5 weeks · 3x / week · Active Adults
Pickleball Split-Step Power
Five weeks on the one movement that decides every kitchen exchange: a fast, low, reactive split step and the push that follows it.
How to run it
- The split step is a landing, not a hop. Land loaded, land quiet, and be ready to push in either direction.
- Sessions are 25 to 35 minutes. This is a power block; if it becomes conditioning, it stops working.
- Every reactive drill responds to a partner or a ball, never to your own count.
Springbak® note
Every split step is a landing on a hard court. Install Springsoles under your court shoe insoles in week 1 and keep them for the whole block, including the week 5 retest.
Shop SpringsolesThe goal
Cut reaction-to-first-contact time by one full step on a partner-fed dink exchange.
How it progresses
Phase 1 · Weeks 1-2
Split-step timing and low-position strength, unhurried.
Phase 2 · Weeks 3-4
Reactive split steps into first-step pushes at game speed.
Phase 3 · Week 5
Live dink exchanges, then retest.
What you test
- Split-step reaction
- Partner points left or right at random; count the steps needed to reach a cone 8 feet away.
- Lateral bound distance
- Best of three per side, stuck landings only.
- Sit-to-stand in 30s
- Reps in 30 seconds. A simple, repeatable measure of leg power.
What you need
- Court access
- Paddle and balls
- Cones
- Partner
The week
Day 1
Position and strength
Split-step to stick
Quiet landing, knees soft
4 x 6
Lateral step-down
3 x 8 per leg
Goblet squat
3 x 10
Single-leg balance holds
3 x 30s per leg
Day 2
Reactive power
Partner-cue split step
10 reps
Lateral bound to stick
4 x 4 per side
8-foot shuffle-and-reach
8 reps per side
Pogo hops
3 x 10
Day 3
On-court transfer
Live dink exchange
5 rounds x 90s
Kitchen-line reset drill
8 reps
Calf raises
3 x 15
Short-foot holds
3 x 30s per foot
Questions about this block
I'm 65 — is this appropriate?
Yes. Use the Active Adults prescriptions, take a full day between sessions, and start bounds at half distance.
Indoor or outdoor court?
Either, but test on the same one every time — surface grip changes reaction numbers more than training does.
Run this next
Build your next block
Tell us your sport, the number you want to move next, and the date of your first competition. We re-rank the program library against those answers and show you why each block placed where it did.
Off-season · Nothing to protect on the weekend, so this is where the heavy, high-volume blocks belong.
Best match · 5 weeks · 3x / week
Change of Direction
Cut harder and re-accelerate sooner — a faster pro-agility and a cleaner plant under fatigue.
Why this fits · We ranked this here because it was written for Pickleball.
- Written for Pickleball
Option 2 · 4 weeks · 3x / week
First-Step Quickness
Beat your defender off the first two steps — measured by a faster 5-yard and 5-10-5 shuttle.
Why this fits · We ranked this here because it was written for Pickleball.
- Written for Pickleball
Option 3 · 12 weeks · 2x / week
In-Season Maintenance (Two Days)
Finish the season within 5 percent of your preseason vertical jump and broad jump.
Why this fits · We ranked this here because it carries over to any sport and off-season work is exactly what belongs in off-season.
- Works for every sport
- Fits off-season