Nowadays nobody conceives professional sport without a physical component. We know that behind the great athletes there are hours of physical preparation, hours of gymnastics and long sessions on the pitch. But now is it just a professional thing? Does anyone who plays two weekly matches and local tournaments have to train their physical preparation? The answer is clear ... Yes!

For several reasons, first of all we will be better players and then we will enjoy more on the pitch. How many times have we lost an easy ball and blamed the hitting technique? What if I didn't arm my arm well, if I hit when the ball was very low ... And we're right! But why didn't I arm my arm well? Why did I hit so low? Well, in most cases, due to the lack of physical condition. By improving our physical condition we will reach the balls earlier, we will have time to execute them with the correct technique, without precipitation, looking up to see where the rivals are, we can hit more powerful, we would like to play long points and feel that the legs us they answer ... in short, an improvement in physical condition means an improvement in the game's actions. I have always defended that "padel is played with the legs", you can have a good hitting technique, but if your legs don't respond you get lost in matches.

But what kind of preparation do I have to take to play padel? Is it enough to run twice a week? Is it enough if I go to the gym and do a couple of sets of each of the machines? Absolutely not. With typical gym routines little has improved, you can even perform a negative transfer on the headstock. You have to train strength, endurance, speed, flexibility ... but in particular, you have to focus on real game situations, those actions that will take place during matches. INJURY PREVENTION Another reason we need to devote some of our time to physical preparation is injury prevention. Yes, prevention is better than cure. Most injuries, in the amateur field, are due to unaccustomed efforts or for which the body is not prepared. For this reason, invest in hours of prevention and save months of injuries. Finally, a physical preparation training has a positive impact on the psychological aspects of the player, a mental strength is created that will allow us to face stressful situations during matches. In key moments, it will help us make the right decisions, if our legs are fine, our mind will surely be clear, however, heavy and tired legs, elbow discomfort and a racing heart, will become friends of the blissful "mental block". In summary, we could say that the development of the physical condition determines the correct and efficient technique of the gesture, this in turn will condition the tactics and both will require mental strength to know what actions and decisions to take at each moment of the game.