5 Reasons to Focus on Pickleball Fitness in 2026
(Hint: It’s Not About Looking “Fit”)
If you’ve been around Better Pickleball for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard me say this before:
You can have great mechanics.
You can know exactly what shot to hit and when to hit it.
But if your body can’t keep up… none of that matters.
As we look ahead to 2026, I want to shift the conversation away from “working out” and toward playing better pickleball for longer. Fitness isn’t something separate from your game — it is a critical part of your game.
Here are the 5 biggest reasons pickleball-specific fitness deserves your attention this year.
1. Endurance: Play Your Best From Game One to Game Seven
Most players don’t miss shots because they forgot how to hit them.
More often, they miss because they’re physically tired, mentally fatigued, or just a step slower than they were an hour earlier. Focus fades. Footwork gets sloppy. Decision-making suffers.
Pickleball endurance isn’t about jogging laps or grinding through long cardio sessions. It’s about training your body for repeated short bursts of effort, quick recovery, and sustained concentration — exactly what a long open play session or tournament demands.
When your endurance improves, your mechanics hold up longer… and so does your confidence.
2. Getting to the NVZ Faster — and Being Ready for the 4th Shot
The return of serve is only half the job.
What happens after the return is where a lot of points are lost. Too many players hit a decent return, rush forward, and arrive at the kitchen line off balance, late, or unprepared for the 4th shot.
Explosive footwork, lower-body strength, and balance allow you to move efficiently from the baseline to the NVZ — and arrive stable, controlled, and ready to play the next ball.
When getting to the kitchen line becomes automatic, you stop feeling rushed and start dictating the point instead.
3. Getting More Hard-to-Reach Balls Back in Play
You don’t need to be the fastest player on the court — but you do need to move well.
Hard-to-reach balls expose weaknesses in lateral movement, core stability, and balance. If your body isn’t prepared, you’re either late to the ball or reaching from an unstable position.
Pickleball-specific fitness trains your ability to move side-to-side, rotate efficiently, and recover quickly. That means more balls coming back over the net — and more pressure on your opponents to hit one more good shot.
4. Retrieving Lobs Without Panicking
Lobs are part of the modern game, whether we like it or not.
Being able to track the ball, turn, move backward, and hit safely overhead requires more than just good technique. It requires balance, leg strength, and confidence in your movement.
When your body is trained for these patterns, lobs stop feeling like emergencies. You move with control, stay composed, and often turn a defensive situation into a neutral — or even offensive — one.
5. Injury Prevention: The Skill That Keeps You on the Court
This might be the most important reason of all.
Most pickleball injuries don’t happen because of freak accidents. They happen when the body isn’t prepared for repetitive motion, quick direction changes, or playing through fatigue.
Strength training, balance work, and proper recovery routines help your body adapt — so it can support your game instead of breaking down.
Staying healthy means staying consistent. And consistency is where real improvement happens.
Could You Do This on Your Own? Sure.
You could go to the gym.
You could hire a personal trainer.
You could try to piece together workouts online.
For some people, that works.
But most people trying a new fitness routine struggle with the same two things: staying consistent and choosing workouts that actually meet their pickleball goals.
That’s exactly why we created the 8-Week Pickleball Fitness Challenge.
The Challenge is designed specifically for pickleball players and is customizable for any fitness level. The workouts are short, effective, and focused on movements that actually show up on the court. No fancy equipment. No wasted time.
And you don’t do it alone.
The 8-Week Pickleball Fitness Challenge is part of the Better Pickleball Academy on Demand. With a 3-month Academy subscription for just $90, you get:
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The full 8-Week Fitness Challenge
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Access to other popular courses like Beat the Banger, Reduce Unforced Errors, and 7 Days to Better Play
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Monthly strategy sessions with Coach Tony, where he breaks down specific aspects of the game to help you see pickleball like a pro
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Access to our Challenge Community, including weekly live group workouts, accountability tools, and support from coaches and fellow players
No pressure. No hype. Just a smarter way to support your body so it can support your game.
Because in 2026, playing better pickleball isn’t just about learning new shots — it’s about having the body to execute them, again and again.
Even better, grab your favorite PFF-Pickleball Forever Friend– and share this opportunity to build their game along with you!
See you on the court.
CJ Johnson
Hey there — I’m a professional three-sport athlete and coach who has spent my entire adult life earning a living from playing and coaching sports. Since I started coaching more than three decades ago, one thing has remained the same: My commitment to see students not as they are but as what they can become and to move heaven and earth to help them realize their untapped potential. You should know that when it comes to helping pickleball players over 50 live their best lives on and off the courts, I'm an expert. Good pickleball is not just technique; it's the mind and body working holistically. That's why I'm also a personal trainer and weight management specialist. When I’m chillin', you'll find me watching Star Trek with my husband John and our two fur babies, Shirley and Ralph. (Yes, Happy Days)