Most padel fitness content is written for someone training five days a week. You are probably not that person.
You play twice a week. You work full time. A six-day gym programme is not going to happen, and you know it. What you want is something that makes your padel noticeably better, keeps your body from breaking down, and fits into a real life.
This guide is built for you. Two sessions a week, 20–25 minutes each. No five-rep-max deadlifts. No six-week periodisation scheme. Just the exercises that matter for how padel moves – and a bodyweight version for anyone who doesn’t go to a gym.
Why padel-specific fitness is different from general fitness
Padel is not a running sport. It’s a stopping and starting sport. Studies of professional padel put the average point at roughly 10–15 seconds, with the ball in play for only around a third of the match. You sprint, stop, change direction, sprint again. Your cardiovascular system gets worked in very short, sharp bursts – not in long, sustained efforts.
The movement demands are also specific. You are almost never moving forward. You are moving sideways, diagonally, backwards. Every shot involves some degree of rotation through the trunk. Your wrists and forearms are absorbing vibration on every contact. Your ankles are loading on every stop and turn.
General gym work – bench press, steady-state running, leg press machines – improves your general health but transfers minimally to the court. Padel-specific training targets the movement patterns that padel demands.
The payoff is double. The same exercises that make you faster and stronger on the court also protect you from the injuries padel most commonly causes. A 2023 systematic review in BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine found the elbow was the most commonly injured site, followed by the knee, shoulder and lower back, with tendon and muscle injuries the most common types. Targeted training can help with both.
The five movement patterns padel demands
Before choosing exercises, it helps to understand what padel asks of your body. There are five patterns that dominate:
1. Lateral movement. Most court coverage in padel is sideways. Hip abductors, adductors, and the glutes are the primary movers. Weak lateral hip muscles mean you reach for balls with your arm because your legs haven’t covered the ground.
2. Hip hinging and explosive power. Loading and driving through the hips – for the split step, for directional changes, for push-off. Squats and Romanian deadlifts train this pattern.
3. Rotational core. Every forehand, bandeja, volley, and smash involves trunk rotation. The power comes from the core transferring force from the lower body to the racket. Plank work alone doesn’t train rotation.
4. Shoulder stability. Your shoulder is working on every stroke, often at awkward angles. The rotator cuff – particularly the posterior muscles – stabilises the joint throughout. Weakness here leads to impingement and chronic shoulder pain.
5. Forearm and grip strength. Each ball strike transmits vibration through the handle to your forearm. Weak forearms fatigue faster, grip harder to compensate, and develop the chronic loading pattern that causes tennis elbow.
Lateral movement and footwork: exercises most players skip
The split step is the single most underpractised physical skill in club padel. At the moment your opponent makes contact with the ball, you should be landing a small two-footed hop – this puts your muscles into pre-loaded tension so you can push off in any direction instantly. Without it, your first step is always late.
You can practise the split step with no equipment. Stand in your ready position, toss a ball up with your non-racket hand, catch it – and each time you catch, land the split step. Do ten reps. Then add direction: catch and push laterally to reach an imagined ball. Five minutes, once or twice a week, and your court coverage will noticeably improve within a month.
Lateral band walks. Tie a resistance band just above the knees and walk sideways for ten steps in each direction, keeping the knees tracking over the toes. This directly loads the glutes in the abduction pattern padel requires. Three sets.
Side lunges. Step wide to one side, sit into that hip (keep the other leg straight), and drive back to centre. This trains the exact loading pattern of reaching for a wide ball. Three sets of ten each side.
Lateral box step-ups. Step up onto a low box from the side (approaching it laterally, not head-on). Develops single-leg lateral power and ankle stability. Three sets of eight each side.
UK-specific note: most UK padel is played indoors on artificial turf. The surface is more forgiving than sand-based outdoor courts, but it can still load the ankle on sharp directional changes. Ankle stability work matters – the band walks and single-leg work above cover this.
Core for padel: rotation, not just planks
The plank trains static stabilisation. Padel requires dynamic rotation – the ability to generate and transfer force through a moving trunk. Most casual players have reasonable plank endurance and almost no rotational core strength.
Russian twists. Sit at 45 degrees, feet off the floor (or on the floor for beginners), and rotate a weight from side to side. The key is slow rotation – two seconds each way – and controlled breathing. Start with 5kg, build to 10–12kg. Three sets of 15 reps.
Pallof press. Anchor a resistance band to a fixed point at chest height, stand sideways to the anchor, and press the band straight out from your chest, holding for two seconds before returning. The band wants to rotate you towards the anchor; your core resists. This is exactly the anti-rotation demand that padel shots require. Three sets of ten each side.
Medicine ball rotational throws (against a wall). Stand sideways to a wall, rotate away, then throw the ball hard into the wall as you rotate through. Catch and repeat. This trains explosive rotational power – the chain of movement from back foot to shoulder that generates pace on every shot. Three sets of eight each side.
Dead bug. Lie on your back, arms and legs vertical. Slowly lower opposite arm and leg to the floor while keeping the lower back pressed flat. Returns the importance of lower-back stability alongside the rotation work. Three sets of eight each side.
