Does doing pushups have any advantage on playing?

[Attitude]

Hi Attitude,

I can see where you would be inclined to believe like this.

For the majority of shots, this may be so.

When faced with a low energy ball to your BH, where the shot you want to do depends on fast twitch lower arm movement, the inner part of triceps is VERY important here, the main force accelerating the lower arm.

This is the BH "Punch" or "Hit" that is a right handy shot to have... at amateur levels, we get a couple of these balls a little high to our BH every game. Being able to finish those high percentage adds a level or two to your game.

I think that is significant and why a good strength in triceps is a good idea.

Another aspect is for older players... we are not fit enough to step around the BH to play 6 FH shots each rally match after match... having a BH finishing shot (because of a good triceps) is a damn good combat multiplier in my book.

Yeah that may be a shot in which you have decent tricep involvment. But besides pushups being not an ideal excercise here to focus-training your triceps, the needed force is nothing you would gain from pushups. Even training the shot itself would be more beneficial than pushups.

In your last case again pushups are simply not an ideal choice of excercise. Why put your time and energy into a movement that just slightly benefit your game.
If you want a good tricep then do dips, or any version of tricep extension. Thinking about it for some time i would even go so far to say that pushups are a waste of time and energy if you want exercises that improve your tt skills and/or capabilities. Every goal in that department could get achieved with better exercise choices. Many of them are already mentioned in this thread

 

[Dr Evil]

I think pushups are great for tt. Done properly they're like dynamic planks, so they hit the core as well as being among the best things for shoulder stability. Timo likes them for his warm up routine.

 

[Draycott old man]

technique is more important than fitness at becoming a better at table tennis, and yes, there are "unfit" players who will beat even the most fit of players, but that doesn't mean that those unfit players would not improve their own game if they became more fit.

As humans in general, we should always strive to improve our overall fitness, not just to be a better table tennis player.

Totally agree with you!!!! I'm learning different skills to cover that I'm so unfit!!! But like a good wine I seem to be getting better with age !!! My weight is a problem !!! I have stopped smoking 10 years ago and stopped drinking alcohol last December!!! My table tennis is my world and I'm so proud that at 57 I'm still playing a sport at good standard!!! Yes I could be better if I was fit!!! But I'm really happy with my game being me!!!!

 

[blahness]

This is one of the most underrated hardcore exercises for core training. You can go into a slightly curved path if you want to train obliques too.

I saw PechPong have one of these too in his room.

If you have a strong core and brace it properly, it helps you make your movements a lot more focused and increase the efficiency of the power transfer from the lower body to upper body.

 

[Dr Evil]

This is one of the most underrated hardcore exercises for core training. You can go into a slightly curved path if you want to train obliques too.

I saw PechPong have one of these too in his room.

If you have a strong core and brace it properly, it helps you make your movements a lot more focused and increase the efficiency of the power transfer from the lower body to upper body.

Great for young fit players. For not so young or fit, be careful and go slowly with this one. Not for those of us with shoulder issues.

 

[Draycott old man]

Great for young fit players. For not so young or fit, be careful and go slowly with this one. Not for those of us with shoulder issues.

I would be worried my belly would touch the floor 😉

 

[Gozo Aruna]

I would be worried my belly would touch the floor 😉

Guarantee belly no touche floor.

Shiko: Helping Plus-sized athletes since 17th century. Do it now! What are you waiting for?

 

[Der_Echte]

Yeah that may be a shot in which you have decent tricep involvment. But besides pushups being not an ideal excercise here to focus-training your triceps, the needed force is nothing you would gain from pushups. Even training the shot itself would be more beneficial than pushups.

In your last case again pushups are simply not an ideal choice of excercise. Why put your time and energy into a movement that just slightly benefit your game.
If you want a good tricep then do dips, or any version of tricep extension. Thinking about it for some time i would even go so far to say that pushups are a waste of time and energy if you want exercises that improve your tt skills and/or capabilities. Every goal in that department could get achieved with better exercise choices. Many of them are already mentioned in this thread

Hi Attitude,

You also may remember I spent 30 yrs in an occupation that highly valued push-ups and drinking water... your Feldschirmjaegers would approve. Whenever I met up with those jokers to do the Sportabzeichen, we would do a hundred push-ups just as a form of saying hello to each other. (and oh, drink some Souther water)

If the form is done with body straight, rep done all the way to the ground, and not done more than one a second, then push-ups are a good part of any strength program.

 

[Draycott old man]

Guarantee belly no touche floor.

