4 Returns That Set Up Your Third Shot

New DRILLS Section, Win $200, Tournaments in 2026, The Pros' Two-Handed Backhand, The Reason Indoor Pickleball Gets You Sick, & More

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FIT PICKLER
December 04, 2025

Health, Fitness, News & Fun for Picklers of All Ages

What's Cooking in the Kitchen This Week:

  • WIN $200 Just In Time For Christmas! Survey Contest Is Still Live

  • 4 Returns That Set Up Your Third Shot

  • The Real Reason Indoor Pickleball Gets You Sick

  • NEW SECTION: DRILL OF THE WEEK: The “7‑11” Transition Wars

  • Fitness Expert Glenn Dawson: Pad Your Knee When You Stretch

  • How the Two-Handed Backhand is Taking Pro Pickleball by Storm

  • Playing Pickleball At Least Three Times A Week Linked To Better Mental Health

  • Pickleball Tournament Calendar 2026

  • Humor: Me Trying To Remember The Score In Pickleball

  • Coach Mary: Tips For A Stronger Drive From The Baseline

SURVEY CONTEST

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Please take 3 Min. to fill out our
Survey! On Dec. 18th we will
choose TWO Winners
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EACH Will Receive a $200 Amazon
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Help us help you! Every year we survey our readers to find out what is important to them. Not just content in the Fit Pickler but in your day to day life. This information helps us bring you the best content and allows us to keep The Fit Pickler newsletter a FREE resource to celebrate recreational play. Thank you in advance!

Do we listen? You bet, early survey trends show lots of y’all wanted a weekly drill…
That section debuts today!

If you filled out this survey out when you subscribed after Nov. 15th, you are already entered to win! (We will filter out duplicate submissions.)

Go here to fill out the survey: TAKE THE SURVEY NOW

🥷 SKILLS

4 Returns That Set Up
Your Third Shot

🎶 Return To Sender, Address Unknown, No Such Zone 🎶

How to stop surviving the return and start shaping the rally.

Most players treat the return of serve as a simple delivery job: get it back, get forward, and hope the next ball is manageable. But the return is your first real chance to shape the rally. The way you return the serve determines where the third shot comes from, how hard it arrives, and how much time you have to establish position.

All four returns below serve a purpose. Three of them give you tactical leverage, and the fourth is the reliable staple that holds your game together.

A quick reminder as we start: the receiver can stand anywhere on the court and must let the serve bounce. Give yourself a few feet behind the baseline so you can step into the ball and send it deep with balance rather than leaning or reaching.

The High-Arc Return That Buys You Time

The simplest way to create a favorable third shot is to hit a return with height. Not a lob, but a controlled, lofted ball that lands near the baseline.

How to hit it:

  • Use a smooth upward lift

  • Send it high enough to land deep, not short

  • Keep it comfortable and settled, not rushed

  • Aim more for depth than speed

Why it works:

💪 Health & Fitness Section
Weekly Advice To Keep You Fit & Injury Free

Gesundheit!

The Real Reason Indoor
Pickleball Gets You Sick  

You've heard the advice for years. "Eat more protein." So you do. You pile chicken on your plate. You buy the big tubs of powder. You hit your numbers. 

 But somehow, your recovery still feels slow and your strength doesn’t last. 

Here’s the truth: after 50, your body’s playbook for protein needs a rewrite.  

 But once you understand how your muscles actually process protein now, everything shifts. Your recovery improves. Your strength holds. Your time on the court gets better, not shorter. 

 So here's what actually works. 

 Your Muscles Have Changed – Your Fueling Should Too 

 As we get older, our bodies develop something called “anabolic resistance.” 

 It’s a fancy term for a simple problem: your muscles become less efficient at absorbing and using protein. 

Think of it this way: when you were younger, you could eat a huge steak for dinner, and your muscles would soak it all up.  

Now, it's like they can only take in smaller sips. If you try to flood them with a huge serving of protein all at once, most of it simply goes to waste. 

 That’s why piling protein onto your dinner plate isn’t working anymore. The secret to faster recovery isn’t eating more protein – it’s eating protein smarter. 

⚕️ NEW SECTION:
DRILL OF THE WEEK

The 7-11 Transition Wars

No Slurpees On The Court!

Focus: Third Shot Drop & Safely Getting to the Kitchen

“Drive for show, drop for dough.” At every level of pickleball, the third shot drop is what lets you escape the baseline, neutralize power, and join your partner at the kitchen instead of playing defense from the back of the court.

The problem: most third shot drills are mind‑numbing. You stand at the baseline, hit ball after ball from a bucket, and hope something clicks.

The “7‑11 Transition Wars” fixes that. It’s a skinny‑singles mini‑game that keeps score, creates pressure, and looks and feels like real points—while forcing you to master drops and transitions.

Setup

Play skinny singles on a straight-ahead half court—split the court along the centerline and stand directly in front of each other on the same side, not diagonally.

Imagine a line drawn straight down the center line all the way to the baseline.

You and your partner only use that half of the court.

Positions:
Player A – “The Wall”: Starts at the non‑volley zone (kitchen) line.

Player B – “The Runner”: Starts at the baseline on the same half, directly across from Player A.

You’ll play one game with these roles, then switch.

How the 7‑11 Game Works

 🏋️ STAYING FIT with
GLENN & BRIANNA

Pad Your Knee When You Stretch

🥷 SKILLS

Pay No Attention To The Net Behind the Returner…

How The Two-Handed Backhand
Is Taking Pro Pickleball By Storm

The two-handed backhand is suddenly everywhere in pro pickleball, transforming rallies and giving players a new edge in power and precision. What used to be a niche stroke is now shaping strategy across the PPA Tour as more stars adopt it.

See why it’s taking over — and how it’s changing the game? Keep reading for the full breakdown, Read More Here…

⚕️HEALTH NEWS

Playing Pickleball At Least
Three Times A Week
Linked To Better Mental Health

Eight Days A Week Is Not Enough To Show I Care

A new psychological study just uncovered a surprising trend: people who play pickleball regularly report noticeably better mental wellbeing — and the effect gets stronger the more they play. The research even hints at which age group sees the biggest boost.

Curious how often you need to hit the court to feel the difference?
Read More Here…

🤣 HUMOR

Me Trying To Remember
The Score In Pickleball

🧭 COMMUNITY NEWS

RALLY RUNDOWN:
LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS

HOLDING COURT with
COACH MARY

  💪 Tips For A Stronger Drive
From The Baseline

Callie Smith offers a short and sweet lesson on how to hit a stronger, deeper groundstroke from the baseline.  Be sure to watch the video several times.

Tips For A Stronger Baseline Drive:

·     First, take a short backswing.  A big backswing does not help you with power and depth.
·     Everything is short and compact, with your elbow in close to your side, but not touching.
·     Contact is in front of you.
·     Use a short turn, so you are in a closed stance.
·     Use a big step with your front foot, and a big, long follow-through.
·     The more you accelerate, the more depth and power you will create.
·     Incorporate the same tips for your backhand side, whether using a one-handed or two-handed backhand.
·     Start early! 

Turn when your opponent contacts the ball.  When the ball is bouncing in front of you, you should be moving forward to contact in front of you. 

The follow-through is key!  Big follow-through, short backswing!

 

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