Shoulder and arm health: avoiding tennis elbow
Tennis elbow is the most common upper-body injury in padel. The mechanism is usually the same: the forearm muscles fatigue, the grip tightens to compensate, the extensor tendon at the lateral epicondyle becomes overloaded. Weak forearms and poor shoulder stability are the upstream causes.
Wrist curls and reverse wrist curls. Sit with your forearm resting on your knee, palm up. Curl a light weight (3–5kg) up slowly, lower it slowly. Then flip the palm down and do reverse curls. Twenty repetitions each direction, two sets. This is the single most ignored padel exercise – and the one that most directly prevents tennis elbow.
Band pull-aparts. Hold a resistance band in front of you at chest height with both hands shoulder-width apart. Pull the band apart until your arms are outstretched to each side, squeezing the shoulder blades together. This trains the posterior shoulder muscles that most gym-goers under-develop. Three sets of 15.
Face pulls. Anchor a resistance band at face height, pull both ends towards your face with elbows high, externally rotating at the end of the movement. Directly targets the rotator cuff in the external rotation position it needs for racket sports. Three sets of 15.
Shoulder press. Standard overhead press with dumbbells or a barbell, but prioritise controlled descent – three seconds lowering. Three sets of eight.
For players who’ve already had elbow issues: read our full guide to common padel injuries and how to avoid them. The wrist and forearm exercises above are part of the standard rehab protocol.
A simple weekly structure: two sessions, 20–25 minutes
Here is a two-session-per-week structure that covers all five movement patterns without requiring more than a pair of dumbbells, a resistance band, and a bit of floor space.
| Day | Session focus | Exercises |
|---|---|---|
| Session A (e.g. Tuesday) | Lateral movement + shoulder health | Lateral band walks × 3, side lunges × 3, band pull-aparts × 3, face pulls × 3, wrist curls + reverse wrist curls × 2 |
| Session B (e.g. Friday) | Core rotation + leg power | Russian twists × 3, Pallof press × 3, dead bug × 3, split step practice × 5 min, side lunges × 2 |
Each session should take 20–25 minutes if you rest 45–60 seconds between sets. Add a 5-minute dynamic warm-up (see below) before each session.
Do these sessions on non-padel days if possible. Your body adapts between sessions, not during them.
No gym? The resistance band and bodyweight version
The gym exercises above can all be replaced with bodyweight or band equivalents. Here is a complete no-gym programme using only a resistance band (a set of three bands costs around £10 and is available from any sports retailer).
Session A – bodyweight + band:
- Lateral band walks: 3 × 10 each direction
- Side lunges: 3 × 10 each side
- Single-leg balance hold: 3 × 30 seconds each leg (ankle stability)
- Band pull-aparts: 3 × 15
- Face pulls (band): 3 × 15
- Reverse wrist curls (band underfoot): 2 × 20
Session B – bodyweight + band:
- Split step practice: 5 minutes
- Russian twists (bodyweight): 3 × 15
- Pallof press (band): 3 × 10 each side
- Dead bug: 3 × 8 each side
- Lateral step-overs (no box – just wide lateral steps): 3 × 10 each direction
The bands do enough. The primary benefit of this programme is neuromuscular – training the movement patterns padel demands. You don’t need a gym to achieve that.
Resistance bands are also useful courtside. If you arrive ten minutes early, you can do band pull-aparts and lateral walks as part of your warm-up. The right footwear for UK courts helps too – ankle stability starts with what’s on your feet.
Warm-up before you play: the 8-minute pre-match routine
Most padel injuries are muscle and tendon problems, and fewer than 30% of amateur players do any mobility, stretching or specific strength work, according to studies summarised in a 2022 review. A structured warm-up prepares those tissues and means you play better in the first set.
This routine takes 8 minutes. Do it before every session.
Minutes 1–2: Pulse raiser. Jog the length of the court twice, skipping, side shuffles. Get the heart rate up gently.
Minutes 3–4: Dynamic lower body. Walking lunges × 10 (forward), high knees × 20, leg swings forward and lateral × 10 each leg.
Minutes 5–6: Upper body and thoracic spine. Arm circles (small to large) × 20 each direction, thoracic rotations (hands on head, rotate slowly side to side) × 10, shoulder rolls × 15.
Minutes 7–8: Sport-specific activation. Split step practice × 15 reps. Volley shadow swings (forehand and backhand) × 10 each. Two-minute rally with your partner to sync.
Do not skip the warm-up because you’re in a hurry. Ten seconds of landing awkwardly on a cold ankle is all it takes.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I train off-court for padel? Two sessions per week of 20–25 minutes each is enough for most recreational players. Consistency beats volume – two short sessions every week outperforms one long session every fortnight.
Will gym work make me better at padel? Yes, with a caveat: only if you train the right movement patterns. General gym work helps general fitness. Padel-specific training – lateral movement, rotational core, split step practice – transfers directly to the court.
Is yoga good for padel? Yoga helps padel players more than most realise. Thoracic mobility (upper back rotation) directly improves shot range. Hip flexibility reduces injury risk on lateral lunges. Dynamic yoga – flows and movement sequences – is more useful for padel than passive stretching.