Exercise selection

Good exercise selection in padel is not only about more shot power, but above all about stability, control, and resilience. Shoulders and core are involved in almost every playing situation: on the serve, on volleys, on smashes, on direction changes, and on defensive glass balls. Training these areas in a structured way reduces injury risk and improves quality at ball contact.

The focus is not whether an exercise looks spectacular, but whether it matches your demands. A sensible selection follows three criteria: functional transfer to the game, clean technical execution, and long-term progressability. With this logic, your training stays effective even when time is tight.

Why the right exercise selection in padel matters so much

Shoulder and core work as a system in padel. The shoulder moves the racket, the core stabilises and transfers force, and the legs provide the base. When one part of this chain is weak, another area compensates. That is where overload often builds up.

Typical consequences of poor exercise selection:

• Too much isolated strength training without movement relevance.
• Too little rotation and anti-rotation work for the core.
• Missing control in scapular guidance on overhead movements.
• One-sided pressing without enough pulling movements.

A good selection, by contrast, builds a stable foundation:

1. First build control and movement quality.
2. Then increase strength in relevant patterns.
3. Then develop load intelligently toward match demands.

Principles for strong exercise selection

1) Movement patterns before muscle thinking

Do not focus only on individual muscles, but on movement patterns:

• Horizontal pull and push
• Vertical pull and push
• Rotation and anti-rotation
• Scapular control and overhead stability

2) Technical quality before extra weight

If execution is sloppy, more load only reinforces bad patterns. Use a weight with which you can perform every repetition under control.

3) Balanced ratio of pull and push

In padel this ratio is central because many players already do a lot of forward work in daily life (desk, phone, driving). Plan at least as many pulling as pushing exercises, or slightly pull-biased.

4) Progression without jumps

Increase only one variable per week:

• more repetitions
• more sets
• slightly more load
• more time under tension

Core exercises for shoulder and core

The following overview shows proven exercises with direct benefit on court.

Exercise selection by level

Beginners

Goal: control, movement quality, tolerance to load.

• 4-6 basic exercises per session are enough.
• Focus on slow eccentrics and clean end positions.
• No maximal loads.

Example structure for beginners (2 sessions per week):

1. Row
2. Landmine press
3. Face pull
4. Dead bug
5. Pallof press

Advanced

Goal: strength gains while preserving joint quality.

• More complex variations are possible (e.g. half-kneeling, single-arm, less stable start positions).
• More periodisation alternating strength and strength-endurance.
• Higher share of rotation and braking work.

Competition-focused

Goal: robust shoulder at high shot frequency and stable rotation under tempo.

• Combination of heavy base sets and targeted prehab work.
• Load management aligned with match and tournament phases.
• Quality markers: no technique breakdown in the last repetitions.

Checklist for concrete exercise selection

Eight points for training planning:

• Is at least one upper-body pulling exercise included?
• Is at least one safe pressing variation included?
• Is anti-rotation for the core included?
• Is scapular control trained explicitly?
• Are load and volume appropriate for the current week?
• Is there a clear progression for 4 weeks?
• Are pain signals defined as stop criteria?
• Is a short finish with mobility planned?

Practical short checklist for every session:

• 1 main pull exercise
• 1 main push exercise
• 1 rotation or anti-rotation exercise
• 1 stabilisation exercise for scapula and core
• 1 short mobility sequence to finish

Common mistakes in exercise selection

1. Training too heavy too soon: Sloppy repetitions feel intense in the short term but lead to stagnation long term.
2. Only training push movements: This skews shoulder mechanics and can overload the front of the shoulder.
3. Seeing core only as ab training: For padel, the ability to stabilise and rotate under control matters more than pure flexion strength.
4. Little variance over months: If exercise selection never changes, new training stimulus is often missing.
5. No alignment with on-court load: In heavy match weeks, strength training must be adjusted.

Weekly logic: how to combine exercises sensibly

Process flow: exercise selection in padel

Six steps from goal setting to match week:

Comparison: beginner, advanced, competition

Workflow: shoulder-core coupling

Four levels of force transfer from the ground to the racket:

Practical example: 30-minute strength session

Structure

• Part 1 (5 minutes): Activation
  • Controlled shoulder circles
  • Band pull-aparts
  • Breathing with core tension
• Part 2 (20 minutes): Main block
  • One-arm row 4 x 10
  • Landmine press 4 x 8
  • Pallof press 3 x 10 per side
  • Face pull 3 x 15
• Part 3 (5 minutes): Cool-down
  • Thoracic mobility
  • Light thoracic rotation
  • Short isometric side plank

Control

• Leave 1-2 clean repetitions in reserve.
• End a set immediately on clear technique breakdown.
• Log load, repetitions, and subjective effort.

Related topics

• Strength training for shoulder and core
• Load management
• Footwork for padel
• Warm-up and cool-down
• Training planning