Bodybuilding in Tabletennis !

Due to copyright I can only say partly what I see In Dan Seemiler's book Winning Table Tennis pages 113 to 122.
Bench press, parallel squat, stiff-legged deadlift, one arm bent over row, abdominal crunch with weight, standing biceps curl, etc..

Monster, can you bump one of the many threads on exercises to help your TT improve. Maybe the one where Suga D put all those great videos from the German team cross-training.

Thanks.

The rest of this is like the blind leading the blind. [emoji2]


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I'm confused , does the budybuilding harm tabletennis performance in any aspect of the game ? is there specific muscle I shouldn't build it ?
what kinds of training should i use ?
I saw some photos of elite players with no T-shirt and their bodies aren't built well

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That is the OP. He was concerned about the looks which he thought even elite players didn't have. Let's concentrate on the bodybuilding part. Now the OP is interested in the weight training part because it can help him look "good".

different weight programs are involved depending on what stage of the training phase you are in:
1. preparatory stage = weights here are just light weights, with more on muscle endurance and repetitions.
2. pre-competition stage = gradual increase in weights lifted but also decreasing the number of reps. it is not only until about 1 month to 1.5 months before competition stage that the weight load is heavy with few reps like 7-8 and then the weight is reduced up until the load is light. this is the stage where muscle power is developed. so the pattern is light weights, then gradual increase in weight up to the peak weight and then taper down gradually.
3. competition stage = mostly just cardio and core exercises, if there are any weights in this stage it is not as heavy as the pre-comp stage.

Amature bodybuilding will not harm amature table tennis players in any way. Arm curls are probably as useful as sit ups or cross training but it still won't affect table tennis in a negative way.

I thought of doing so , but then since Archo has taken over I left it alone , also the OP needs to decide first whether he wants to look good, whether he wants to play better or he wants to look muscular...

UpSideDownCarl said:

Monster, can you bump one of the many threads on exercises to help your TT improve. Maybe the one where Suga D put all those great videos from the German team cross-training.

Thanks.

The rest of this is like the blind leading the blind. [emoji2]


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Click to expand...

ttmonster said:

I thought of doing so , but then since Archo has taken over I left it alone , also the OP needs to decide first whether he wants to look good, whether he wants to play better or he wants to look muscular...

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So because I am posting in this thread, you don't want to bump a separate, relevant thread and direct the OP there? Sometimes I don't understand your logic in the slightest.

Archo, come on. Stop being the fool you had almost grown out of being.

Monster. Ignore Archo. He obviously can't help himself.

Here is the link to a good thread on the subject of the kind of exercises and workouts that can help your TT improve.

https://www.tabletennisdaily.co.uk/...ses-are-the-best-for-table-tennis-improvement

Yesterday I knew I wouldn't have time to search for that and post it. But, there it is. Go read it.

The debate in this thread is not worth wasting time with. At least from my perspective.


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Cycling has helped me a lot with my footwork because it has equalized the strength in my two legs. So I stay a lot more balanced. At one point Brian Pace did the same thing, and later started to compete as a mountain biker. I am not going to do that! But this has had the biggest impact on my game of anything I have done.

But it is also fun (although perhaps a bit less so now in the Houston summer with 95 degree heat and 99% humidity so I have to go early in the morning).

Ahmad ... let me know your email. I'll make some copies for you. I can't publicly add them here.

LordPippington said:

Ronnie Coleman, one of the biggest and best bodybuilders of all time, could still do the splits!

Again guys, if you train the attributes you want to develop or maintain, there's only a very, very VERY small portion who has to worry about the negative impact of strength training or growing too large.

https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/2002/soscomp70.jpg

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He is flexible but his body would not be optimal for TT.

And that is actually not a front split. Look at the knee of his left leg. If it was a front split his knee would not be bent and pointing towards the side. But, to the untrained eye, that is not so easy to see because of the camera angle. Still, it demonstrates decent flexibility. And you can be big like that and still be flexible. But the kind of flexibility he has won't help with the arm actions for a good TT stroke. Or, actually, his musculature would likely hinder it.

Here, Coleman is doing something like what I am doing in tight slacks:



But the angle of the photo, taken from the ground and the side makes that hard to see.

Here is a photo and a diagram of a front split:





The front of the thigh of the back leg is on the floor and the knee of that leg is pointing straight down so you can only see the side of the knee. Not the knee cap. Also the back leg is fully straight. No bend in the knee.

This is closer to how Coleman would probably look in a front split if his hips were closer to squared forward. At least based on that photo above.





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This was from the other thread. But I felt the answer belongs here.

Ahmad Arnous said:

yeah , I agree with you Carl but my thread bodybuilding is more specified

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Well, if what you are interested in is really body building, I would stick to the fact that what guys like Ronnie Coleman and Arnold Schwarzenegger did, it does not help your TT and I would say it would hinder it.

But I agree with the statement that an amateur TT player would not be harmed too much by the pursuit of an amateur level of body building. And an amateur level body builder would not be hindered at all by a hobby of amateur level table tennis.

And I would distinguish between these pursuits:

1) Body Building
2) Power Lifting
3) Strength Training

Of those three, strength training, intelligently applied can be quite beneficial cross-training for the development of TT skills.

The other two, I don't think are useful to TT development. But, if you are an amateur and want to do both, you certainly can. But body building and power lifting would probably make certain TT skills less possible. Even though either would be fine--to a certain extent--for what your legs need in TT. But they would not be great for what the upper body needs to be able to do.

In the end, it is a personal choice. But you will never see a top TT player who has done even an elite amateur level of body building.

Even this:



Would be too much and be detrimental to a top player.


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I notice Dan Seemiller only used light weights for his strength conditioning. So such exercises may not help to build up the mass that makes you look good.

LordPippington said:

Click to expand...

The stuff in this video, is definitely useful for many things.

The videos Suga D posted in the other thread of guys from the German team hopping up flights of stairs with a resistance band around their legs and their legs in a wide squatting position, or jumping onto an elevated platform not quite so high, were interesting to me. And definitely good stuff for lots of sports including TT as well.

1) Body Building
2) Power Lifting
3) Strength Training/Cross-Training

Not quite the same thing.

And those guys are pretty darn strong. Not just the little guy. Fit and athletic. And they may still be a bit bulky in their upper body for high level TT.

But again, for an amateur, does that really matter? It is just that some of their upper body development might hinder certain aspects of higher level TT development.

But not that power from their legs that enables them to jump so high. That power from the legs would definitely be good for TT.


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