Weight management is the desire of everyone, irrespective of gender or age group. To maintain a physique and quite a healthy status, weight management is necessary.
Pickleball is not the only amalgamation of various games like badminton, Wiffle ball, or ping-pong, but also the best way of work-out for those who want to manage their weight according to their anthropometric measures.
Generally, when we talk about a game, it sounds like fun or entertainment to us, but it’s not only entertainment for the sportspersons, it also helps to maintain physique, immune system and mental health as well.
In this article, the acknowledgment about pickleball’s health benefits, calories burn in playing pickleball and factors influencing calorie burn will be discussed. Furthermore, you will get to know about MET values for it and easily determine the difference between tennis and pickleball.
Calories Burned Playing Pickleball
Let’s talk about how many calories do you burn in playing pickleball?
Depending upon the level of intensity, the rate of burning calories is 8 to 11 calories per minute.
If the level of intensity is low, the burning rate will be 8, and when intensity is high, the rate will be 10 or 11calories per minute.
So, we can say that playing pickleball improves our health status and reduce weight.
Furthermore, the sportsperson desires to know the total calories burned in playing pickleball. For this purpose, we have to determine the average time taken to play pickleball normally.
The standard expectation is 500 to 700 calories burned in an hour of playing three pickleball sets (Typically means 2 or 3 games).
Factors Influencing Calorie Burn During Pickleball
It seems to be annoying about measuring calories burn while doing something. We can say that it’s a guessing game when you desire to reduce weight and burn your calories.
Many factors influence the calorie-burning rate, and they vary from individual to individual. It includes the following:
- Weight
- Body composition
- Intensity of the play
- Single vs doubles
1. Weight
The most important factor is weight, as we know playing outdoor games and increasing the leisure activity helps to reduce the weight.
So, when the person weighs more, energy needs to fuel its movement will also be high.
2. Intensity
The pickleball is played with high and low intensity for aggressive and casual play, respectively.
We can just measure the expected burning rate and set it as the standard like 8 calories per minute for low intensity and 11 calories per minute for high intensity.
3. Body Composition
It matters a lot.
If two-person have the same weight, then body composition is the main factor that will distinguish them.
Sometimes, fat is in high amount and sometimes its a weight of muscles. In this case, the body composed of muscles will require more energy than fat.
4. Single vs Double
There are two ways to play pickleball, it can be 1 vs 1 and 2 vs 2. In both of these ways, we use the same court and rules but in single matches, we move more than double matches.
The calorie-burning rate is high in single than in double.
| Pickleball type Weight person | Pickleball (Singles) | Pickleball (Doubles) |
|---|---|---|
| 125 lbs (56 kg) | 177 calories | 133 calories |
| 155 lbs (70 kg) | 220 calories | 165 calories |
| 185 lbs (83 kg) | 262 calories | 197 calories |
| 215 lbs (97 kg) | 305 calories | 229 calories |
MET Estimation In terms of Calorie Burning Playing Pickleball
An exercise specific value known as MET value, it indicates the intensity of any play or workout.
The formula for weighing calories per minute is = METs × 3.5 × (body weight in kg) / 200
The above-mentioned formula is for general population while for older age adults average measurement is 4.1 MET. Older individuals play pickleball at low intensity than older ones.
Comparison : Calories Burned Playing Tennis & Pickleball
Tennis and pickleball seem to be very similar as they are played on the same court having different sizes of paddle and areas covered by the game. They are different from each other in sense of scoring, playing, and rules too.
Now as mentioned, we have to review how many calories are burned in pickleball in comparison with tennis?
According to estimation by an experienced person, 414 calories burn in tennis in a person of almost 150 pounds, otherwise 524 calories burned in a person of 200 pounds.
The record about pickleball is 250 calories burned in simple play while 350 calories burned in aggressive play in 30 minutes of a 16 lb person.
A 200-pound person can burn approximately 350 and 475 calories in casual and aggressive play respectively.
From this estimation, experts’ evaluation say that tennis burns more calories than pickleball.
| Exercise type weight person | Tennis (singles) | Pickleball (singles) | Tennis (doubles) | Pickleball (doubles) |
| 125 lbs (56 kg) | 236 calories | 177 calories | 177 calories | 133 calories |
| 155 lbs (70 kg) | 293 calories | 220 calories | 220 calories | 165 calories |
| 185 lbs (83 kg) | 350 calories | 262 calories | 262 calories | 197 calories |
| 215 lbs (97 kg) | 406 calories | 305 calories | 305 calories | 229 calories |
Why Pickleball Is Best For Older Or Seniors?
As there are many competitive sports, how we can say that pickleball is a good outdoor game for older?
There are fewer chances of injury, and then we can play it casually by low intensity.
