Why these? Both exercises target the glute medius — the muscle on the side of your hip that stops your knee from collapsing inward when you land or lunge. Most padel players have a weak glute medius and don’t know it until their knee starts hurting. See our padel knee pain guide for more.

Lateral Band Walks (2 sets of 15 steps each direction):
Put a resistance band just above your knees. Bend your knees slightly and walk sideways — 15 steps left, 15 steps right. Keep your toes pointing forward and your knees pushed out against the band the whole time. You should feel it in the side of your hip, not your thighs.

Step-Downs (2 sets of 10 each leg):
Stand on one leg on a step or a low box. Slowly lower your other foot toward the floor by bending your standing knee — then come back up. The key word is slowly. This exercise only works if you lower yourself under control. If your knee dives inward on the way down, you’ve found the weakness you need to fix.

Why these? The calf tears and Achilles problems that happen in padel almost always come from the same mechanism: the muscle is asked to absorb a sudden explosive load it isn’t prepared for. Eccentric heel drops — where you lower yourself slowly on one leg — specifically build the kind of calf strength that prevents this. See our calf pain guide if you’ve already had a strain.

Eccentric Heel Drops (3 sets of 15 each leg):
Stand on one foot on the edge of a step, heel hanging off. Rise up on both feet, then take your other foot off the step and lower yourself slowly on just one leg — taking three to four seconds to come all the way down. The slow lowering is the exercise. Don’t rush it. Once you can do 15 reps easily, hold a dumbbell to add load.

Single-Leg Calf Raises (2 sets of 20 each leg):
Stand on one foot on flat ground. Rise up onto your toes, hold for one second, lower slowly. Simple, but most players are much weaker on one side than the other — and that imbalance is where injuries start.

Why these? Padel demands constant rotation — forehand, backhand, bandeja, smash. If your core can’t control that rotation, the force spills into the lower back. These two exercises train your core to resist unwanted movement, which is exactly what it needs to do in a match. See our lower back pain guide for why this matters.

Bird-Dog (3 sets of 10 each side):
Start on hands and knees. Slowly reach one arm forward and the opposite leg back at the same time — hold for two seconds, then bring them back in. Switch sides. Your back should stay completely flat throughout. If your hips twist to one side, slow down. This exercise is about control, not range of motion.

Dead Bug (3 sets of 8 each side):
Lie on your back with your arms pointing at the ceiling and your knees bent at 90 degrees above your hips. Slowly lower one arm behind your head and the opposite leg toward the floor at the same time — then bring them back. Your lower back must stay pressed into the floor the entire time. If it lifts, you’ve gone too far. This is harder than it looks.

Why these? The muscles that stabilise your shoulder on overhead shots — the rotator cuff — are small and easy to neglect. When they’re weak, the larger shoulder muscles compensate, the joint becomes unstable, and injury follows. See our shoulder pain guide for details.

Band Pull-Aparts (3 sets of 20):
Hold a resistance band in both hands with arms straight out in front of you. Pull the band apart by drawing both hands out to the sides until the band touches your chest. Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the end. Return slowly. This warms up and strengthens the muscles that keep your shoulder blade in the right position.

External Rotation with Band (3 sets of 15 each arm):
Anchor a resistance band at elbow height. Stand side-on to the anchor point, elbow bent at 90 degrees against your ribs, hand holding the band. Rotate your forearm outward away from your body — keeping your elbow tucked in. Return slowly. This targets the infraspinatus and teres minor — the two rotator cuff muscles most commonly involved in padel shoulder injuries.

Why these? Padel elbow (lateral epicondylitis) develops when the tendon on the outside of the elbow is repeatedly overloaded. The best way to prevent it is to build the strength of the forearm extensors so they can handle the load that shot-making puts on that tendon. See our padel elbow guide for the full picture.

Reverse Wrist Curls (3 sets of 15):
Sit down with your forearm resting on your thigh, palm facing down, holding a light dumbbell (1–2 kg to start). Lift your hand upward by bending only at the wrist, then lower slowly. This targets the forearm extensors — the muscles directly connected to the tendon involved in padel elbow. Use a light weight. These muscles fatigue quickly and the point is endurance, not strength.

Wrist Curls (3 sets of 15):
Same position but palm facing up. Curl the dumbbell upward, lower slowly. Trains the flexors for grip strength and wrist stability.

Finger extensions with band (2 sets of 20):
Put a rubber band around all five fingers. Open your hand against the band, spreading your fingers wide. Release. This builds the muscles that oppose gripping — balancing the forearm and reducing tendon strain.

Two to three times a week is enough. You don’t need to do every exercise every session — two or three targeted exercises for your most vulnerable areas, done consistently, is more effective than a long programme you abandon after two weeks. Fifteen minutes, two to three times a week, is all it takes.

No. Most of the exercises on this page require only a resistance band and a step. Lateral band walks, bird-dog, dead bug, eccentric heel drops, and step-downs can all be done at home with minimal equipment. A set of light dumbbells (1–3 kg) helps for the forearm exercises but isn’t essential to start.

It depends on the injury and where you are in recovery. In the acute phase (first few days), rest comes first. Once you’re in the rehabilitation phase and cleared to move, some of these exercises are actually part of the treatment. But always check with a physiotherapist before loading an injured structure. The specific injury guides on this site have return-to-exercise timelines for each area.

If you can only do one thing, do eccentric heel drops. The calf tear is one of the most common and most disruptive padel injuries — it comes on suddenly, takes weeks to recover from, and is almost entirely preventable with regular eccentric calf work. Two sets of fifteen per leg, three times a week, is a small investment for a very large return.

Yes — the goal and the exercises are different. Regular strength training for padel focuses on building power and speed — squats, deadlifts, explosive movements. Injury prevention work focuses on the smaller muscles around vulnerable joints — glute medius for the knee, rotator cuff for the shoulder, forearm extensors for the elbow. The loads are lighter, the reps are higher, and the focus is on control rather than maximum effort.

Yes, and this is one of the best-supported areas of sports medicine. Strengthening the forearm extensors with reverse wrist curls reduces the load on the common extensor tendon — the tendon involved in padel elbow (lateral epicondylitis). Players who do regular forearm strengthening are significantly less likely to develop elbow pain. See our padel elbow guide for the full prevention and treatment picture.

Most players notice they feel more stable on court within three to four weeks of consistent training. Measurable strength improvements take six to eight weeks. Real injury prevention — fewer niggles, faster recovery from minor strains — becomes noticeable after two to three months. The key word is consistent: two sessions a week every week, not eight sessions in two weeks and then nothing.

Either works, but the timing depends on the exercise. Light activation work like lateral band walks and bird-dog can be done before playing as part of your warm-up — they activate the muscles you need on court. Heavier work like eccentric heel drops is better on a separate day or after playing, when fatigue won’t compromise form. The most important thing is that you do them — the exact timing matters far less than the consistency.

Yes, and they are especially important for older players. After 40, muscle mass declines and the connective tissue around joints becomes less resilient. The same exercises that prevent injuries in younger players are even more effective for older players because the margin for error is smaller. Start with lighter resistance, focus on perfect form, and progress slowly. The eccentric heel drop for the calf and the band external rotation for the shoulder are particularly valuable for players over 50.

The padel strength training page covers exercises for performance — building the power and speed that makes you a better player. This page covers exercises for resilience — building the specific muscle strength that protects your most vulnerable joints from the injuries that happen in padel. Both matter, but they serve different goals. If you’re choosing between them, start here if you’ve had injuries; start there if your body is healthy and you want to improve.