Players benefit most from their training when it is done regularly and with a focus.
Training like a maniac for a week and then not touching your bat for a month will only have minimum benefits for your game. Similarly, training only once every month will mean that you will find it difficult to improve. If you train 40 hours a week and 30 of those are poor quality then your are probably going backwards rather than forwards.
Some players find it difficult to see the link between training and results. I want you as a player to not be too discouraged or encouraged by short term results. If you train well for a week or two and then have a bad result or conversely, if you don't train for a week and have a good result you may have a distorted view of the value of training. It is easy to be influenced by these short term results. You need to see training and improvement as long term activities. By long term, I mean at least a year.
You need to be able to get your 10,000 hours up before you can expect to be World Class. If you can achieve that then you will certainly see improvements in your game. We are often distracted by the short term variations in our form. I remember as a player once having a bad patch of form and going to see a senior player and saying, "I don't know whether to increase or decrease my training". Her reply was, "why not maintain the same?" If your planning is good and your goals are set then the short term fluctuations will seem less critical.
It is crucial that you come to realise the importance of regular training for yourself, now matter what level of player you are or your aspirations. We all want to improve our game! So how much is enough? That is an interesting question. This is totally dependent on the player and their stage of development. A young player of 12 to 16 who is a student and lives within walking distance of their club, with a lot of time would be able to train more hours than a 25 year old who has just started a new job. Also an older player who has trained hard for many years as a junior may not need as many hours on the table to ensure that they play their best.
The second important aspect of training is the quality. I find that having a focus for your session can help increase the quality of your training. For example you may have a focus on "Consistency" for today's session. So all the drills that you do will be done slower and with consistency. Tomorrow's training session may be focussing on "Speed". So tomorrow all your drills will be done at a faster pace. The drills from today and tomorrow may even be the same drills just done with a different focus.
We have all been through the session that has become monotonous and boring. This is most evident in a service practice session or a pushing practice session. You may find yourself starting to drift off and think about anything but the skills that you are training. That is the time to stop, have a think about what you are trying to achieve and work from there. Think about your goals for the month or year and remind yourself why you are hitting table tennis balls. If this doesn't work, it is actually better to stop training than go on hitting balls aimlessly.
Focussed quality training sessions are the target.
Posted 9 years ago
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martinand bernard Posted 9 years ago
I am 65 years old, I train about 10 hours a week all the year, it's difficult to improve a lot but I see most of players about 60 years old they have the same level since 3 or 4 years and me I improve because I work a lot but more slowly as youngs players.what is the most difficult to improve? I have no coach but you!!!! the most important I think is to be relax, cool, the stance too
D K Posted 9 years ago
I am not sure but it do not seem that there is an information about how much traning should a player have.
For example,I have official trainings 1,5 hours 2x a week.
Is it enough?
Probably not.
Besides this,I train (or am trying to train) with other players,outside my club.
But they generally hate playing any drills or anything like this of they are not at theri club's training.
And even some of them reached a very high level in a short amount of time and they have never done any stricter drills (how is it possible?)
These playings are about 2 hours 2x a week.
Is it a correct amount?
Dieter Verhofstadt Posted 9 years ago
In the Go world, there is a forum section where people publicly record their training schedule and results. Maybe this is an idea for pingskills? We can encourage kindred spirits and form a community.
To get things started: my year goal is to become a stable D6 rank (two ranks higher than my current one). Technically I want to improve such that I confidently topspin deep balls into my backhand and can execute spinny short forehand backspin serves. Tactically I want the elbow-followup tactic to become second nature. Strategically I want to be able to quickly change a game plan according to the events.
Month goal: win all my club games against even ranked players, get a few games against D6 ranked and analyze those. Technically, consciously execute backhand topspins against deep balls and use the forehand backspin serve in games. Tactically exploit the elbow tactic.
Next training: backhand topspin (consistency), fh bs serve (spin) in isolation. Next training: bh ts speed and placement. fh bs serve (spin & consistency)
Marco Pastore Posted 9 years ago
Hi Alois, hi all..here is Marco from Italy..
As Alois know, i am currently playing in a tt club since end of September, and i am 44. Until today, i just have play table tennis with friends, and also not often. Now, i am train regulary twice in a week (2h-2.30'h each training session)..but sessions are not organized by trainers..in fact me and others "new" players, are a little bit adandoned...and we just try to make a little consistency, i.e. by playing forehand and backhand counterhits in different positions, or by train with short pushes or topspins..but nobody correct us.
Traniers are also players, and they plays with better players or between them. So i don't see improvement in my table tennis...and i am a little unfulfilled. When i play with better players...no way..they are too strong, and do play too fast for me...i am not able to be focused on what type of shot i have to do..the ball is too fast. When i play with "beginners" (like me), respective levels are unchanged, or less changed: i don't improve (and i loss almost all games..).
So, i need to do training in a different manner, also by myself. Be focused to one goal in each session is a great idea, but i need also someone who tell me what is wrong..
But..i need help !!
