If You Want to Play Pickleball for Decades, Read This

Most players think about improvement in terms of reps, strategy, and equipment, but very few stop to consider whether their body is actually supported enough to adapt to what they're asking it to do. Over time, that gap shows up as slower recovery, lingering soreness, and a sense that progress feels harder than it should. This week I want to talk about one of the most overlooked variables in recreational pickleball, and why it matters far beyond performance alone.

If you're like most recreational players, you probably think of protein as something for gym rats or younger athletes focused on building muscle. I used to think that way too. But here's what I've come to understand: protein isn't really about aesthetics or bodybuilding. It's a structural nutrient. Your body uses it to repair muscle fibers, reinforce tendons and ligaments, keep your immune system working, and maintain your metabolism as you get older.

Think about what happens when you play. You're making explosive movements, but you're also repeating them over and over. Quick starts, sudden stops, lateral lunges, overhead smashes, all layered on top of rallies that can go on for a while. This puts stress on your connective tissue just as much as your muscles.

Every time you push up to the kitchen line, every time you stretch wide for a dink, every overhead you hit, you're creating microscopic damage in your muscle fibers and the tendons that connect them. That's not a bad thing. That's how your body adapts and gets stronger. But protein is what allows that damage to become adaptation instead of just breaking you down.

When you're not getting enough protein, your recovery never really completes. You might feel okay to play, but little deficits start piling up. Your muscles stay sore longer than they should. Your tendons feel stiff or irritable. Your reactions get slower as a session wears on. A lot of players chalk this up to age or playing too much. And sure, those can be factors. But often your body just doesn't have what it needs to fully repair itself between sessions.

From a performance perspective, getting enough protein helps you maintain your strength, your power output, and the coordination between your brain and muscles. I know pickleball rewards touch and patience more than raw athleticism, but you still need to be able to stabilize through your legs at the kitchen, stop safely when you're moving fast, and generate force when you need to speed up a ball. All of that depends on muscle tissue that's resilient and well maintained.

But honestly, the longevity piece matters even more to me. As we age, we all lose muscle mass and strength. It's called sarcopenia, and it's associated with worse balance, slower reactions, and higher injury risk. Playing pickleball regularly helps slow this down, but only if you're giving your body enough protein to actually maintain that muscle. Your protein needs don't go down as you age. They usually go up, especially if you're staying active.

There's also this concept called "functional reserve." It's basically the gap between what you're capable of doing and what everyday life requires of you. The wider that gap, the longer you can stay independent, move with confidence, and keep playing the sports you love without limitation. Protein helps you preserve that reserve.

I don't think about protein as some optimization hack. I think about it as protecting what I've built. When I talk to players who consistently hit their protein needs, they recover faster, they handle more volume without breaking down, and they stay at their level longer as they age. You don't notice it week to week, but over months and years it compounds.

Let me start with the actual numbers, because most active adults have no idea how much protein they really need. Standard nutrition advice is usually written for sedentary people, not someone playing pickleball three or four times a week. If that's you, you want to aim for roughly 0.6 to 0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight, spread throughout the day. So if you weigh 150 pounds, that's somewhere between 90 and 120 grams a day. This supports recovery and maintenance without making you obsess over tracking every bite.

Here's the thing: most people aren't way off. The shortfall is usually pretty subtle. You skip protein at breakfast, or you eat a carb-heavy lunch, or you figure that one big protein-packed dinner makes up for eating light the rest of the day. It doesn't really work that way.

Your body builds and repairs muscle in response to each meal that has protein in it. Eating 20 to 30 grams at breakfast, lunch, and dinner works way better than cramming 80 grams into dinner and barely eating any earlier. Your body can only process so much at once. The extra doesn't get stored for later use.

The simplest thing you can do is start with protein when you build your plate. Before you think about what else is going on the plate, decide on your protein source. Maybe that's eggs or Greek yogurt in the morning. A lunch built around chicken, fish, or beans instead of just a sandwich. A dinner that isn't all pasta and vegetables. Small changes like this add up fast.

For pickleball specifically, you want portable options. I keep protein bars (the ones without a ton of added sugar), single-serve protein shakes, jerky, roasted edamame, or cottage cheese cups in my bag. These aren't meals. They're just ways to avoid going five or six hours without protein, especially right after you play when your body is actively trying to recover.

Another thing that helps is tying protein to habits you already have. Throw protein powder in your post-game smoothie. Default to higher-protein snacks when you're at the grocery store. Keep ready-to-eat options somewhere visible at home so you don't have to think about it. You're not creating brand new routines. You're just upgrading the ones you already do.

Look, the goal here isn't to track every single gram or make eating into some stressful performance ritual. The goal is just to close the gap between what your body needs and what it's getting. When you do that, you'll probably notice better recovery within a few weeks. Your energy stays more consistent. Those nagging aches don't hang around as long. Some people even sleep better. The day-after exhaustion from a long session starts to fade.

None of this is dramatic or miraculous. But when you're playing multiple times a week for years, these small improvements really matter.

Training doesn't end when you leave the court. The way you support recovery determines how much benefit you actually get from the hours you put in. Protein isn't a shortcut or a hack, but it is one of the quiet fundamentals that lets your body keep up with your goals, now and years down the line.

Boris.

Disclaimer: This newsletter is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you have read in this newsletter.