Shiko: Helping Plus-sized athletes since 17th century. Do it now! What are you waiting for?

I've been looking for another hobby 😀 brilliant made for me 😀 just one thing against I'm not very strong!!!

 

[blahness]

Great for young fit players. For not so young or fit, be careful and go slowly with this one. Not for those of us with shoulder issues.

Haha yes, it is a "hardcore" exercise (pun intended)

 

[Attitude]

Hi Attitude,

You also may remember I spent 30 yrs in an occupation that highly valued push-ups and drinking water... your Feldschirmjaegers would approve. Whenever I met up with those jokers to do the Sportabzeichen, we would do a hundred push-ups just as a form of saying hello to each other. (and oh, drink some Souther water)

If the form is done with body straight, rep done all the way to the ground, and not done more than one a second, then push-ups are a good part of any strength program.

As a former fitnesscoach and as someone who started calisthenics during covid, i definitly know that pushups can be effective to a certain extent. I wouldnt say it is good for a strength focused programm, but you can definitly pack some muscles and stability with pushups and its variations.
But you might remember we are not talking about strength, but the question if pushups can contribute to your tt-performance. And i would answer yes, but the increase could be gained more effectively and better with different, better suited exercises, which focusses the arms, your core, back, legs, shoulders more directly.

 

[Choosikick]

In my opinion, push-ups are very useful, because they strengthen the muscles of both the left and right upper body at the same time, which is very important, since the non-playing half - the left arm and the muscles going to it on the back are less developed. Which leads to distortions and back pain. Push-ups strengthen these muscles, which, along with stretching, helps to avoid spinal distortions and relieve back pain after training. At least it helps me.

 

[Attitude]

In my opinion, push-ups are very useful, because they strengthen the muscles of both the left and right upper body at the same time, which is very important, since the non-playing half - the left arm and the muscles going to it on the back are less developed. Which leads to distortions and back pain. Push-ups strengthen these muscles, which, along with stretching, helps to avoid spinal distortions and relieve back pain after training. At least it helps me.

Not sure if i understand correctly. You experienced backpain and resolved it through pushups because it strengthens your body as a whole?

If that is the case, why dont you simply strengthen the back itself directly? Pull ups/downs, rows, rearflys, back extensions and so on would resolve that issue way more efficient.

And dont get me wrong, i am not against having a fullfunctioning, overall welltrained body. But for TT you need some parts of your body overdeveloped. Probably not as extreme as the pros (i mean have anyone noticed the huuuuge back muscles of hugo in the latest torunaments) but it would either way be beneficial to your game.

 

[Choosikick]

Not sure if i understand correctly. You experienced backpain and resolved it through pushups because it strengthens your body as a whole?

If that is the case, why dont you simply strengthen the back itself directly? Pull ups/downs, rows, rearflys, back extensions and so on would resolve that issue way more efficient.

And dont get me wrong, i am not against having a fullfunctioning, overall welltrained body. But for TT you need some parts of your body overdeveloped. Probably not as extreme as the pros (i mean have anyone noticed the huuuuge back muscles of hugo in the latest torunaments) but it would either way be beneficial to your game.

Exactly. Push-ups helped me with back pain after workouts.
One day I looked at myself in the mirror and saw that my left shoulder was taller and shorter than my right shoulder, while my right arm, shoulder and wing were much stronger and more muscular than my left. I then reminded myself of a crab that has different claws . And by the way, then after training, my back also began to hurt, while I always warmed up well before training, and after training I always did stretching and yoga. At that time, for a year, I trained every day for at least three hours a day. Therefore, I decided to give more general physical activity, including push-ups. And it was push-ups that helped me relieve back pain.
Now I play much less often and just stretching with yoga after training is enough for me.

 

[SleepyMaster]

Those who implement structural strength training and before, plus after practice stretching routine, will improve better in overall athletics skills, not matter what specific sport it will be. TT is not an exception from this rule. Pushups only is better than nothing, but there many other exercises that would be beneficial even more. I have serious back injury for about 10+ years now, but high athletic capabilities gained from years of other sports, strict strength routine and yoga giving me an opportunity to train TT 4-6 times a week with no problem. Overall fitness will help us to have more time on the table, and to have better quality of life overall.

 

[SleepyMaster]

This is one of the most underrated hardcore exercises for core training. You can go into a slightly curved path if you want to train obliques too.

I saw PechPong have one of these too in his room.

If you have a strong core and brace it properly, it helps you make your movements a lot more focused and increase the efficiency of the power transfer from the lower body to upper body.

