FITNESS & NUTRITION
CORE TRAINING
and Pickleball
BY DR . ALAN H . BRAGMAN
Trying to be a serious pickleballer without a strong core is like building a house on a foundation of sand . The player will generally hold up until the level of competition or training overwhelms the unfit or unstable core . Adequate core strength greatly assists the player in maintaining the proper ready position : knees bent while back on the heels . A complete and balanced training program for serious pickleballers must include adequate core training , in addition to flexibility , strength and cross training . The core muscles are critical for maintaining the dynamic stability of the entire body , and helps to prevent lower back pain . Playing pickleball relies on core strength , but unfortunately doesn ’ t build it . No human movement can occur without the core muscles being engaged . When most people refer to the core , they mistakenly only consider the groups of muscles making up the abdominal wall . While the abdominal muscles are critical and do make up a significant portion of the core , other muscles include the deeper stabilizing muscles around the hip , pelvis and lumbar vertebrae . The abdominal wall is made up of a number of muscles including :
• External obliques
• Internal obliques
• Tranversus abdominis
• Rectus abdominis
THE EXTERNAL ABDOMINAL MUSCLES
The center line of the abdominals , the aponeurosis runs in front going down from the sternum to the pubic bone . At the bottom of the abdomen , the aponeurosis forms the inguinal ligament
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