Hello and welcome to Pickleball Therapy, the podcast dedicated to
your pickleball improvement. I'm your host, Tony Roy.
It's a pleasure to be with you.
This is a special episode of the podcast.
In this special episode, I got to interview Ty Woody.
Ty Woody is a sports performance coach.
He works with pros, as well as amateur pickleball players
in terms of their body, getting their bodies ready to play the best possible
pickleball, dealing with injury prevention and things like that.
So we wanted to chat with Ty about the body and about ways that we can get our
bodies in the best position to play our best pickleball.
And that's part of the athletic pillar that we talk about at Better Pickleball.
The mechanical pillar, the strategic pillar, and the athletic The Body and mind
connection, so important, how will it perform.
And Ty is going to share with us some thoughts on that topic.
We got the opportunity to meet Ty at our intensive camp in Arizona, and all the
players there had nothing but great things to say about so we wanted to bring to you
some of the ideas and concepts from Ty to help you play your best pickleball.
Let's jump into the podcast.
Ty, good to see you. How are you doing today?
How's everything your way?
Doing well. How are you, Tony?
Living the dream over here in Arizona.
Nice, cool, 70 degree weather.
I already mentioned this to you, but I love your background there.
The very colorful, very festive.
So that's an awesome background.
Much better than my still under construction, figuring
stuff out background here.
So You got to enjoy it. You got to enjoy it.
Yeah.
You got to enjoy the moment, enjoy the process, right?
So, Ty, I've already given an introduction about you, so the folks out there know
what to expect in this conversation.
But let's dive right into it.
I know that you're doing a lot of work now with pickleball players have become a
really important part of your process, of your work.
And particular interest to listeners would be, walk us through a little bit about
that, your experience, what you've seen in terms of maybe areas that Pickleball
players, just as a general rule, could use some help, suffering injuries,
wherever you want to take it.
But something that's specific to Pickleball players would be really
helpful to the folks listening.
Yeah, absolutely.
So what I can tell you, so with my background a little bit, I've worked with
a whole wide range of sports and a whole wide range of
athletes, younger to 60 plus crowd.
And what I think I've noticed a lot with pickleball players is they They tend to
think they're the exception to everything.
So in every other sport, we warm up.
We warm up before we practice.
We warm up before we play.
We are in the weight room strength training.
We are taking our recovery days when we need to.
They're planned, they're on purpose.
And so a lot of time with pickleball players is for some reason we think,
well, I don't need to do any of that.
It's like, we're just going to go do this.
And I think it's really important to remember for players is this is a sport.
I don't care what anybody says or does whatever.
Like, pickleball is a sport.
You're doing the same athletic movements other sports are doing.
And so you need to prepare your body for that, right?
And so oftentimes, I would say, is you have to give it the
respect that it deserves.
So the importance of warming up before you go play.
There is one thing that could change your game, that could
change how your body feels, that could help you get the leg up on your opponent.
Take 10 to 15 minutes before you go play and warm up.
It's low hanging fruit, and it's super easy to do, and it's free.
If I could offer you something that would...
It's legal, it doesn't cost you any money, and it will
increase your alert reduce your chance of getting injured and all those things that
you're looking for, would you take it? That's a warm up.
So there is something I could tell players right out the get-go.
It's we have to change this culture a little bit.
It's weird to warm It's weird to go do this before I go play.
It's weird to do these things.
We just want to go dink and hit the ball right away.
We have to change that culture shift a little bit and lead from the front and be
like, no, we're taking care of our bodies.
At the end of the day, we want to play the sport that we enjoy.
It's just one of those things. You got to do it.
I don't know. There's no other way around it.
You got to do it.
What's interesting is I think we should change the dink warmup idea to that's not
really a warmup, that's just social interaction.
It's nothing wrong with You go out there, you dink a little bit.
Hey, how are you doing, Ty? What's going on?
What's going on in your life? You tell me we're not warming up.
