Improving Without a Table

Of course, the best way to get better at tt is to play tt. But what about all those times when you can't play? Perhaps you can't find a club, or you're too poor, or don't have a partner, or you're recovering from an injury - or maybe you're just at home, feeling bored, wishing there was something you can do to make yourself just a bit better at the sport. So here are a few things that come to mind:

(1) Practice your stroke in front of a mirror. That's fine, I suppose, so long as you already know what the correct stroke looks like. This activity might give you notice of any of the obvious flaws in your stroke. Of course, all those minute (yet important) adjustments that need to be made during practice are impossible. It's like learning to swim by waving your arms about in the air. Better than nothing.

(2) Cross train. Though it won't improve your technique, it'll definitely make you a better tt player.  Many people don't feel comfortable staying crouched for long periods of time - and their legs simply aren't powerful enough to propel them quickly enough to cover the wide angles. Some wonderful exercises for table tennis: Front squats @ 85 - 90% of you 1 rep max. Bulgarian Squats @ 85 - 90% of you 1 rep max. Lunges @ 80% of you 1 rep max. Box jumps. The Clean and the Snatch. Uphill Interval Sprints - Sprint up a hill, jog for a minute, repeat.

(3) Hit against the wall or bounce the ball up and down on your paddle. I suppose this might help to develop basic hand-eye coordination. Adding spin to the ball while bouncing it might help with your "touch".

I would like some suggestions!

Ther have been studies done (I don't know how outcomes were measured) which suggested that in some sports, visualisation of playing the sport produced an improvement almost as good as actually playing. I don't suppose it does anything for muscle memory though unless they can visualise too. So any spare time you have, sit visualising shots and run through practice routines in your mind etc. Sounds much less tiring to me but not as much fun as playing.