I recently invested in a TENS/EMS machine, mostly to aid in my recovery between padel and physical training sessions.

I’ve used such machines during physiotherapy sessions before, but until recently I assumed that they belong in the physio room and that as an athlete I couldn’t get one to use in the comfort of my own home. Turns out it need not be that expensive, nor is it complex to use.

First, let’s talk about how these devices work.

Electrical muscle stimulation is exactly what it sounds like: using an electrical current to stimulate your muscles. This can be done because your muscles naturally contract in response to electrical signals sent by your brain, and TENS/EMS machines replicate these impulses, causing muscles to contract on command.

TENS is the most universally known modality of electrical stimulation. Used widely for pain relief, TENS sends a series of electrical pulses across the skin and along nerve strands. These electrical pulses “distract” the brain from the pain signal, according to the Gate Control Theory. The Gate Control Theory of Pain says that non-painful stimulus or input closes the “gates” to the Central Nervous System, preventing it from feeling any pain. TENS also stimulates an endorphin release, which likewise mitigates pain.

[Read more…]

Applying ice or heat can provide relief from injuries, aches, and pains, but they shouldn’t be used interchangeably. Generally speaking, ice works well after a sudden injury while heat helps to soothe ongoing muscle aches and pains.

Cold

Cold works for injuries because it narrows your blood vessels, which helps prevent blood from accumulating at the site of injury, which will add to inflammation and swelling while delaying healing. This is also why elevation is helpful; it limits blood flow to the area to minimize swelling.

During immediate treatment, the aim is to limit the body’s response to injury. Ice will:

• Reduce bleeding into the tissues.
• Prevent or reduce swelling (inflammation).
• Reduce muscle pain and spasm.
• Reduce pain by numbing the area and by limiting the effects of swelling.
• These effects all help to prevent the area from becoming stiff, by reducing excess tissue fluid that gathers as a result of injury and inflammation.

A good rule of thumb to remember following an injury is RICE: rest, ice, compression, and elevation.

Ideally, ice should be applied within 5-10 minutes of injury and for 20-30 minutes. You don’t want to use ice longer than this as it could damage your skin or even lead to frostbite. This can be repeated every 2-3 hours or so whilst you are awake for the next 24-48 hours. You’ll want to protect your skin from direct exposure by applying a cloth or towel between your skin and the ice.

Do not use ice packs on the left shoulder if you have a heart condition. Do not use ice packs around the front or side of the neck.

After the first 48 hours, when bleeding should have stopped, the aim of treatment changes from restricting bleeding and swelling to getting the tissues remobilized with exercise and stretching. Ice helps with pain relief and relaxation of muscle tissue.

I bought an ice pocket from Decathlon, and keep ice cubes handy in the freezer to use whenever needed. You can take such bags with you when you play in tournaments, typically the bar at the courts will have some ice if you need to apply cold to a sprain.

I also always take a bag of instant ice with me wherever I play. This guarantees that I will always have ice treatment available whenever I need it.

[Read more…]

Many times while playing padel, we encounter situations where we have a doubt: was that ball a fault or not?

The official rules of padel can be found here, but the situations described below tend to cause confusion and debate even in professional tournaments, so it’s worth revising them and knowing how to act if the situation arises.

Let’s have a look and attempt to clarify some of the most common doubts that padel players face.

Case 1 – The ball bounces right in the angle between the back wall and the ground. Was it out or in?

This is known as huevo in Spanish, which means egg. I’m not sure why that is so, but that’s what it’s called. In order to understand whether it was in or out, we need to consider the angle of the trajectory taken by the ball after its bounce. If the ball’s trajectory forms a 45 degree angle or bigger with the ground, then it is considered in, while if it bounces off closer to the ground then it was out. It’s quite logical really, just applying the laws of physics.

Case 2 – We serve and the ball bounces on the ground and then rebounds off the part between the mesh and the side wall, called pico in Spanish, and border in English.

If the ball rebounds in the direction of the receiver, then it’s a valid serve, if not it is a bad serve. This is a rule that is very often confused at beginner level, and it is commonly given as a let. This is incorrect, and the rule just described should apply instead. It has to be either a good or bad serve, and never a let.

Case 3 – We run up to the net to return a ball, and we don’t manage to break fast enough and touch the net by mistake. 

The net cannot come into contact with our bodies or rackets at any point during the match, hence we automatically lose the point in this case.

Case 4 – In the attacking position, close to the net, we hit the ball while our racket is in our opponents’ side of the court. 

Whether it’s a valid point or not depends on the situation:

1. If the ball hasn’t yet crossed to our side of the court, then it’s not a valid point and play is stopped as this is an infraction of the rules.
2. If the ball has crossed to our side, rebounded against the walls and is heading back towards our opponents’ side, then we are free to invade our opponents’ court with our racket to return the ball. It is important not to touch the net while doing so.

Case 5 – In our attacking position, we hit the ball on our side of the court but subsequently our racket invades the opponents’ side of the court due to swing inertia.

It’s valid, keeping in mind that we can at no point in time touch the net with our racket or any part of our body or clothing.

Case 6 – We serve and the ball bounces more than one time in the receiver’s box. 

It’s a valid point for the server as the receiver cannot let the ball bounce twice in his side of the court.

Case 7 – We serve while stepping on the imaginary central line that there is from the center of the court till the end of our side of the court. 

It’s a bad serve as we cannot invade the other side of the court while serving, nor step on the imaginary line.

Unfortunately many amateur players do this and even insist that it’s allowed. No doubt, seeing professionals do it and not being sanctioned encourages this kind of nonsensical behavior.

