Matthieu Lebourgeois, the specialist in Physical Preparation and re-athletic training, brings us very interesting information on the nature of the efforts made by a player of padel. You might be surprised!

The Physiotherapist carried out his study with 10 players padel lovers (Average age = 34,6 ± 7,99 years) practicing this sport at least twice a week for a year. The monitoring was done on the grounds of Padel Bailly Noisy Tennis Club.

We therefore learn that for an average duration of matches of 54 minutes, the distance covered by the players is 2,1 km. In terms of speed, it was on average 2,39 km/h with a maximum speed of 14,8 km / h.

Heart rate was on average 139 beats per minute. Over 50% of the heart rates seen by players during a game are within <80% of their maximum heart rate. Lactate, measured at the end of the match, is 3,08 mmol / L ± 1,69. Likewise, the perceived exertion measured through the Borg scale is 5,12 / 10. Which means that the effort is perceived by the practitioners as being pretty hard, which clashes a little with the average heart rate recorded, which is more synonymous withactivity of moderate intensity. One might think that it is the lack of aerobic power of practitioners that is responsible for this slight inconsistency.

Indeed, the padel, in view of the figures noted, is a eminently aerobic sport with a great alternation of anaerobic phases. The values ​​are close to those found in tennis, a little more distant from those of squash, the padel being in a way a mixture of these two sports. Physical preparation should therefore take into account both thequantitative aspect of short and intense actions (emphasizing the importance of aerobic and anaerobic qualities) but also the qualitative aspect of each action (stressing the importance of muscle power, balance, reaction speed and agility) and thus be as complete as possible.

Matthieu Lebourgeois is a sports physiotherapist and physical trainer. He takes care of players of padel lover of re-athletic rehabilitation and practices padel regularly at leisure on padel. Matthieu fully intends to test himself in competition and show his talent!

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