Capacity 1: Rotational power
The smash, the víbora, the bandeja and the recovery off the back wall all initiate at the hip–trunk interface. Power is generated by the legs and pelvis, transferred through a stiff trunk, and delivered by the arm. Players who try to hit harder by swinging the arm harder usually lose accuracy and develop elbow problems within a few months.
The training is straightforward but rarely done: medicine-ball rotational throws against a wall, cable wood-chops in both directions, half-kneeling Pallof presses for anti-rotation, and heavy hip-hinge strength as the foundation underneath. Rate of force development matters here — Suchomel and colleagues (Sports Medicine, 2016) summarised the evidence that strength provides the ceiling, but explosive intent at moderate loads is what converts that strength into usable power.
- Medicine-ball rotational throw — 4 sets of 5 each side, explosive intent
- Cable wood-chop, high to low and low to high — 3 sets of 8 each side
- Half-kneeling Pallof press — 3 sets of 10 each side, slow
- Trap-bar deadlift or hip thrust — 3 sets of 5, heavy
Capacity 2: Deceleration and change-of-direction strength
Padel is built on short accelerations and sharper decelerations. The point ends when someone fails to brake, not when someone fails to sprint. Eccentric quadriceps and gluteal strength is the quality that protects the knee and the hamstring during these stops. Bourne and colleagues (Sports Medicine, 2018) showed eccentric hamstring strength to be among the most consistent predictors of hamstring injury risk in field-sport athletes — the same logic applies to padel.
The work looks like backwards-running drills, depth landings into a stable hold, lateral bounds with a controlled stick, and slow eccentric tempo on split-squats. The goal is not to be impressive in the air; it is to be quiet and controlled on landing.
- Box step-down with 3-second eccentric — 3 sets of 6 each leg
- Lateral bound with stick landing — 3 sets of 4 each side
- Nordic hamstring curl — 3 sets of 5, progressing slowly
- Backwards-running and shuffle drills as part of warm-up
Capacity 3: Single-leg and ankle strength
Most lower-limb injuries in padel happen on one leg — a lunge to the side wall, a stretch for a low ball, a slide that the ankle did not expect. Bilateral squats are not a bad exercise, but they will not prepare a player for these moments. Single-leg work has to be in the programme.
Bulgarian split squats, single-leg Romanian deadlifts, step-ups loaded to a meaningful weight, and calf raises with a deliberate eccentric phase are the staples. The calf and tibialis anterior take a particular beating in padel because of the constant push-off and braking — calf raise endurance and tibialis raises are simple, effective, and almost universally neglected.
- Bulgarian split squat — 3 sets of 6–8 each leg
- Single-leg Romanian deadlift — 3 sets of 8 each leg
- Calf raise with 3-second eccentric — 3 sets of 10
- Tibialis raise against wall — 3 sets of 15
Capacity 4: Shoulder external rotators and scapular stability
The bandeja position — overhead, slightly behind the body, decelerating — is hard on the rotator cuff and posterior shoulder. Padel elbow often originates higher up the chain, in a shoulder that lacks the external rotation strength and scapular control to keep the elbow in a good position. Cools and colleagues (BJSM 2014) outlined a sensible framework for overhead athletes that maps neatly onto padel: build scapular stability first, then external rotation strength, then dynamic control at sport-specific positions.
The exercises are not exciting and that is the point. They have to be done consistently.
- Prone Y-T-W raises — 2 sets of 8 of each
- Side-lying external rotation with dumbbell — 3 sets of 12
- Serratus push-up — 3 sets of 10
- Face pull with external rotation — 3 sets of 12
A two-day-a-week template
Two sessions a week is enough for almost any recreational player, provided the sessions are well-organised. The template below is the one most of my padel clients run during the competitive months.
- Day A — Lower emphasis: trap-bar deadlift 4×5, Bulgarian split squat 3×8, lateral bound 3×4, calf raise 3×10, Pallof press 3×10
- Day B — Upper and rotational: med-ball rotational throw 4×5, cable wood-chop 3×8, single-leg RDL 3×8, Y-T-W 2×8, side-lying external rotation 3×12
- Warm-up both days: 5 minutes of light movement, then mobility and activation specific to that day's session
- Deload week every fourth or fifth week — sets drop, intensity stays moderate
What about cardio
Padel is a repeat-sprint sport on a small court. The aerobic base should be there — a couple of weekly zone-2 walks or easy cycling sessions of 30–45 minutes — because it determines how quickly you recover between points and between matches. On top of that, short repeat-sprint intervals once a week (6–8 efforts of 10–15 seconds with full recovery) prepare the system for the highest-intensity exchanges. Long, hard interval sessions are not necessary and tend to interfere with strength work.
Recovery between matches
Sleep is the variable that moves performance most predictably. Seven to nine hours, consistently, beats every supplement on the market. Protein at roughly 1.6 grams per kilogram of bodyweight per day supports recovery and tissue maintenance. For tournament weekends, treat the days either side as deload — light movement, mobility, and a deliberate reduction in training load. Players who try to maintain their normal training week during a tournament block are the ones who carry injuries into the second half of the season.
Common mistakes
A small number of mistakes account for most of the wasted effort I see in recreational padel players in the gym.
- Training like a bodybuilder — high-volume isolation work that fatigues without building power
- Skipping single-leg work because bilateral squats feel productive
- Never lifting heavy enough — strength is the ceiling for power, and three sets of fifteen will not build it
- Treating rotator cuff work as a warm-up afterthought instead of programmed strength work
- Adding court hours when stuck, instead of adding the physical capacity the court hours require
Putting it on the calendar
For players at the Cambrils and Salou clubs, the practical version of all this is two strength sessions a week, scheduled on the days you do not play. If you play three times a week, lift on the two days you do not play. If you play four times, lift on two of the off-days and accept that one of those lifts will be moderate. The gains arrive in the third and fourth months — not the first — and they show up first as fewer niggles, then as a noticeably harder smash and a faster recovery between points.
Strength training for padel is not glamorous and not complicated. Done consistently for a season, it does more for level than any other intervention available to a recreational player.
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