Here’s an example from a tournament in 2019, a quarter final no less. Agustin Silingo, a top player, repeatedly serves illegally in a very clear way, and has the audacity to pretend that he didn’t know what the problem was when the referee faults him on one of his illegal serves.

Case 8 – When serving, we bounce the ball inside the box. 

This is a bad serve, since we should bounce and hit the ball outside of the box. Keep in mind that you cannot step on the box’s back line either.

Case 9 – We serve and the ball bounces on the serving line or the center line of the receiver’s box. 

It’s a valid serve, the lines are included in the receiving box area.

Case 10 – The ball bounces on our side and rebounds off the fence at the back of the court, above the glass wall.

The ball remains in play, there are no issues. However you cannot bounce the ball off this part off the fence yourself, as you would when bouncing the ball off the back wall to return it.

Case 11 – We hit a high ball, or globo, and the ball hits the ceiling.

Play stops and a point is awarded to your opponents. The same thing happens if the ball hits the floodlight or any other external object.

Case 12 – While returning the ball I carry it. Instead of the usual hitting the ball, there is that extra moment or two of contact between the racket and the ball, as I accompany the ball instead of hitting it. This is typical of balls that end up very close to the back wall after a lob, or during the execution of a chiquita, or during a dropshot.

The point is valid. Check this video of Bela doing an incredible dropshot:

This is the excerpt from the official rules in Spanish:
Regla 14, Punto g), Reglamento FIP: Devolución correcta.
Si se “acuchara” o se empuja la pelota se considerarà correcta la devoluciòn siempre que el jugador no la haya golpeado dos veces, el impacto se efectùe durante un mismo movimiento y no varìe sustancialmente la salida natural de la pelota.

Do you have any other questions or doubts about padel points? Let me know and I’ll add more Q & As.

I will remember 2017 as a great year from a sporting perspective, mainly because I really got addicted to padel and trained seriously to improve my game.

Early on during the year, I decided that I would focus a lot of time and energy on this sport and follow the example of the Expert in a Year website and the controversial 10,000 hour rule and associated books. Basically, the idea is to give it my best shot and see how far I can go. It’s one more challenge for me.

In recent years I realized that my personality type is best suited to focus on a big projects for a number of years before moving on to something else. I have a wide range of interest and I also find it easy to focus really hard on something that catches my fancy, but I can only do it for a few years before something else catches my eye. For the next few years, I hope that padel will be one of these big projects.

[Read more…]

Mental preparation is a big factor in padel matches. Here are some tips to prepare yourself in the best way for your next padel matches.

Use Affirmations and Internal Dialogue

Practice these techniques during training as well as during competitive matches. During the tough moments of a match, encourage yourself with internal Diageo such as “I can do it!”. Don’t allow thoughts such as “My adversary seems to be better than I am” to enter your head. If you serve a bad ball or make a silly mistake in a volley, keep calm and move forward. Select a phrase that you can go back to during tough moments.

Utilize Breathing Routines

Regularly practice full breathing exercises. Before a match it’s very helpful to listen to music that aids in calming you down and breathe deeply. You can also select a visual image to go with this breathing routine. For example, you can imagine yourself returning a ball in spectacular fashion. This will ensure that you enter the match fully focused and confident in your abilities, while at the same time getting rid of debilitating states such as anxiety and stress.

Relax

After tough training sessions practice progressive relaxation to rid your muscles of the tension that naturally builds up. Keep in mind that while playing and training you are also using your brain and that is also a resource that gets depleted, just like your legs. You need to sleep well and enjoy periods of relaxation so that your mental status returns back to the very best before you approach your next training session or match.

Practice Visualisation

The top athletes of any sport make heavy use of visualisation. Basically this consists of visualising yourself playing in a match and going through the motions. Imagine you are serving in a particular way, and how your opponent will return the ball and where you will place the next shot. This will help internalise certain tactics and they will come out naturally during the actual match.

Under this heading we can also put watching top players in their matches. On YouTube you will find the recordings of the finals of the World Padel Tour, and you can also watch them live if you wish. I like to pick a side during matches so that I will feel all the pressure that they would feel if they are on the losing end, and also keep the concentration when they are winning. A very common mistake is that of having different levels of concentration during matches, and watching other matches while making the effort to maintain full concentration of each ball will help you in your own matches.

Consider Your Opponents

Try to obtain as much information about your opponents as possible. You can watch videoclips of them playing, or watch them playing in previous matches of the tournament that you are playing in. If none of those opportunities present themselves, make sure you use the warming up time of your match to observe how your opponent hits the ball and what are his weak and strong shots. Make sure you exchange information with your partner, as he will be warming up in parallel with the other opponent.

Use Video Recordings

Try to record your matches and later analyse them to see what your weaknesses are. Many times we think we are doing something one way, but when we see ourselves on video we realise that our image doesn’t match at all with our actual behaviour. That is a sure indication that something is off and needs correcting. Your coach will also help you in identifying these weaknesses and help you correct them.

Create Your Winning Imagery

Imagine yourself winning the match and how you would behave, and feel the happiness that comes with it. Go into your match with a definite expectation that your visualisation is a future reality, and the rest of the match is just the journey that will take you there.

Create a Pre-Match Routine

Anticipate distractions, prepare for them and minimise them. Familiarise yourself with the court you will be playing at, check out the weather and the sounds. Thirty minutes before the match, make sure you start your routine and enter your zone of maximum focus. Use whatever tools you prefer, such as a breathing exercise, listening to a particular tune, etc.

Hope you will find these tips on mental preparation for padel matches useful. Do you use any other techniques? Let me know!