Your Guide to Pain-Free Pickleball

Conquer Your Pickleball Knee Pain in Just 4 Weeks!

Knee pain is the most common complaint among pickleball players. The constant stopping, starting, lunging, and quick changes of direction can place a lot of stress on the muscles and tendons that support the knee joint—especially if strength, mobility, or stability are lacking.

To help, we’ve created a free 4-week Knee Pain Guide designed specifically for pickleball players. Inside you’ll find a progressive plan featuring exercises that improve lower-body strength, balance, mobility, and knee stability so you can move more confidently on the court.

Best of all, every exercise includes a YouTube video demonstration from AIM7’s mobility expert Dr. Kyle Richmond, so you’ll know exactly how to perform each movement correctly.

Your knees don’t have to hold back your game. Start building stronger, more resilient knees today.

The 5-Minute Warm-Up That Helps You Feel Better in Game One

Most players use the first game to “warm up” — but that usually means slower reactions, stiff movement, and a few avoidable aches.

Try this quick 5-minute routine before your next match:

Minute 1: Light jog, shuffle, or jump rope
Minute 2: Hip openers, ankle rocks, and torso rotations
Minute 3: Lateral shuffles, split-steps, and short accelerations
Minute 4: Partner ball drops, quick volleys, or short reaction drills
Minute 5: 2–3 sharp accelerations and fast first-step reactions

The goal is simple: raise your body temperature, open up your joints, and prime your body for the quick starts, stops, and reactions pickleball demands.

To learn more about the science behind an effective warmup routine, read the full blog from Dr. Reiner.

The Pickleball Strategy Most Players Ignore on Windy Days

Most players see wind as a nuisance. The best players see it as an opportunity.

Researchers at Simon Fraser University recently studied how wind affects pickleball ball flight and found something surprising: both into the wind and downwind provide an opportunity for significant advantage…you just need to know which types of shots to hit:

When hitting into the wind:

• Drive more often. The ball drops more steeply, reducing your opponent’s reaction time.

• Trust your drops. The wind helps pull the ball down into the kitchen, making drops easier to control.

When hitting with the wind:

• Attack overheads. The extra carry can turn a good smash into a winner.

• Drive deep. The ball maintains speed and pushes opponents farther back.

The takeaway: If you’re playing into the wind, look for opportunities to drive and drop. If the wind is at your back, use it to add pace to overheads and deep drives. The wind affects both sides, so it’s the player who adapts first that gains the advantage.

Start Now. Play Forever.

Ace Pickleball Club is an indoor pickleball club with a national footprint, delivering a unique open play model with a member-focused approach and all-inclusive pricing. As AIM7’s exclusive indoor pickleball club, APC offers pickleball on demand with no need to coordinate with other players, plan in advance, or reserve a spot. With 30 locations open nationwide and more slated to open this year, Ace Pickleball Clubs offer professional-grade cushioned courts, a welcoming community, and the optimal climate-controlled playing experience for all skill levels. Whether you're looking for unlimited open play, clinics, social events, or tournaments, Ace Pickleball Club has something for everyone.

A New Way to Win More Pickleball

We’re proud to have SLAMIT Hydration as our exclusive hydration partner—and that means a big 20% discount for you.

Just use the discount code AIM7 when you check out at slamit.com

Pickleball places unique physical and mental demands on players, and SLAMIT is addressing a major performance gap with two purpose-built products designed specifically for the sport: SLAMIT HYDRATE and SLAMIT FOCUS.

Performance hydration is quickly becoming the next major differentiator in pickleball. SLAMIT was founded by exercise scientist Mady Wolfe, who partnered with world- renowned formulator Shawn Wells, MPH, LDN, RD, to build the formulas from the ground up. Shawn has developed hundreds of performance and longevity supplements and is known for creating clinically substantiated, research-driven formulations.

SLAMIT didn’t develop these products in isolation. Over the past year, professional players and respected creators helped test and refine the formulas during real match play. Players using SLAMIT include #2 PPA player Anna Bright, Kyle Koszuta (That Pickleball Guy), Tanner Tomassi, John Cincola, Shea Underwood, Danea Zeigle, and Brandon Nespong. Their feedback shaped everything from flavor to on-court performance. Interesting side note: After using SLAMIT consistently, players like Tomassi went on a winning streak earning two APP Golds and a silver over the last few months.

But SLAMIT isn’t just for elite players, 40+ players are using it to turn back the hands of time of their overall energy, focus and power output. SLAMIT HYDRATE is the foundation product. It’s a premium electrolyte hydration powder designed to keep players consistently hydrated through long sessions and tournament days. Unlike most hydration products that rely on processed table salt (like LMNT and Liquid IV), SLAMIT HYDRATE uses Baja Gold Sea Salt—an unprocessed, sun-dried sea salt harvested from the Sea of Cortez. Baja Gold contains over 90 naturally occurring trace minerals that support hydration, nerve signaling, muscular control, and sustained concentration.

SLAMIT HYDRATE also delivers double the electrolyte load of many leading brands, helping players avoid the performance drop- offs that come with dehydration.

SLAMIT FOCUS builds on that hydration foundation and adds a cognitive-performance edge. It’s an electrolyte and energy-drink alternative designed for sharper focus and faster reaction time without caffeine, jitters or crashes. Its key ingredient, Paraxanthine, has been shown in human research to improve sustained attention by 29% and reaction time by 26%. Those are big results when you’re in a close game. SLAMIT FOCUS also includes Alpha-GPC and L-Tyrosine to support mental clarity, neuromuscular efficiency, and resilience under fatigue.

Why did AIM7 choose SLAMIT?

SLAMIT stood out because of their commitment to science-backed ingredients. SLAMIT HYDRATE establishes a strong hydration baseline, while SLAMIT FOCUS adds a research-backed cognitive advantage built for fast-decision sports like pickleball. SLAMIT also offers a “Play Better Pickleball Guarantee.” If you don’t win more games, they will refund your entire purchase price. 

As a special offer for our readers only, SLAMIT is giving AIM7 followers 20% off their first order this week only. Just use the discount code AIM7 when you check out at slamit.com. But don’t delay, SLAMIT has gone viral and stock outs are inevitable.

Check out our Pickleball News Partner!

If pickleball is part of your routine, this is the newsletter worth reading alongside it. Empower Pickleball is a free pickleball newsletter covering the people, ideas, and conversations shaping the sport.