Instructer's Guide - Physical conditioning for the young athlete

PHYSICAL CONDITIONING FOR THE YOUNG ATHLETE

At the higher levels, table tennis requires superb physical fitness; and besides hours of table time, they spend many additional hours doing physical training of all types. For beginning students, however, it is not as important. In fact, table tennis can be used as part of their fitness program.

One aspect that is important for all levels is stretching, both to prevent injury and to help the player play his best. A good stretching routine should be done at the start of every session.

It is best to have the kids do some easy jogging before stretching to loosen the muscles. Nothing hard, just enough so that they won’t be stretching tight, cold muscles.

All main muscle groups should be worked. These include the neck, shoulder, arms, back, waist, and legs. Don’t do jerky exercises or you might injure the player during the stretching routine.

After the routine is done, a few sprints are good to get the blood moving. Then, it’s table time!

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Last Update : 06 Kasım, 2002

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