This is advanced group exercise, that could do more harm than good to a body if executed by a low technique person with back problems. There are much more better and safer exercises for example - hanging on a bar slow and controllable knees to the chest raises - much safer for the lower back, grip and forearm strength, shoulder stretch. But we all would look much cooler riding on a wheel, that's for sure xD

 

[Jslick89]

Totally agree with you!!!! I'm learning different skills to cover that I'm so unfit!!! But like a good wine I seem to be getting better with age !!! My weight is a problem !!! I have stopped smoking 10 years ago and stopped drinking alcohol last December!!! My table tennis is my world and I'm so proud that at 57 I'm still playing a sport at good standard!!! Yes I could be better if I was fit!!! But I'm really happy with my game being me!!!!

Hey Draycott- so happy to hear TT is improving your fitness and that you're still playing at good level at 57. The best player at our club is 65 years old and he's rated over 2100. I hope i can do something similar in the twilight of my yonder years.

As a former fitnesscoach and as someone who started calisthenics during covid, i definitly know that pushups can be effective to a certain extent. I wouldnt say it is good for a strength focused programm, but you can definitly pack some muscles and stability with pushups and its variations.
But you might remember we are not talking about strength, but the question if pushups can contribute to your tt-performance. And i would answer yes, but the increase could be gained more effectively and better with different, better suited exercises, which focusses the arms, your core, back, legs, shoulders more directly.

I am not sure why you are assuming that push-ups in a workout routine are exclusive of other exercises are a part of a TT players work out regimen? Push-ups are a key COMPOUND bodyweight exercise. I firmly believe COMPOUND exercises are beneficial for any athlete/non-athlete. When I work out, I will do a set of squats, and then a set of push-ups in between. Other times, I will do my LIFT and then a sprint. This could be considered a high-intensity-interval-training workout. Point being, it's 100% possible to do those exercises that you may believe are more "effective and better suited" for TT but including push ups, if possible, only make that work out better.

Finally, I did want to highlight some benefits of push ups that have only briefly been mentioned (or not mentioned at all in this thread):

upper body strength- while there may be other exercises that build upper body strength, push ups work your chest, shoulder and triceps congruently, which will lead to greater POWER and STABILITY in your TT movements.

core stability- as someone already mentioned, push ups, especially when performed with control, are a great way to engage your core. As someone who has personally sustained several detrimental back injuries, I know all the well that your core is quite literally the core and foundation of your athletic ability. Any exercise that improves your core will in result improve your TT ability.

SHOULDER STABILITY- i put this one in all caps because many table tennis players do suffer shoulder problems. push-ups are one of the best ways to improve shoulder stability/strength and help prevent those cumbersome shoulder injuries.

Endurance- push ups are a great way to improve your muscle endurance. having greater endurance results in better performance late into matches/tournaments.

 

[Choosikick]

Hey Draycott- so happy to hear TT is improving your fitness and that you're still playing at good level at 57. The best player at our club is 65 years old and he's rated over 2100. I hope i can do something similar in the twilight of my yonder years.


I am not sure why you are assuming that push-ups in a workout routine are exclusive of other exercises are a part of a TT players work out regimen? Push-ups are a key COMPOUND bodyweight exercise. I firmly believe COMPOUND exercises are beneficial for any athlete/non-athlete. When I work out, I will do a set of squats, and then a set of push-ups in between. Other times, I will do my LIFT and then a sprint. This could be considered a high-intensity-interval-training workout. Point being, it's 100% possible to do those exercises that you may believe are more "effective and better suited" for TT but including push ups, if possible, only make that work out better.

Finally, I did want to highlight some benefits of push ups that have only briefly been mentioned (or not mentioned at all in this thread):

upper body strength- while there may be other exercises that build upper body strength, push ups work your chest, shoulder and triceps congruently, which will lead to greater POWER and STABILITY in your TT movements.

core stability- as someone already mentioned, push ups, especially when performed with control, are a great way to engage your core. As someone who has personally sustained several detrimental back injuries, I know all the well that your core is quite literally the core and foundation of your athletic ability. Any exercise that improves your core will in result improve your TT ability.

SHOULDER STABILITY- i put this one in all caps because many table tennis players do suffer shoulder problems. push-ups are one of the best ways to improve shoulder stability/strength and help prevent those cumbersome shoulder injuries.

Endurance- push ups are a great way to improve your muscle endurance. having greater endurance results in better performance late into matches/tournaments.

Wow, great information! I actually learned on practice the benefits of push-ups. You filled it with a solid theoretical foundation, thank you!

