, this would be it!

How Proper Footwork Prep Elevates Your Pickleball Warm-Up

Good footwork and quick lateral movement are hallmarks of a well-prepared player. Pickleball is a reactionary sport, which means your first step after the ball leaves your opponent's paddle must be instant and automatic.

Build Power and Balance Into Your Tournament Warm-Up

Proper body rotation is one of the most overlooked aspects of physical preparation before a match. Combined with speed work, it ensures you are generating effortless power from the very first rally. According to reporting from ESPN, experts recommend stretching and conditioning before play to help reduce the risk of the most common pickleball injuries.

Next Time: Banded Activation

All of these aspects of the warm-up complete the entire picture of preparing an athlete for the demands of the sport and this is only one example! This is a more basic example, next week we will discuss how to utilize bands within the pickleball warm-up routine! Stay tuned! We have three parts to this, giving you a new example each week!

If you want to see how an elite pro structures her physical prep, check out Anna Bright's method for warming up right. For top-level strategies to pair with your physical readiness, see how to win a pickleball tournament. And for a deeper look at all-day tournament stamina, Hayden Patriquin's 10-minute HI routine is a must-read for any competitive player.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How long should a pickleball warm-up be before a tournament match?

A solid 5-minute pickleball warm-up is enough to get your body ready for competitive play. At the start of a tournament day you may want to spend a few extra minutes, then scale the warm-up down as the day progresses.

What makes a proper pickleball warm-up different from just hitting before a match?

A complete pickleball warm-up routine includes dynamic movement, heart rate elevation, and CNS activation that simply rallying does not deliver. Hitting balls alone skips critical physical preparation steps and leaves your nervous system underprepared for the reflexes the game demands.

What is CNS priming and why does it matter for a pickleball warm-up?

CNS priming refers to high-speed exercises like sprints, jumps, and throws that activate your central nervous system before competition. Because pickleball is a reactionary sport, your body must already be moving at or faster than game speed before the first point begins.

Can I use this pickleball warm-up routine for recreational play?

Absolutely. While this dynamic warm-up was designed with tournament competition in mind, it benefits players at every skill level. Even casual rec players will notice improved movement and quicker reactions after a proper 5-minute session.

What is the single most important element of a pickleball warm-up?

If you only have time for one element of your tournament warm-up, make it CNS preparation. Speed and power exercises like shuffles to sprints ensure your body is already moving at game speed before that first call of 0-0-2 is made.