It’s not mandatory to work out aggressively to gain a good health status. We can achieve the best possible health patiently by improving outdoor activities gradually.
A casual or simple pickleball play is an easy aerobic exercise for the older.
Health Benefits of Playing Pickleball
When we talk about a game, we do not pay attention to a matter of health. So, it’s a unique point to discuss it.
Let’s discuss pickleball’s health benefits? What are they? Is this game good for the player’s health as well?
Yes. It is, as we know that by playing physical games our physique and health status improve and weight is managed as well, pickleball is one of those games.
Pickleball players retain good health and body as well. According to US News research on pickleball, we found other health benefits of pickleball such as
- Improve mental health
- Enhance muscle strength
- Improve cardiovascular disorder
- Aids in regaining shape of the body and manage weight
- Improve bone health and disease
- Boost your balance and maintain physique
1. Improves Mental Health
How do games improve the mental health of a person?
As we know, outdoor games keep you in touch with friends, so socializing with people turns off your mood swings.
Pickleball reduces your weight too, so a physically fit and healthy body will have good mental health as well.
If you are facing stress, having bad days you should move outside for play. It will better your mental health status.
2. Enhance Muscle Strength
Playing pickleball with friends boosts up your muscles strength as well by normalizing the blood flow of the body.
It improves your body balance as well by burning calories and making muscles strenuous. This game involves little exercise so it is beneficial for an elderly person too.
3. Improves Cardiovascular Disorder
How does pickleball help in treating cardiovascular health?
As you know heart health is improved when your body pumps blood faster and your organs get sufficient oxygen as well, by playing pickleball your body pumps blood faster, and as it is a moderate exercise so, it can help older age people too.
4. Aids In Regaining Shape Of The Body And Managing Weight
According to a well-known psychotherapist, pickleball is not only fun, it is a complete package of achieving the best possible weight and managing mental health.
She also tells us about her experience of playing pickleball. It helped her to achieve an ideal shape that was disturbed because of a liver transplant.
Here, we get to know that playing pickleball helped in weight loss. She also says, playing pickleball not only reduces weight but also makes a person happier than before.
Playing interesting games has a positive effect on the mental as well as physical health of the person.
5. Improve bone health and disease
Experts say that playing pickleball can be helpful in the treatment of osteoporosis, a bone disease in which bones density is lost.
Exercise helps your bones to be strong and as we repeatedly said that playing pickleball is an easy task for older too so, it’s the best exercise among them.
6. Boost your balance and maintain physique:
As pickleball is aerobic exercise, it helps to build balance, footwork, stamina, and control over your body as well. It maintains the physical fitness of the body and helps to achieve good health status.
Psychotherapist Healthy Habit of Pickleball
I have found this video on social media where a Psychotherapist tells her one of the most favorite healthy habits. She also shares some new tips on how you can maintain your fitness by playing pickleball.
Frequently Asked Questions: Pickleball Calories Burned
How many calories are burned in doubles Pickleball?
It varies according to the weight and activity of your match. But on average, you can burn between 26-370 calories per hour in doubles pickleball.
Is Pickleball good for weight loss?
Yes! Pickleball can help you lose weight because it enables you to burn about 350 calories per hour. In this way, making way for you to lose weight easily.
How many calories do 45 minutes of Pickleball burn?
If you are playing a casual game, you can burn about 320 calories through 45 minutes of pickleball. Otherwise, about 410 calories when playing aggressively.
Is Pickleball a good workout?
Yes! It is proved by peer-reviewed research. But you need to exercise for at least 5 hours per week to meet your targeted exercise guidelines.
Final Thoughts On Calories Burned Playing Pickleball
In view of the above discussion, we can summarize that pickleball does not only have fun but also have many health benefits as well. Playing outdoor games manages our mental health and weight as well.
One of the most interesting facts about this pickleball is, seniors and elders can also play and manage their bone health and muscle strength as well. Mental well-being is also important for the older ones and it can easily be improved by this play.
Calories burning is not only important for overweight or obese individuals, but also for those who have normal body mass index. The calorie-burning rate is more in tennis than in pickleball, but seniors can play pickleball more easily than tennis.
For physical fitness, mental wellbeing, and retaining your body shape, outdoor activities should be encouraged. Pickleball is best to play as it’s an amalgamation of various plays like tennis, badminton, and ping-pong.
I am Michael Wanner, an experienced and educated expert in the field of pickleball. I hold a degree in Sports Science from Cleveland State University, Ohio, USA. My expertise lies in the technical aspects of pickleball and how to play it effectively. I have spent many years playing and coaching pickleball and have a wealth of knowledge to share with my readers. I am a valuable resource for anyone looking to improve their pickleball skills and strategies.
Pickleball is a sport that improves your body while also giving you plenty of workout. I want my kids to learn about this sport so they can enjoy the same health benefits I do.