If you skip your warmup, pickleball can be really tough on your body.

Here’s why warming up should be the most important part of your routine.

1. No Warm-Up? You’re more likely to feel sore after playing.

2. More Soreness means you’ll need longer recovery time.

3. Longer Recovery leads to worse readiness for your next game.

4. Worse Readiness increases your risk of injury.

Experts estimate that pickleball has an injury rate of 3 to 4 injuries per 1,000 hours of play. For all the fun it brings, I’d say that’s a fair trade-off!

To put that into perspective, tennis injury rates are estimated to be much higher at 8.7 injuries per 1,000 hours of play, largely due to its high-impact movements like running and jumping.

But here’s the issue: pickleball’s injury rate has the potential to be much lower considering 52% of players are over 55, compared to only 12% in tennis.

Warming up is absolutely essential for older players, whose bodies are more prone to strains and injuries without prep. In fact, nearly 90% of pickleball injuries happen to players over 55, and warming up is the easiest way to prevent them.

This simple warmup takes less than 5 minutes and will make all the difference!

So, let’s unite and prioritize our warmup routines!

Together, we can prove that pickleball is the safest way to enjoy the benefits of racket sports: improved cardio, enhanced memory consolidation, better decision-making skills, and valuable social connections all help us live a healthier, more impactful life.

Swollen and aching joints are just part of playing pickleball, right?

Not so fast!

New research demonstrates that supplementing with collagen peptides can reduce joint pain and inflammation and enhance tendon healing time. And the benefits of collagen supplementation are more pronounced the older you are.

Here’s why…

Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body, but it begins to degrade at the age of 30, and by the time you're 80, you’ve lost almost 75% of this vital protein. This means the more pickleball you play, the more your tendons, ligaments, and joints are at risk for pain and injury.

However, research demonstrates that 10 to 20 grams of collagen per day can reduce joint pain, increase healing time from injuries, and even improve your mental health. And get this: the more physically active you are, the more effective collagen supplementation is at reducing joint pain!

For those concerned about sun-induced skin aging, just six weeks of collagen supplementation has been demonstrated to reduce wrinkle volume by 46%, area by 44%, and depth by over 9%. In addition, Collagen supplements have been shown to improve skin elasticity, making it more resilient and less prone to sagging.

Finally, collagen supplementation can also significantly increase skin hydration levels, contributing to a plumper and more youthful appearance. Studies have reported a 34% increase in skin moisture among participants taking collagen supplements compared to those on a placebo.

If you are like me, you are probably still a bit skeptical about collagen supplementation. I was too, until I tried it!

After just 8-weeks of adding collagen to my morning coffee, I started noticing that my knees weren’t creaking anymore, and I was experiencing less joint inflammation. Then my wife started using it, and now we are both addicted!

Because of the science behind collagen supplementation, AIM7 has partnered with BUBS Naturals to give you an exclusive 25% discount on all of their products by using the code AIM725 at checkout.

I highly recommend you add BUBs collagen to your daily routine. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Did You Know?

Recent estimates show that only 29% of pickleball courts are specifically dedicated to pickleball.

While sharing is caring, wouldn’t it be nice if we didn’t have to?

To meet demand, American cities will need to invest about $900 million to build 25,000 new courts over the coming years.

With the sport's ever-rising popularity, cities will likely get on board. Because, after all, if they build it, we will come!

If you’re looking to live healthier and up your game, don’t miss the latest episode of the Third Shot pickleball podcast!

• Discover how duct-taping tracking devices on football players launched a billion-dollar athlete tracking industry.

• Learn why pickleball’s tight-knit community is giving athletes a fresh boost in competitive sports.

• Uncover why sleep and mental fitness are the most overlooked (but crucial) keys to thriving in both sport and life.

Catch all these insights and more in the latest episode!