We're not even warming up our shots, really.
So, Ty, let's play on that a little bit more because there's two pieces
to it, which I think are valuable.
And so the idea of reducing injuries is super important, because that
should be a reason alone to warm up.
But I think that should be enough.
The full stop, we're done, go warm up.
But it doesn't seem to do the job.
So I think the candy or the fudge on top of this thing that we can share with
listeners is the improved performance.
Because I'm not an expert like you are in the body,
but I know that I've seen reports about studies and stuff that show that
you'll play better.
You're going to move better, you're going to play better.
Forget about the injuries.
You're just going to have a better day of playing pickleball.
Is that accurate?
Oh, yeah. A 10,000 % accurate.
Like I said, there's a reason every other sport does this.
There's a reason that you are spending time in the weight room and
you're building muscle, you're getting stronger, you're working on different
athletic movements to help you, not only, again, from the injury prevention
standpoint, but all of us as players, right?
We want to be able to get to the ball faster.
We want to be able to cover ground quicker.
We want to be able to hit the shots that we want to be able to hit.
And so when we think about shots, we spend so much time on drilling a shot, drilling
a shot, drilling a shot, which is important.
We need it.
But if I'm not in position to hit the shot that I want to hit, it doesn't matter.
So you have to be fast enough to get to where you want to go or be able
to rotate and shift to where you want to go.
But then when you get into, man, I want a more powerful shot, then you think about
getting into the weight room to improve how much force you can produce and improve
your ability to transfer force from the lower body through the core, through the
upper body, through the paddle to be able to...
That's what we all care about, right? We want to be able to win.
And so at the end of the day, if you're really looking to improve
and you want to elevate your game, whether that's beating your friends on the court,
being the best person in the neighborhood, or whether that's winning your league, or
whether that's going to win a tournament, or whether that's going to play
at the highest possible level.
Like strength training and exercise and all that is It's a non-negotiable.
There's really no other way to get around this.
That doesn't mean you got to go lift a thousand pounds.
That's not what that even means.
But getting stronger in your body, being able to absorb and handle things easier,
being able to jump and change directions and all those things.
It's part of it.
If you do it appropriately, no matter what your age is, if you progress
it and do it appropriately, you can do those things.
I have 50, 60-year-olds that are jumping.
They're jumping and landing on one leg.
They're changing direction and the other way.
It's all possible, but the caveat is it has to be done and
progressed appropriately.
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
The other thing, I always try and throw extra bonuses on here
for folks, but you're going to live better.
You're going to feel better, you're going to move better, you're going
to get out of bed easier.
I'm not in fantastic shape, but I have been going to the gym more frequently
now, and I can see a difference.
I'll tell you something simple.
I'm moving some stuff around today, so I dropped something.
It was like behind something.
Usually, to get that thing is like, oh, shit, I got to get down.
But I feel more like I'm stronger, but also easier for me to just
get into the position to grab the I'm playing, and it was no problem.
Why? Because I'm going to the gym.
I also know that when I get on the pickleball court, I'm
going to play better.
There's all these benefits to doing this work, and I think it's
100% what you're saying.
Now, one of the things, let's sell it to them, though, Ty.
Let's sell it to the listener because here's the thing.
Let's go to the top of the game, and then we'll come back to amateur play, right?
Because I think there's a couple of pros that listen to this podcast, but most
of our listeners are amateurs, right?
Of course they do, especially when they know Ty's on there.
I got to hear what's going on with time.
So I know that you've done some work and are doing some work with some
pro players and things like that.
Talk to us really just big picture.
They have a grueling season that they play pickleball in, so they need to get their
bodies to recover, to deal with the stress of playing pickleball the way
that they play pickleball.
Just give us some general sense of what is it that a pro player, what
are they thinking about? What are they doing?
What are you recommending to them?
Big picture stuff, and then we'll go from there and send it to the amateur player.
Yeah.
I think you hit the nail on the head a little bit, too, is with them, they
don't have really a off-season.
