If you are a ping pong or table tennis player, you understand there is a fair amount of movement during a match.
In order to prepare for a game of table tennis, it’s smart to incorporate some warmup exercises into your routine.
You are going to need to do exercises that get your blood pumping, your muscles warm, and your body loose.
A simple warmup routine for your ping pong match or tournament is going to be necessary to keep you body in the best shape possible, prevent injury, and increase your mental sharpness.
Try these 10 table tennis warmup exercises.
Table Tennis Warmup Exercises
1. Jumping Jacks
The first warmup exercise you should do before a game of table tennis is jumping jacks.
This simple full body exercise will help you to warmup your legs, arms, and core, while increasing your heart rate and elevating your body temperature.
This is not only a great warmup for ping pong, but all possible exercise routines.
2. Jogging in Place
Another great way to warm up before a match is to just jog in place.
Get your blood pumping and your legs moving.
If nothing else, at least do this exercise.
3. Monster Band Walks
There is a lot of shuffling and moving around during a table tennis match.
The monster band walk will stabilize and strengthen the muscles around the knees and hips.
Try to do this exercise 3-4 times a week.
4. Foam Rolling
A great way to loosen the muscles and joints is with a 10-minute foam rolling session.
Your body is going to get stiff over time.
Foam rolling is going to keep those muscles loose and those joints healthy.
Make sure to do this following other warmup exercises like the jumping jacks or jogging in place.
5. Elliptical
A good way to warm up both your arms, legs and heart is with a quick elliptical run.
Ellipticals are easy on the joints and are a great low-stress warmup activity.
The elliptical also works as a good cool-down exercise.
6. Straight Arm Plank
Another good way to warm up the arms and core is with the straight arm plank.
Table tennis layers need to prepare these muscles for explosive movements.
A plank is a great way to warm up for any event.
7. Wall Sit
If you don’t like to squat, try the wall sit.
It’s a simple, yet effective exercise to get your quads and glutes ready for action.
Try this for 60 seconds and increase over time.
8. Butt Kickers
A great dynamic warmup is the butt kicker. This will get your calves, hamstrings, and quads ready to shuffle around table.
Make this exercise more difficult by turning it into the ‘Heisman’ exercise.
A butt kicker is a smart way to get the body moving and grooving.
9. Side to Side Shuffles
During most ping pong matches, there is bound to be a lot of shuffling.
Warm up these leg muscles with the side-to-side shuffle.
By doing this, you also increase your chance of protecting your knees and hips.
10. Reverse Lunges
The final exercise you need to be doing to warm up your body is reverse lunges.
This will give you some spring and bounce in your step.
Do this and the rest of the exercises to create a great warmup routine.
Summary: Table Tennis Warmup Exercises
Exercise before your table tennis may not be necessary but a simple warmup could be the difference between winning and losing. A loose, mobile, and agile body is going to give you the ability to get tough balls and recover quickly. It will allow you to increase your endurance and last longer during the match. Your joints will experience less stress over time as compared to not warming up. Exercise has a multitude of benefits so warm up, grab your paddle and get to smashing.
