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3 Flexbar Pickleball Warmup Exercises

Warming up before practice or a match may help reduce your chances of injury.

Pickleball along with any raquet sport is a “power” sport.

While neither the pickleball paddle or ball is particularly heavy, the acceleration and desceleration is where most injuries may develop.

Two common elbow injuries associated with pickleball include medial epicondylitis and lateral epicondylitis

In this article I will share my 3 favorite exercises to reduce the chances of developing either of those conditions.

1. Medial Epicondylitis – Golfer’s Elbow

This condition is characterized by pain on the inner part of the elbow joint. This is usually made worse during a forehand motion.

To help prevent this condition using a Theraband Flexbar you would hold the bar parallel to the ground and bend the bar bringing your pinkies together.

See photo below.

2. Lateral Epicondylitis – Tennis Elbow

This condition is most commonly associated with pain at the outside of the elbow.

A backhand or heavy gripping of the paddle may increase pain in this area.

To prepare the lateral forearm for play, perform the thumbs together flexbar bends.

See photo below.

Flexbar Pickleball Warmup

3. Flexbar Twist

Finally, the best overall wrist, forearm, elbow, and shoulder exercise you may try using the Theraband Flexbar is the elbow extension twist.

Start with the Flexbar positioned vertically close to the center of your body. Your bottom hand will grab the bar with your thumb up and the top hand will grab the bar with your thumb down.

As you twice the bar you will also push the bar away from your body and simultaneously rotate the bar from verticle to horizontal.

See photo below:

Flexbar Pickleball Wrist and Forearm Exercise

Below is a video demonstrating each of the 3 Flexbar Pickleball Warmup Exercises:

More information about Theraband Flexbar

Resistance Guide

  • Yellow Flexbar: 1-3/8″ diameter, requires 6 lbs. of force to bend in a U-shape
  • Red Flexbar: 1-1/2″ diameter, requires 10 lbs. of force to bend in a U-shape
  • Green Flexbar: 1-3/4″ diameter, requires 15 lbs. of force to bend in a U-shape
  • Blue Flexbar: 2″ diameter, requires 25 lbs. of force to bend in a U-shape

How Often Should These Exercises Be Performed?

These exercises may be performed before a typical pickleball practice.

If you aren’t actively practicing, you may choose to perform these exercises 3 days a week as part of your off season condition program.

These exercises should not produce soreness or pain. These are not the kind of exercses that would require prolonged rest breaks between workouts.

The goal of these exercises is to increase blood flow and ensure normal motion at the wrist, forearm, elbow, and shoulder.