Performing when exhausted

[rooklynbounce]

Hi,

Long story. If you don't wish to read it all you can just skip to the last paragraph.

Today we had two games in the amateur league. We were playing the team that is ranked 1 (we're 3), which we'd already played once. They have one decent player and one bad player. My partner screwed up both the doubles and his singles matches last time we played them, so we lost 4-1. I lost against the decent player 3-1.

However, I've been improving since, and all day long I was preparing mentally for beating this guy, using positive thoughts, imagining myself winning good points, etc.

I came to the sport hall 2 hours early by mistake and started practising or warming up with some other people who are playing in another league. I practiced footwork, which is one of my weak sides, and what I'm really trying to improve.

2 hours later the footwork was one of the keys for me to win the game. It was a really long, tiring game, mentally and physically. I beat him 3-2 and basically all sets were close: 11-9, 13-11, etc. I won the last set 11-8. Beating the other guy wasn't complicated, and my partner, although he lost against the decent player this time won against the bad player too. We also won the doubles. 4-1 in total.

Anyway, since my game had dragged out on time (we played for about 45-50 min), and we started a bit late, the time was now 21:45 and we had another game to go.

All my efforts had gone into preparing and beating this decent player. Now we were to play another team that we won 3-2 last time. I had not given this game a thought. They also have a decent player (although not as good as the first guy I mentioned) and a really lousy player. I started out beating the lousy player 3-0 and then we won the doubles 3-1.

And now I was to play the half-decent guy. I know I'm a bit better than him. Last time we played each other I won 3-1. However, at this point I was completely exhausted both mentally and physically. I really had to make an effort to even move my legs the slightest bit and also my mental game and tactics weren't sharp: I could not concentrate properly. The problmes with my legs being tired caused me to not be able to return his blocks on my loops, since I was standing too close to the table and did not move after hitting the ball. I lost the first set 11-9, then went to drink some water and clean my bat, went back and won a set, but lost the two last sets consecutively. 1-3. (My partner lost against this guy too but managed to win against the lousy guy so we won the game 3-2.)

How do you play well (enough) when you're physically and mentally exhausted? I know the trick is not to become physically and mentally exhausted in the first place, but once you're there, it's already too late. Obviously I will work on not ending up in this situation again, but sometimes I guess things like this happen. There must be some way you can try to safeplay or use some different tactics so that your footwork doesn't have to be top notch, for instance. Do you have any similar experiences or thoughts on the matter? I know I accomplished my objective of beating the decent guy, but this positive experience was overshadowed by losing afterwards to someone I know I should beat. Do you have any tricks you use when you're in this situation? Soon we are to play a singles tournament with over 8 games in one day, and I really need to be able to "hang in there".

 

[TTD Team Manager]

I suffered with this also where i get a good win at an earlier stage of the day and then feel like i cannot perform well at the later stages of the day.

Some things I notice really help are making sure you are resting between the matches and not doing anything too strenuous before your following matches. Also diet and what you are eating throughout the day is very important. Stay away from unhealthy snack foods as they can bring your mood down after a short while and make sure to eat some energy food like pasta, bananas and possibly energy bars during the day to give you sustained energy for the whole day's play. Obviously it is natural to feel tired after playing many games and having a long day of playing but for the mental side just keep telling yourself to give it your all for each point at a time keeping you more motivated not to let other effects such as sore legs and tiredness creep in and effect your matches.

Hope this was helpful mate

 

[Matt Hetherington]

As above, resting and having downtime between matches is really important, make sure you drink plenty of water to rehydrate but also restore your energy. A lot of table tennis players eat bananas and small amounts of chocolate to restore their energy levels.

When you are already exhausted, really you need to be relying on locking down your opponents weaknesses and really building strategies which will exploit them the best, use set pieces and set up third ball attacks etc. You want to find the most efficient ways of winning points. Try not to wind up in long rallies. If you can move into a position where you are in control of the match and of your opponent then you can force them to do most of the moving. This could mean pushing a little bit firmer to try and shut down your opponents attacking. Look for opportunities to attack first, use your service to setup points.