Cheers, Marco
Alois Rosario from PingSkills Posted 9 years ago
Hi Dieter,
I guess there is the Vault for your own personal recording of training but a Forum is interesting as well.
eugene lu Posted 9 years ago
Hi alois, I understand the value of training hard but I think my training is less than enough. I just play one day per week because I don't have time. I train for 4 hours per session and sometimes only 2 hours. Of course I follow and train with my coach and play for 2 hours and the other 2 hours for fun. I wonder if this is enough and if it's not enough, what can I do? Is there no future for me?
James Deans Posted 9 years ago
I will be 68 years young in a few months and I love to play. Since retiring nearly three years now, it is my #1 passion. I've played almost all of my life but only regularly these past few years. I play 8 to 10 hours every week against pretty good competition in four locations. I've taken advantage of Ping Skills free advice which is not enough coaching. Next week I'll get a month's worth of Ping Skills 'premium' help. I'm planning to get your recommended RTG paddle in March. I need Alois or Jeff to help me decide what to get. I'm excited. You guys are GREAT.
Jimmy
Farhan Hashim Posted 9 years ago
Yeah that's right I know now. However I see that sometimes making a small adjustment can make a difference like I am trying to master the high toss serve. Before I was using very defensive serves which makes whole of my game defensive. Now I think if I can really develop a good serve that will build my confidence and my game
Jaime Ramos Posted 8 years ago
Good advice thank you. Have a good day
Neal Van Haverbeck Posted 8 years ago
I started playing 6 years ago but I'll be 80 in 3 months so it's a race to improve against the decline of old age. I play every day and have 220 senior club members to play with in 10 different venues. I assemble my own paddles and prefer tacky rubber with 1.9mm sponge and as lite as possible 4.8 to 5.5 oz. preferred. I've been trying to use short pips to counter spin with limited success and I've developed the bad habit of switching between the two types. Probably not a good idea.
We help each other a lot and I have a robot at home plus I train with another player regularly. I very much appreciate your video tips but I can't do it the way you two do. I plan to continue playing as long as my creaky old bones will permit.
Thank for being there,
Neal Van Haverbeck
Timmy Lundberg Posted 8 years ago
I never seem to improve. I've lost all hope of improving.
I either only play with worse people (which in hand, makes me worse) OR, I play with people who are better than me. Which makes me feel really bad, and I don't get any better.
It alternates between those two types of opponents. I can't find someone who is equal to me.
I have to train with different partners every time i go to my club to train (i'm 15 years old, and our club has lots of different 10 - 13 year olds that i have to face) and the training i do there doesn't make a difference, because i win 99% of the time over most of the people in my club.
I have asked my trainers to move me "up" within the different groups, but I'll have to wait
see until next saturday.
I played with some people that i thought i was equal to today, but i just did alot worse and they won over me over and over until i finally gave up on playing table tennis. (First time i actually gave up on playing EVER.) I usually just try to keep playing and it'll get even more fun, but i realized today that i only will get worse at table tennis if i keep playing with those people who are better than me and those who are worse than me.
I want to talk to my trainers alot more and i want to make friends in the club, but i have a hard time socializing and i can't connect with people.
Tony Ping Posted 8 years ago
Hi Alois
i was just wondering when you said 10,000 hours to be world class level, does that include the tornamants and matches ? Also how many hours would be required to start winning games?
plz reply thx
Marina De Maesschalck Posted 8 years ago
It is wise to set goals in order to be able to focus on what to train for.
I have so many things to improve... starting out with small steps is a good plan!
I will work on my forehand and concentrate on my movement.
:)
john gallagher Posted 7 years ago
Hi, I have been looking for this very idea T.T. training because I know that it works. When I was a Young man I studied and was studying a musical instrument I found at time it was very frustrating, it seemed that I practiced a particular playing skill and the harder I tried I gradually got worse and worse. (I was doing about eight hours a day back then) and then, all of a sudden I found that I could do it and never had to think about that skill again. That happened with all the varous skills that I needed to become a muiscian. I am now 77 years of age and I have played a little in the past but not to at all high level, About a year or eighteen months ago I decided to join a club just for the fun. I train quite often and find that, like music I gradually get worse and worse and then suddenly! just like in music all those years ago I move forwards. Long may it continue. John
Rohan Keogh Posted 7 years ago
That's exactly how my golf training and improvement went too John and if that's how it works for me in TT too then I'm with you - long may it continue :)
Paul Griz Posted 5 years ago
Thanks! I needed this today after having a lousey 4 hour practice after a two day break.
Good to know there is still hope after feeling like I went backward in my skill sets.
John Pagett Posted 3 years ago
John Pagett
Hi guys in these covid times l practise alone with a robot practise partner 20 about 2hrs a day I have about 30 drills that l swap about to keep it interesting
It would be useful to have a coach watch me to advise on improvements I could make but that will have to wait your articles have been brilliant thanks
Manfred Rolfsmeier Posted 1 year ago
Right you are Alois. But after all these great recommendations I´m still missing something and that´s the right training partner. Maybe you can find me one, I´d prefer a tall Tai-Chi master with elegant movements:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbmpvCpkb48