Pickleball to Lose Weight? - NW Personal Training

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Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the USA, and I’ve officially jumped on the bandwagon! I’ve become an avid Pickler, and I completely understand the obsession. It’s fun, social, competitive, and just the right mix of exercise and entertainment. Over time, I’ve met many fellow players who shared that pickleball helped them lose a lot of weight. So, I wanted to explore the question…

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Is Pickleball Really a Great Form of Exercise for Weight Loss?

The short answer is, it depends. Your success using pickleball to lose weight comes down to a few key factors: your current activity level, how intensely you play, your nutrition habits, and how consistently you play.

Current Activity

If you’re not currently doing any form of exercise, any new activity, including pickleball, can help you lose weight. Simply moving more than before creates a calorie deficit. If you’re already exercising and add pickleball to your weekly routine (without dropping your other workouts), you’ll likely burn more calories and see results. If you replace your workouts with pickleball, you may not lose weight and could even gain some if your pickleball sessions are less intense or shorter than your usual training. Keep in mind that pickleball can include a lot of downtime between matches, so you may not be as active as you think!

Intensity of Play

The harder and longer your rallies, the more calories you’ll burn. As your skills improve, the game gets faster and more competitive. However, experienced players also learn better strategy and shot placement, which can sometimes mean less movement, especially if you’re playing against less skilled players. I’ve noticed when I’m playing with more skilled players, I’m running all over the court as they strategically place the ball, and they are just standing in the same spot, not moving much, as they work me around the court.

There’s a big difference between singles and doubles play. Most people play doubles, which burns about 350 calories per hour. Personally, I find pickleball a great workout, not quite as intense as tennis or running, but since I can easily play pickleball for 2–3 hours, the calorie burn adds up!

Nutrition

Remember: you can’t outrun (or out-dink) a poor diet! Think of it this way…it might take 2 hours to burn 700 calories on the court, but you can eat that back in minutes. Still, spending those hours playing means you’re not sitting around snacking, which is a big win for your overall health!

Consistency

The best exercise is the one you’ll do consistently. That’s where pickleball shines, it’s fun and social, so it doesn’t feel like a workout. The more you enjoy it, the more you’ll play, which naturally boosts your fitness and burns calories over time. When you make friends on the court, they’ll provide the accountability that will motivate you to want to show up regularly. Just be careful of overdoing it! Balance your pickleball habit with strength training, stretching, and recovery to prevent overuse injuries.

Bottom line: Pickleball can absolutely support weight loss, especially if you play often, move with intention, eat mindfully, meet some friends whom you look forward to seeing, and keep it fun!

Yours in health & fitness,
Sherri McMillan