Learning to be efficient in your table tennis is a great skill to learn when it comes to playing lower players (so you don't consume more energy than you need to playing them) and also if you have a long day schedule. Hope that helps.

 

[Mr. RicharD]

First off I wouldn't have recommended the 2 hour practice prior to your first matches. I think your mistake on the physical part may have been trying too hard against the weaker players. For instance you say you beat some of those players 3-0 and I'm wondering if you had beaten them by using your strongest shots. Typically at the league and higher club levels of play it's more smart to play technically rather than powerfully against a weaker player that you should beat nearly all of the time. So rather than say beating him 3-0 11-3 each game maybe allow for longer sets, but easier matches. Going 70% on all of your shots will often take a lot out of you at the end of a tournament. The best ways to fight the fatigue is just conserve energy. You see the top most players doing just that. If your conditioning is not the best then you should try to win points that matter say at 9-9 or 8-8 when the set should nearly be over this way you conserve your energy and then have that extra energy for your harder opponents.

I think the most common misconception with most players is that the longer a match is the more tiring it can be, but typically it's more often that the harder you try to win a match that tires you out more. I can play for 5 hours straight if I'm straight up blocking and serving, but if I'm looping, flipping, countering, and rallying to win the point I may only be able to play for 1-2. So hopefully that helps you out. I only say this because it's worked for me pretty well.

 

[Mauno100]

If I'm really tired and can't focus I try to get really pumped up almost angry. I start shouting Lin Gaoyuan style (not really that hard). It gives me adrenaline and all the pain and aching goes away. I know it's not the ideal situation mentally because you can't really think straight but my playstyle is super offensive anyway so I just go forehand from everywhere. My arm isn't really relaxed so my backhand is worse then normal.

 

[WiWa]

When you are exhausted, you need to rely more on tactics than on power. So force yourself to think well about your services. You might want to take a little more risk in serving to pull off stronger serves, allowing you to close down the point early. Also don't forget that when you are playing your 8th game in a tournament, your opponent has most likely played a similar amount of matches already. So it is not necessarily a deficit if you handle it better than your opponent.

 

[azlan]

I know it's kinda frustrating Rooklyn, but this what separates good and bad players, seasoned campaigner and the also ran. A day before tournaments, I used to stop training and just do short light trainings and tactics. If I reached the venue early, I do strokes..not so much to train, but to get used to the atmosphere of the hall, the sound of the ball, the tables, the flooring, which end of the table is good or bad and etc. It'll warm me up, but not enough to get me tire me, and put on my tracksuit.

When I feel a little bit cold, I go back to the tables. In between that or games, I do a walk about, watch the others play, chat with others, go to the souvenir shops while eating a power bar or semi ripe bananas (ripe bananas are no good) and hydrate myself all the time. Light warm up, stretching 15 minutes before a game, and always go to toilet before a game, whether you feel like going or not. You'll be surprise how well you can play when you are comfortable.

My motto in a game is...Keep It Short and Sweet" or I would call it "KISS" Enter a game with a good game plan and stick to it. Novices rarely have any game plan, and even if they do, they are never disciplined enough to stick to it. Know your opponents game well and apply those plans. Be aggressive in your shots and be professional at it.

Remember...KISS

 

[rooklynbounce]

Thanks for the replies. The next time this happens I will try:

1. Not to get exhausted in the first place. Not forcing myself against bad opponents, as Mr. Richard said. I guess azlan's and Ant Kent's advice suits in here aswell. Not practicing footwork drills before matches... Selecting the more difficult player first if I sense I'm getting tired. Prepare mentally for playing 4 games, not 1 - even if some games are more important than others, I can't treat the game day as if it was a one game deal.
2. If I do get exhausted anyway, I'll be efficient with the points - try to win the point as fast as possible. This includes good tactics, serve return. WiWa and PingPongPom, thanks!
3. I will also try to make my adrenaline go up as Mauno100 said. I actually tried this yesterday, but I couldn't create the energy I wanted. I think it could be counterproductive to get mad, as I need to use my brain efficiently.
4. I will also take my time: taking a small rest of 1 min between each set like I did before I won the set in the last game seems like a good idea.
5. Perhaps I will also try to rely on my backhand a bit more, as this will reduce the need of me moving extensively.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

I think most of the game day info has been covered and you got some really good advice, particularly from Matt (pingpongpom) and from Azlan. Mr RicharD's advice is solid as well.

