Ping-Pong? Nah, Table-Tennis!

Did you ever ask yourself what to do if it’s pouring outside but you feel like getting some exercise in, that’s also fun at the same time?

The cool thing about Table-Tennis: it doesn’t take a lot to get started. Two paddles, a ball and table and you are good to go. I was about fifteen years old when I started playing table-tennis seriously.

Pretty much around that time, I joined a table-tennis club to take it to the next level. Well, I stuck with it and I am still playing as a USATT member with a rating of 2150.

You probably noticed, that I use the term ‘table-tennis’ and not ‘ping-pong’. Well, even though the basic concept of both variations is the same, there is indeed a huge difference. If you go on Youtube for instance and search for table tennis videos, you will find thousands of snippets or even whole matches illustrating what a powerful and strenuous sport it is.

Did you notice the footwork or did you only try to follow the ball? Pretty impressive, right? Some shots exceed 100 mph and it takes a very good physical condition to keep up with that.

As you can see, there is in fact a difference between ping-pong and table tennis. So how do you take it to the next level and turn this fun after time activity into a real work out? Well, start slowly with some simple exercises.

Okay, to get you started, try the following with your partner: 20 shots without any miss-hits back and forth. Focus on consistency, try to avoid mistakes. Pros and advanced hobby players do the exact same thing, however, just more like a 100 shots and obviously at a much higher frequency, in order to get warmed up before a match.

This is exactly what we do before we get started playing matches. Believe me, to get up to that level of consistency and speed, it will take you many years of practice on a regular basis. Which means every day, ideally. But again, you got to start out very slowly. You and your opponent should start with the goal of hitting the ball 20 times over the net uninterruptedly.

A typical “beginners’ mistake”: trying to copy the speed of the pros. But that’s counterproductive. Again, consistency is the key to success. Your shots will get faster automatically as you keep practicing. If you can do 20 shots, go for the 50 mark. It might take you some time to get there, but after that you are ready to crash the 100 shot milestone.

Alright, that’s it. The important thing is to get started. You will notice how much fun indoor table-tennis can be. And you will get a good workout in at the same time.

Tony Ulrich writes articles about how to enjoy Table Tennis as fun and healthy activity and features a mini-series about Rules for Table Tennis on his website.