Stop Skipping Your Post-Match Cooldown! Here’s Why.

Especially in the summer heat, it’s critical to cool down after intense exercise - that includes pickleball. Skipping it is a recipe for soreness, slow recovery, and underperforming at your next match.

Here’s what happens when you skip your cool-down:

• Your heart rate and blood pressure stay elevated longer

• Blood pools in your legs, increasing dizziness and fatigue

• Muscles stay tight and inflamed, leading to slower recovery

• Your next match performance dips—and injury risk rises

The fix? Just 5–10 minutes of light movement and stretching after you play can help flush out waste, restore your nervous system, and set you up to feel fresh tomorrow.

Want to geek out on the science behind recovery? Read the full article here

Or you can skip the guesswork — just download the AIM7 App and get personalized, 5 minute cooldown routines built by elite performance coaches.

It’s free.

Your Strength Training Doesn’t Need To Involve Weights

Let’s talk about the strength training basics - calisthenics. No equipment, no gym, just your body. And the science behind it? Impressive.

✅ In just 8 weeks, participants saw a 24% drop in fat mass and massive strength gains

✅ Push-ups alone can boost your bench press strength

✅ Calisthenics can even improve blood sugar and heart health

✅ You can do it anywhere—even between matches

Here’s a quick full-body routine. It takes 5-10 mins, and you can do it every day.

• 10 squats

• 10 incline or kneeling push-ups

• 10 step-back lunges (each leg)

• 20-second plank

• 10 squat-thrusts

• Repeat x2

Of course, there’s some really cool science behind the effectiveness of calisthenics. You can read the full article here if you want to learn more or build a more advanced routine!

When Should You Take a Rest Day?

When you’re serious about improving, rest days might seem like a waste of time… but don’t fall for this trap. Rest days are critical to avoiding performance plateaus. 

The trick is knowing when your body needs rest.

The simplest way to know? Check in with yourself each day. 

Am I extra sore? Is my energy particularly low? Am I unmotivated? Did I sleep poorly? If the answer is yes to more than one of these questions, that’s your cue to give yourself some rest today.

What you’re doing is estimating your readiness, something all high performers do to get the most out of their training. 

If you have wearable device, you can sync it with the AIM7 App and get precision readiness scores based on your health data, every day.