So I am going to talk a bit about fitness and daily training. From what was going on for you, it sounds like you need to work on aerobic fitness and endurance. I know, for my age, 47, I am in pretty good shape, fitness wise. I know I can play for 5-7 hours pretty much straight through without breaks if I have had enough sleep the night before. So, if you are getting tired to the point you are describing after 6-7 or 8-10 matches, fatigued to the point that you feel you cannot move your legs, then you need to start a fitness regimen to help change that. You need some form of aerobic exercise 2-4 days a week where you are moving non-stopped for at least 40-60 minutes. That could be jumping rope one day, jogging another day, an elliptical machine the next, a stationary bike, a treadmill, a stairmaster. It does not matter what specific form of cardio you do. But being able to sustain that kind of work for one hour non-stopped would help make it so you would not get to that point you described even after having done 2 hours of footwork drills before your league matches.

That being said, footwork drills before matches was obviously not the best idea if you were thinking towards a long day of match play and being able to be on top of your game for your final matches.

Shadow footwork drills would also be good for endurance on days when you do not have league matches. They would not be the same as the cardio exercises I am talking about above because you probably would not do them for an hour straight without stopping at all. And if you can do shadow footwork drills like the Faulkenberg for one hour sustained without a break then you would be in amazing shape. Drills like the one where you are on the side of the table facing the net and you footwork left and touch the corner of the table with your right hand and then footwork all the way right and touch the table with your right hand and go back and fourth over and over again would be another example of a shadow footwork drill that would be useful to help increase endurance.

It is also worth making sure that you get enough sleep before a day when you know that you will have a to play many matches.

Good luck in your training and match play.

 

[rooklynbounce]

Thanks Carl!

I could move my legs, but they didn't move automatically... They didn't want to move.

I'm working on this. Every day actually. But I only started working on my footwork two weeks ago, and I'm finding it takes time to build the muscle strenght and endurance I need in the legs. I'm 24, started playing this fall, and to be honest, the footwork part of table tennis seems just as important but five times as difficult as the rest.

I had an interesting thought today. Everyone keeps saying that you should start at 12-14 or even earlier to be able to get to pro level. It's probably true. Obviously, it's mainly the neurological factor, the younger you are the faster you learn. But I've also realised that when you're that young you don't have a lot of body to move, which makes the learning of footwork A LOT easier. And with the footwork easy, the rest is way simpler. (I played table tennis in a club for a year when I was 14 and I always got compliments for my footwork. But it was easy as hell back then!) I think a major reason for older players not being able to reach higher than they do is due to physical limits - ie laziness. And not developing the strenght they need for good footwork will obviously be a total and final block in their development.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Sounds fair. Footwork is one of the most important aspect of the game. You cannot have good strokes if you are not in the right place. But you can learn it all. You might not get to the top pro level starting at 24 but you can get to a decent and respectable level and have your whole game solid. So, good luck and keep up the good work.

 

[dici]

Thanks Carl!

I could move my legs, but they didn't move automatically... They didn't want to move.

I'm working on this. Every day actually. But I only started working on my footwork two weeks ago, and I'm finding it takes time to build the muscle strenght and endurance I need in the legs. I'm 24, started playing this fall, and to be honest, the footwork part of table tennis seems just as important but five times as difficult as the rest.

Try this suggestion. Don't let your heel set on ground all the time. Try to make your calf a little spring like after a serve is began. You can easily see that if you set your feet on the ground, then it become harder to move.

 

[azlan]

Very sound advice Carl and Dici...aerobics exercises will also make you lighter on your feet, which in return makes it easier for you to be on your toes (you gotta bent your knees too, otherwise you'll tend to fall forward haha).

 

[rooklynbounce]

Dici, thanks, this is one of the things I'm trying to improve now. I'm jumping with a rope and I'm doing loads of footwork drills.

Hopefully I won't end up in the same situation again. I'm enjoying the process of improving.