We actually got really lucky here in this last month or so with a few of them, we
actually got an off-season season where they weren't playing four
tournaments in a month, right?
And they actually got to take a little bit of a breather.
And so that's the name of the game is, we don't want to be the best pickleball
player we can be for January or February, right?
That's great.
You were the best player ever for a month and a half, and then you just fell off.
And so the secret is just how do we have the longevity?
And so with that, how do we make sure...
I mean, that applies to amateur players, too.
It goes so far beyond just, I'm I'm trying to be the best I can be right now today.
It's like, that's great. How about five years?
How about 10 years?
And so being able to recover and rest is probably some of the biggest things that
we have to be aware of, because when you think about the pros, the grind of
the season is just being able to...
There's going to be somebody that I've told them, and they always fight with me,
but I tell them, look, we're not doing anything today.
You just got back from a tournament.
How are you feeling?
Based on that answer determines what we're going to do, because it's
going to do us no good if you are mentally and physically shot.
And I'm like, all right, let's go strength train for two straight days.
And you're slogging your way through the whole thing.
And so that is really the delicate art and the dance that we have to do
with the pro guys and girls.
Pro guys and girls, is being able to, how do we give them enough
stimulus to help them make the gains and make the progresses that we want, make the
progression we want them to make while also not overdoing it.
We always have to figure out, how do I flirt with the line of getting us right
there and then bringing it back down, or maybe getting them right there
and then bringing it back down.
For some people, it's, all right, we got four tournaments in a month.
Maybe that means we're working out once, once a week, and that's all we're getting
because you're traveling, you're playing, you're competing.
If you do great, you're making it for Sunday.
The reality is maybe we're getting once a weekend and then we're not doing anything
except your of stuff for the next day or two, and then you go compete again.
But for other players, oh, I only got one tournament this month.
Great.
That means we're going to be able to work out four, six, eight times this month,
and then you go compete and do your thing.
It's different for everybody.
But when you're thinking about, I guess, the driving point home here, because this
applies to every level of player, you have to be strategic about how you
organize and plan your month, your year, your weeks, making sure that, all right,
these days I'm getting my strength training in, these days I'm getting my
rest and recovery, and these days I'm getting my pickleball
drilling in and playing.
That's really how you have to do it at the pro level.
And I think that can easily trickle down and work for every level of player.
Yeah, it sounds like a couple of things that I want to play off there.
One, I'm going to make a statement, then I might ask you a question.
But obviously, the pros need to plan their playing for a whole year.
And you made The way you framed it was great.
January and February, great.
Then I don't have juice left.
I don't have energy left, so I'm not going to be...
I'm going to have a big lull or maybe get injured or whatever because
I haven't prepared my body.
For amateur players, we like to think about it for a session.
You go out and you want to play.
Amateur players sometimes play two, three, sometimes four hours.
They'll come out and they'll play two amazing games, and then
they just can't do anymore.
They're the best dinker on the planet for a game.
And then they can't do it anymore because their body gives out.
So I think the same analogy applies to, or the same thinking applies to
amateur players within sessions.
But the other thing I wanted to play on was, and this is where I'm going to ask
you a question, is the idea that even pro players need
to be sensitive to, and you need to be sensitive as their coach, to
what's going on in my life.
And so amateur players might play four days a week, some play seven
days a week, but they're playing.
So they need to work within what they can do.
But the key that I'm hearing from you is be intentional about it and do something.
In other words, if it's one day a week that you go to the gym and work out,
that's better than zero days of the week for that week that you go
to the gym and work out. And that's okay.
Let's do that.
So does that sound correct to you with an amateur player and How would you talk to
an amateur player who plays five days a week, six days a week in terms
of figuring out how do I do this weight training or stretching or
whatever around my normal play?
Yeah, absolutely.
I think you really made a good point a couple of times when
you were speaking there.
You have to fact find a little bit.
