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Is Pickleball Good Exercise? Benefits for Filipino Players

PlayPickle.phOctober 13, 20266 min read
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From the sidelines, pickleball can look too easy to count: underhand serves, a plastic ball, players laughing between points. So is it actually exercise? Yes, and the research behind that answer is better than you might expect.

The Short Answer

Yes. Pickleball is moderate-intensity exercise, in the same bracket as a brisk walk, and a fast rally can push you into vigorous territory.

The clearest evidence comes from a University of Manitoba study that fitted 53 recreational players, average age 62, with heart-rate watches and motion sensors. They spent more than 70% of their playing time at moderate or vigorous intensity, and that held for singles and doubles alike.

How much do you need? The World Health Organization recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate activity a week. The study's lead author, Sandra Webber, estimates that about four and a half hours of pickleball a week would get an older adult there. That's three 90-minute sessions, and anyone who has lost a Saturday morning to open play knows how fast those go.

What Pickleball Does for Your Body

Heart and Blood Pressure

A six-week study sponsored by the American Council on Exercise put pickleball to the test. Fifteen adults aged 40 to 85 played for an hour, three days a week. By the end:

  • Systolic blood pressure, the top number, fell by almost 5 points on average, and diastolic by 2.5.
  • LDL ("bad") cholesterol went down, and HDL ("good") cholesterol went up.
  • VO2 max, the standard measure of cardio fitness, rose by about 12%.

It was a small study, so treat it as an encouraging sign rather than proof. Still, that's a solid report card for a game most people play for fun.

Calories: About 350 an Hour

The same researchers measured energy use with a portable metabolic system. Players burned about 350 calories an hour on average, around 330 for the women and 380 for the men. Your own number depends on your size, how hard you play, and how long you sit out between games.

Here's the honest part. Over those six weeks, the players' weight, waist size, and body fat barely moved. Pickleball burns real calories, but if weight loss is your main goal, treat it as the part of the plan you'll actually enjoy, and look at what you eat too.

And take your smartwatch's calorie count with a pinch of salt. When researchers tested wearables against lab equipment during pickleball, every device read heart rate accurately, but the two watches' calorie estimates were off by roughly 19 to 28% on average.

Steps, Footwork, and Reflexes

Pickleball covers more ground than it looks. In the Manitoba study, singles players took about 3,300 steps an hour and doubles players about 2,800, almost all of it in short bursts: side shuffles, lunges, quick stops, and changes of direction. Add the hand-eye work of a fast exchange at the kitchen line, and the game asks a lot of your balance and reflexes, too.

Good for Your Head, Too

This may be pickleball's biggest selling point. A 2023 review of 13 studies, mostly of players over 50, found improvements in wellbeing, life satisfaction, and happiness, along with lower stress and depression.

The more you play, the stronger it seems to get. In a 2025 survey of 1,667 American players, those who played three or more times a week reported higher wellbeing than those who played twice a week or less, and so did players whose sessions ran past two hours. Surveys can't fully separate cause from effect, since happier people may simply play more, but the pattern keeps turning up.

A lot of it comes down to company. The researchers behind the six-week study noticed "a lot of socializing, conversation and laughter" before, during, and after the matches, and lead researcher Lance Dalleck called that kind of social support "tremendously valuable when it comes to long-term adherence." Any barkada could have told them that: it's easier to show up when your friends are waiting for you. Open play rotates you through new partners every game, and if you'd rather not turn up alone, here's how to find a pickleball partner.

How to Get More Out of Every Session

Pickleball is as hard as you make it. Heart rates in the six-week study ranged from 79 to 158 beats per minute, so the same game can be a gentle workout or a hard one. A few ways to make each session count:

  • Play three times a week. That's what the six-week study used, and it's the point where wellbeing scores rose in the 2025 survey.
  • Count playing time, not court time. At a busy open play you might sit out every other game, so three hours at the venue can mean half that on court. If the queue is long, try a quieter hour, or bring three friends and book a court.
  • Mix in some singles. Heart rates in the Manitoba study were about the same for both formats, but singles meant more steps, and motion sensors rated about 80% of singles time as moderate intensity, against about half for doubles.
  • Add strength work. Pickleball is great cardio, but it isn't a complete program. The WHO also recommends muscle-strengthening activity on two or more days a week: squats, push-ups, resistance bands, or the gym.

Stay Safe: Heat, Falls, and Your Heart

In the Philippines, the heat is the opponent most likely to beat you. Play early in the morning or after sundown, drink before you feel thirsty, and rest in the shade between games. Our guide to the best time of day to play in the Philippine heat covers the warning signs of heat exhaustion. A roof helps too: about two in three venues in our directory are indoor or covered, though indoor doesn't always mean air-conditioned.

Falls are the other big risk. Nearly every participant in the six-week study had fallen once or twice while playing at some point, and the researchers' advice was simple: turn and run for a ball hit over your head instead of backpedaling. Wear court shoes, too. Running shoes are built for going forward, not sideways.

And if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure, or you haven't exercised in a while, check with your doctor before you start, then ease in with shorter sessions. Competitive games can get more intense than they look. If you're in your 60s or beyond, our guide to pickleball for seniors has more on starting safely.

Make It a Habit

Exercise only works if you keep doing it, so the best court is one you can reach three times a week. Of the 297 venues in our directory, 125 are open every day of the week, and 63 are free to play. A few that make a routine easy:

Where there's a fee, the median per-person rate across our directory is ₱150, so three sessions a week comes to about ₱450. Our breakdown of what it costs to play pickleball in the Philippines has the full picture. Court details change, so call or message ahead before your first visit.

The best exercise is the one you'll keep doing, and pickleball makes that easy. Browse every pickleball court in the Philippines, pick one near your home or office, and put three sessions in your calendar. See you on the court.