 

[Jslick89]

Wow, great information! I actually learned on practice the benefits of push-ups. You filled it with a solid theoretical foundation, thank you!

Hey Joola...i'm glad to help. Please just make sure to keep proper form when doing pushups, otherwise that could ironically lead to injuries. If you do not know proper form, ask an experienced trainer, or at a bare minimum watch some videos on youtube. One of the most common mistakes i see in pushups is elbows too wide.

Also, keep in mind that there are modifications that one do to perform an easier version of a push up (IE, knees on the ground first). you can use this as a foundation to build up to actual push ups...working your way up to a burpee.

Good luck.

 

[Attitude]

I will try to make my point once more for the sake of education.

I am not sure why you are assuming that push-ups in a workout routine are exclusive of other exercises are a part of a TT players work out regimen?

I dont know either. Probably because i havnt said it that way. I said that pushups are not an effective exercise in developing a better body for TT. And i even explained that extensively.

Push-ups are a key COMPOUND bodyweight exercise. I firmly believe COMPOUND exercises are beneficial for any athlete/non-athlete. When I work out, I will do a set of squats, and then a set of push-ups in between. Other times, I will do my LIFT and then a sprint. This could be considered a high-intensity-interval-training workout. Point being, it's 100% possible to do those exercises that you may believe are more "effective and better suited" for TT but including push ups, if possible, only make that work out better.

Sure you can, but saying that pushups will make every workout a better one is way too general. For example i myself have a very well developed chest due to several years of bodybuilding. So much that it actually hindered my abilities in TT. Integrating pushups into my workout now would not only be useless but could even hurt my progress with everything else in my workouts, simply because it costs energy. Energy i could use for every other exercise that could benefit me more.
The rest of the statements is totally fine and i agree, though i wouldnt programm your workouts the way you do, but i lack information to go into detail here.

upper body strength- while there may be other exercises that build upper body strength, push ups work your chest, shoulder and triceps congruently,

I really would like to know where you read about that. Because these muscels definitly dont activate on the same level, meaning pushups definitly DO NOT work those CONGRUENTLY:

What Muscle Does a Pushup Work?

Looking to learn about pushups? Complete guide including muscles worked for major pushup variations. Plus a pushup programme. Learn more here.

www.characterstrength.co.uk

For more indepth science behind it, you can work with studies like this:

Muscle Activation during Push-Ups with Different Suspension Training Systems

The purpose of this study was to analyze upper extremity and core muscle activation when performing push-ups with different suspension devices. Young fit male university students (n = 29) performed 3 push-ups each with 4 different suspension systems. ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

They give you at least an idea about the concept of muscle activation.

which will lead to greater POWER and STABILITY in your TT movements.

Stability yes, power no, because non of these muscles are used in TT the way they are being used during a pushup, except for maybe the shot Der_Echte mentioned.

core stability- as someone already mentioned, push ups, especially when performed with control, are a great way to engage your core.

Again yes, they at least kinda activate the core muscles, but why do pushups for that, instead of legraises, crunches, planks, hollow body holds, or even situps. It is simply ineffective sticking with pushups for that.
Op asked if his hits will become faster and stronger if he does pushups, and it is misleading and plain wrong to tell him, that it will benefit him in that department.

As someone who has personally sustained several detrimental back injuries, I know all the well that your core is quite literally the core and foundation of your athletic ability. Any exercise that improves your core will in result improve your TT ability.

Most certainly true. But my point is still that pushups are a waste of time, if you have clearly better methods for this.

SHOULDER STABILITY- i put this one in all caps because many table tennis players do suffer shoulder problems. push-ups are one of the best ways to improve shoulder stability/strength and help prevent those cumbersome shoulder injuries.

Then train these shoulders directly. While doing pushups the frontdelts are just a helping muscle group. They are by far not doing the major work here. And please, if you train the shoulders, train them as a whole and not just the front delt. With pushups only you are ignoring completely the middle and rear delts.
Variations like the V-pushup could do the trick, but still lacking the reardelts.

Endurance- push ups are a great way to improve your muscle endurance. having greater endurance results in better performance late into matches/tournaments.

Well as long as you are not magically using your chest muscles to topspin, loop, push, and so on... well i hope you get my point.

And one last information here: I am not hating on pushups in general. I did those thousands of times, because they were needed in covid for me, for the progress in my planches.
And besides that they are a great exercise to develop a decent chest at home without any equipment. On top there are many many variations to change the focus of the exercise.
But is it an effective exercise in a workout focussed around improvement in TT? Then the answer is no.