Table Tennis – Health Benefits, Skills, Equipment, and More

 – Table Tennis –

Table tennis for a good workout? In a nutshell: YES! Depending on your level of play, you burn 280 to 600 calories in an hour. In doing so, you primarily work out your front and back thighs, calves, and shoulders. Besides, table tennis is considered extremely good brain training, improving hand-eye coordination, reflexes, and much more.

But the sport has even more benefits that many are not even aware of. You’ll find all about it throughout the post.

What is Table Tennis?

This is both an indoor or outdoor sport that is also called Ping-Pong or whiff-whaff. It is quite popular and played a lot across many countries. It consists of a lightweight ball called a Ping-Pong ball which is to be hit back and forth across a sturdy and hard table with a small net.

The tables can be foldable or fixed, although the foldable ones are more convenient and more popular in recent times.

The ball should be struck with a bounce off the table and it should not touch the net. If the ball is whipped out by the opponent or you do not follow the rules, the opponent scores a point. This is a game that generally requires a lot of concentration and fast reflexes.

There are finer techniques like giving the ball a spin to change the trajectory to confuse the opponents. The sport is highly enjoyable and can be played by people of all ages.

Many families have been seen playing this when cooped up during the lockdown recently. There have also been cases of cute grandpas and grandmas playing this skillfully.

There are both physical and mental health benefits to playing table tennis regularly. The physical benefits are that your stamina gets a huge boost, your reflexes become quicker, and you would loosen and exercise most of the muscles of your body energizing you.

Table Tennis Equipment

The noble art of table tennis is often overlooked in favor of other feats of athleticism like baseball, football, or soccer. However, table tennis can be as challenging and competitive as any other sport.

Here are the basic equipment and accessories you need to enjoy this fun game and workout. There are four basic pieces of equipment that include the ball, racket or paddle, table, and net:

1. Table Tennis Ball

The ball weighs 2.7 grams. It is a small celluloid ball that is white or orange in color, depending on the preference of the player. They come in different qualities with those possessing 3 stars being the best kind It is recommended for beginners.

Also, they come in a variety of sizes ranging from 38 mm to 54 mm in diameter. However, the 40 mm diameter ball is used mainly in international leagues and competitions. It is the one specified by the International Table Tennis Federation-ITTF.

2. Rubber, Racket, or Paddle

The table tennis racket or paddle is another important piece of equipment. It is used to hit the ball back and forth on the table. The shape is similar to the one used for tennis except it is smaller and made of different materials.

The racket is made of wood and rubber. It is divided into two parts, the handle, and the blade. The quality of both parts of the racket can affect the force applied by the player. The player must choose the best kind of racket to get good results.

Aside from that, the player must take note of the rubber used on the blade. This can affect the type and amount of spin used in hitting the ball. Rackets are available in pre-made as well as customized conditions.

3. Table Tennis Table

Included in the list of important table tennis equipment is the table. The ITTF specifies that the official table tennis tables used in the tournament must be 9 ft long, 5 ft wide, and must be placed 30 inches above the ground.

They come in either green, blue, or black colors and are made from hardboard. The surface must be smooth to provide the lowest friction possible.

4. Net

The net is bought together with the table or rackets, or it can be bought by itself.

Whatever the case, it should be six feet long and six inches wide. It should have an upper white tape that is not more than 15mm wide. Also, it should include an assembly that can be attached to the middle of the table tennis table.

The four types of equipment are the most basic that any aspiring player should buy. Other table tennis equipment includes shoes, clothing, and accessories.

Physical and Mental Benefits

Whether you’re playing doubles or singles, table tennis, or ping pong, can be a fast-paced competitive sport. In fact, when played at an intense rate, it can be a great way to burn calories and get fit.

1. Prevents Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia

These diseases are generally caused due to the motor and cognitive inefficiencies. Hence, this sport is often recommended as therapy for Alzheimer’s and dementia because it combats these motor and cognitive inefficiencies. Table tennis enhances motor and cognitive skills due to its fast pace and concentration requirements.

So, it is given as a prescription for therapy in these diseases. This prevents early aging and any risk of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. Hence, playing regular table tennis has been proved to lessen the risk of this scary disease.

These are just a few mental health benefits; the physical benefits are numerous too. Table tennis is a convenient sport to play. It can be played by all age groups at their own pace. It can even be played as a familial exercise to bring everyone closer.

2. Helps With Weight Loss

Any type of physical activity can help when you are trying to lose weight because you will be burning calories. Don’t think of table tennis as you would other table games that don’t burn calories.

So what is the total amount of calories burned playing ping pong?

Many people don’t realize it, but someone weighing around 150 pounds can burn as many as 272 calories, just by playing a couple of games of table tennis (one hour of playing time). Even better, this is a great way to burn calories while having lots of fun.

3. Provides Aerobic Stimulation to the Brain

This sport requires complete aerobic activity and exercises both the upper and lower bodies perfectly. It also fires your neurons effectively by enhancing motor coordination and making your reflexes stronger.

This strengthens your neurons. High oxygen content redirected to your brain helps in faster metabolism and more activity making your brain agile to react and enhance quick-thinking.

The strategy and concentration aspect also get better, thus making sure your nervous system is completely exercised.

The oxygenation levels of the brain increase to keep it active and energetic. This is what makes table tennis exhilarating. If you start making playing table tennis a habit, it can go quite a long way to make you feel amazing.

4. Helps You Form Societal Bonds

Generally, table tennis is played with another player or other two players in case you are playing doubles.

This encourages healthy interactions between people and makes you friendlier. Human beings are social animals, so social activities have always been seen boosting people’s mental health.

Many great friendships have been formed over sports; you would be familiar with your loved ones talking about their “table tennis buddies” or “we played Ping-Pong together” buddies.

This keeps you in touch with people outside the workplace, and maybe even outside the family. This improves mental health considerably.

5. Improved Cognitive Awareness

It has been scientifically proven that playing table tennis can help to improve both motor skills and cognitive awareness.

Many studies show that playing this game can help to increase blood flow to the brain. This not only can help you to think more clearly, but it might even be a way to stall or even prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

6. Improved Overall Coordination

Not only does playing table tennis help to improve hand-eye coordination, but it can also help to improve your overall coordination.

You will constantly be watching the ball, following its path as it’s hit toward you. So, you will need to have the coordination to be able to hit it back.

You may not be too great at it in the beginning, but if you start playing regularly, you are likely going to notice a huge difference in your coordination, even in everyday life.

This makes it the perfect game for young people to sharpen reflexes, and for older people to refine tactics.

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