Most people take ping pong as a casual game and do not consider it a sport or go for a few silly exercises before a noncompetitive and relaxed ping pong match. However, ping pong can be a perfect physical game and a way to warm up your body for a training program.
So make no mistakes in table tennis warm-up exercises as they are essential, and we are here to tell you why.
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Importance of Table Tennis Fitness:
In ping pong, the importance of warm-ups and fitness cannot be ignored, as it is a game that needs agility, speed, and fast reaction to be a strenuous exercise. The American Heart Association suggests that doing warm-ups and exercise before any game or workout can protect your heart health. Also, check the Best Ping Pong Paddle Cleaners.
So warming up before playing table tennis can offer you the following benefits:
Reduce the Risk of Injury:
While playing ping pong, warming up properly can be a great way to avoid the risk of injury. Good exercise and training enhance your table tennis muscles and body temperature, improving your body’s elasticity and reducing strain risk. With a warm body, the player also offers more oxygen to the muscles and reduces the chance of cramps.
Quick Movements:
For playing table tennis, speed is an essential part of the game. Warm muscles of the body contract with more force and release more quickly. Adequate exercise before starting your match offer more power to you and better reactions so you can reach shots rapidly, which leads to winning the game. Also, check the How to Replace Table Tennis Rubber?
Mentally Prepare Yourself:
A physical warm-up exercise in table tennis is a great way to mentally prepare you for the playing sessions, building concentration and planning for your strategy. Good ping pong psychology and being in a good state of mind is just as important as preparing your body for a game.
Improvement in Range of Motion
Warming up properly will offer you a huge range of motion to prepare your muscles to extend and improve your footwork.
Ping Pong Warm-up Exercises
The table tennis warm-up exercises come in three different sections and work for a more extended period to increase your body temperature and heart rate and open your joints for movement.
Here are some types of warm-up exercises essential for this beloved game.
Flexibility Exercises:
For the first part of your training sessions, you should spare 4 to 5 minutes to improve your flexibility level through stretching. Doing practice for dynamic stretching allows you to create flexibility without decreasing your heart rate and stretching your most muscles at a time of better performance and efficiency. Before starting the game, stretching can reduce the risk of injury. Also, read the How to Play Table Tennis Alone?
Some of the great stretching exercises in the game of ping pong include:
- Twisting direct lunge
- Lunging hamstring stretch
- Knee lifts and butt kicks
Shadow Play Exercises
After the stretching and jogging exercise, you can practice imaginary strokes to play and their related movements like shadow play. By doing a wide variety of strokes, you can warm up your body and prepare your muscles for a table tennis session of events. Also, check the How to Choose Ping Pong Paddle?
So practice for the backhand drive, forehand drive, forehand chop, and backhand chop. While doing these strokes, you should bend your knees and twist your trunk.
Jumping Ropes:
A jumping rope is one of the most physical exercises to warm your body. Jumping up the rope for a few minutes can increase your balance, speed, and coordination. If you do not have the jumping rope, you can go jogging, as arm circles are an excellent alternative to add shoulder movements and cardio exercises to your warm sessions. Also, read the Best Table Tennis Shoes.
Wrist Stretching
Wrist stretching in the ping pong warm-up routine can help to mobilize your wrists which will help you out in the serving efficiently, forehand and backhand strokes, and backhand flick.
Hip Rotations
Hip rotation is one of the best exercises for improving balance and mobilizing your groin muscle and abductor.
Hamstring Stretch:
This warm-up exercise is an excellent style for dynamic style. For starting your warm-up, you should never start with this. A hamstring is a warm-up exercise for big muscles; skipping ropes, rope jumps, and jumping jacks should be done before it. Also, check the How to Clean Table Tennis Table?
Table Tennis Practice at Home:
You can also improve your skills in ping pong by practicing at home. You can do some drills at home to warm your body and improve your skills.
Holy Trinity
The holy trinity of stance, grip, and footwork are the great ways to do warm-ups in the beginning that you can practice in your home.
Strength Training:
Additional training for doing warm-ups is essential in this sport. So developing your resistance involves the performance of physical exercises that are made to improve strength and endurance. Strength training is associated with lifting weights.
FAQs:
What are the exercises of table tennis?
- Short sprints
- Bounding movements and lots f jumping
- Develop arm speed
- Train quick
Why is warm-up important before playing table tennis?
When most players without any warm-up exercises go to the table due to their cold muscles and contractions, they can get an injury to more extent.
What warm-up exercises?
Some of the warm-up exercises include. Squats, lunges, jumping ropes, torso twists, yoga, leg swings, and shoulder and arm circles. Leg bends, standing side bends, walking and slow jogging, knee bends, ankle circles, and many more.
Conclusion:
So to conclude, table tennis warm-up, doing proper warm-up exercise before starting a game, and cooling down afterward are suitable for protecting you from heart diseases but let your body get the most advantage from table tennis.
In the beginning, most players are hesitant to start the warm-ups as their body is not used to doing so. But when they start these warm-up exercises, they know the importance and get into the game well with more enthusiasm and passion.