One thing I always tell us players, I'm like, what are your goals?
Because that sets up this whole conversation.
Because that will determine the plan of action and the level of focus we're really
going to have with prepping and doing certain things.
But I would say in general, I think you hit it spot on with being intentional.
That is everything.
So many times players are, I want to get better.
That's great.
But what's the game plan to actually help us get better?
And so, like you said, some players want to go two, three, four hours,
five hours, whatever it is.
And I know for me as a player, I'm good at two hours.
If I go my two hours, it's going to start tanking.
And so when players have to start thinking about if you're really looking to improve,
maybe two hours is where I'm going.
When I drill, 90 minutes to two hours, that is my limit, or else this
becomes counterproductive.
And so being very intentional with that time frame that you do have, right?
So not only is that going to help you with being more intentional, less is more.
Just because I'm putting in 20 hours a week doesn't mean we're
getting any better here.
Can we achieve the same results or actually get better in less time.
And now you've taken with less time, we have now put less wear and tear on the
tires of our bodies, and now we've opened up-time to go do other things.
That can mean resting, recovering.
That can mean going into the gym.
And so for some people, it's, hey, I think you said it, too, was
just get in there once a week.
We don't even have to worry about going in two, three, four, five,
six, seven times a week. No, I don't even care.
Get yourself in there once a week with purpose and intent of getting into the
weight room and strength training and exercising.
That in and of itself will help you.
It's not about diving head first and we're like, man, we're going to
drill five days a week.
We're going to hit the gym five days a week.
That's not realistic. Let's not kid ourselves here.
And so being intentional of, all right, I'm going to get into the gym
once a week for this month.
And then next month, I'm going to get into the gym twice a week.
And I'm going to drill three times a week at two hours a block.
That's the level of thinking we have to have if we're looking to improve.
There's really no other way to sugarcoat it other than you have to
just be the word intentional.
That is the most important word you have to have when you're thinking about these
things and how do I want to improve.
The only thing I push back on there, Ty, a little bit is I would say,
if you want to improve, you definitely...
But I would just say if you just want to be able to get down like I did earlier and
grab something off the floor without going, Oh, cry, and just feel better.
It's a worthy investment.
And a part that's not, I think, I don't think gets the cred that it deserves it.
I mean, it's not like it's not talked about some, right?
You hear about it, but you get a tremendous mental benefit from
having your body in a better shape makes your mind feel better.
And so it just all works together as one big happy system.
So let me ask you. .
Well, let me ask you.
I'm going to put you on the spot a little bit here.
I'm going to ask you for...
I was going to ask you for one thing that a player could do to improve.
Warmups, I think, is absolutely critical. You've already touched that one.
So I'm going to ask you for a second one, which is this.
Let me frame it for you.
So I'm going to give you a range of Let me describe three different players to
you, and let's see if there's one thing that we can do that you can say,
start doing this today or tomorrow.
And obviously, if you need to check with your doctor, check
with your doctor, all the caveats that need to go out there for
doing anything physical.
So if you're not sure, check with your doctor first, health care provider.
So we got one player is a player who plays pickleball, obviously, but
doesn't do anything else.
Second player is a player that they do a little bit of warmup, they do a little bit
of stretching, and they play pickleball, but they don't really do anything else.
Then the third player is one that maybe once in a while might hit the gym or might
do something like that, but doesn't really have a set thing.
They do a little bit more than the second one.
But none of these players are super hard core working on all the time.
Is there one thing that they can do, whether it's balance, mobility, strength?
The only thing is it has to be like body weight, something they can do
like if they wanted to do it, they could do it when they're done with this podcast,
or they can do it when they get home or whatever.
Something that is relatively simple, but that they would feel good about doing and
they can just start doing pretty quick.
It's a good question.
I know, right?
That's a good question, and I feel like I could give a different
answer for each group. Go ahead.
If you want to give a different answer, that's fine.
But to me, I would ask...
I'm not trying to give you an answer, but for instance, if bodyweight squatting is
good enough, that's a fine answer to me.
I'm trying to think of something that's getting...
I tell friends of mine that...
I'm going a little off topic here, not off topic, but I tell friends of mine
sometimes that are out of shape.
I'll tell them, lay down.
And this is not news to you, I know, but the listener might be like, I tell them,
lay down on the floor, stand up, calmly, right?
Lay down, stand up, do it 10 times, and you're going to be out of breath.
So to me, that's a full body exercise, but that's very specific.
So I don't know if you have something that you'd recommend that is simple like that.
Man, I mean, you can This is the answer I have to give, but people hate it.
It depends, right?
It depends on who you are and where you're at.
Because sometimes it can be as simple as just get up and out of the chair, right?
Because you're working on that squat position, right?
Or if you're thinking about a split squat, start on one knee and
then just stand up from there, right?
And stand yourself straight up from that one knee, right?
Sitting just simple movements like that can be
And they can be bodyweight movements, but positions that of just getting up
and down, getting up and down, right?
Or just learning how to hinge and just reaching your hips
back and standing up tall, right?
Learning how to load and reach your hips back and then sit up nice and tall.
We could dive.
It's hard for me to give a quick little answer because it goes so far.
Listen, here's the thing, right?
You're listening to this podcast and you're not really doing
any weight training.
How many reps would you think is a good target for someone, just body weight-wise,
getting out of a chair, 5 or 10 or something like that, depending
on where they get to.
Do it until you feel like, holy crap, I can feel it in my legs, right?
I can feel in my glutes, in my legs, in my...
A good A good rule of thumb that I apply to people all the time that I work with.
I'm like a seven out of 10 difficulty.
That's a good little range of, man, this feels like a seven out of 10.
I'm working here.
If we're doing an exercise and you and I can sit here and have a nice, lovely
conversation, I can just sit here and I'm doing this with you and
we're talking about life.
I'm like, this ain't doing anything for us.
So thinking about a seven out of 10 difficulty.
So what does that mean?
Does that mean that could be five reps if you're standing up and
down out of a chair?
That could be you holding a bag while you're sitting up and down out of
a chair and doing that six times.
It's a little bit different for everybody.
But thinking about a seven out of 10 difficulty can be a
good spot for somebody.
But if you're very inactive, maybe start at a five out of 10 and then progress up
to a six or a seven, whatever that looks like.
Yeah, but it's interesting.
At the end of the day, how much you can do.
Body weight, good idea.
Like a bag of groceries, big watermelon, whatever.
Just make it a little bit. Anything.
Don't ever think it.
Fill your pickleball bag with stuff. There you go.
I like that.
If you have 22 paddles in your bag, put them in your bag, stand
up, hold it in that bag. All right, guys.
Now, if someone's listening to this podcast and they're like, I
like what I'm hearing from Ty.
Sounds like a smart young man, knows what he's talking about.
Is there a possibility of doing some stuff with you online, Zoom, things like that,
to get some advice and things like that?
Yeah, absolutely.
I love to, even whether that's interested in a learning program that I can do for
you, even just general questions, I'm more than happy to be able to answer them.
So if you just shoot me a message over on my Instagram, which is
@pickaballsportsreformance, or if you want to send me an email, T-Wody5447.
Com, 6@outlook. Com.
Those are both super easy ways to get a hold of me, and I'd love to be able
to answer as many questions as I can.
Awesome.
And we'll put those in the show notes as well.
We had the opportunity, as I mentioned at the introduction to work with
Ty at our intensive in Arizona. It was a pleasure to work with him.
All the players had nothing but nice things to say about Ty and his friend
Landon, who came out and helped us out at the camp.
So Ty, it was a pleasure to chat with you.
I appreciate you sharing your tips on the body.
And folks, warm up and start standing up by the cares of watermelons.
Thanks a lot, Ty. I really appreciate your time.
Thank you for having me on.