Forehand warm up takes very long time

I've experienced this exact problem myself. I started playing when I was 9 years old and then I quit at 13. When I started playing again at 18, I have this problem of forehand warming up taking too long. It was so embarrassing. My motion is really bad, I either drove it into the net or drove it off the table, it looked like I never played table tennis before. After at least 10 mins or 15 mins, it came back to normal and I could drive the ball consistently with good technique. The problem lasted for almost 2 years before I got over it. I'm pretty sure it's a mental problem because I knew how I should do it, but somehow my brain and muscle chose to do it incorrectly.

From my experience, it's due to the rotation of the forearm and wrist, if you have this problem, try keeping your arm and wrist stable, not too relaxed, not too firm, and use mainly the lower body and shoulder rotation to drive, when you get the feel, you can start using your arm more. Don't forget to breath out when you contact the ball, it will help you relax.

I had the same issue. I think mainly mental, which causes physical lock up on FH side. Although I think the lock up is mainly on lower body, so try immediately to be in good form on FH, bend your knees, active feet, do the rotation from bottom to up, and just think you can drive back the ball.

BH seems to be 'easier' as in warm up it involve less the body, and possibly just the forearm. So I had to start with BH to 'loosen' up, then start looping on FH side which causes the 'feel' of the ball to come back and the stroke movement on FH side to come back, then I can start FH drive.
I suggest to just start as if you can already do the stroke, and you know you can do it, focusing on the good form of the stroke, upper and lower body. Warm up properly to help loosen up.



Edited by cmba_x - 11/09/2016 at 2:42am

There is a link on Larry's page to one of the best vids to see bounce timing in action. 

Larry Hodges, who posted above as larrytt, has a blog entry today about shoulder rotation on FH hit and loop, and as usual linked to some cool videos.  One you may want to watch is William Henzell's TTedge video on FH counterhit.  

Have you seen any video of yourself warming up badly and then again after you get it together?  Maybe seeing what you are doing would help.

I am going to sound like a broken record but my 02 is that your timing is off because of the technique change. Also in order to know that you are executing your new stroke mechanic you are likely taking more deliberate control of your arm which leads to a lack of fluid movement. This means your attention is "inside" your body instead of "outside" your body. I would suggest you relax and focus on the ball more. Move your attention to an external point of focus. You need to make sure you actually see the ball.

So I younger low level player using tenergy, who trains with 38 mm balls on some days, who recently changed his forehand Technique, then wonders why it takes a little while longer to warm up

If it is only a week and a half, just play through it and the problem will probably fix itself.  It sounds to me like you just need to relax.  When you warm up, try to make your mind blank or think about something else.   

I too think it's mostly related to changing your technique. You're always going to get worse before you get better as you adapt and ingrain the new stroke.

I used to get this sometimes. Funny thing is, it only happens when you train a lot. I feel it is some sort of mental block, but it is definitely in your head not your equipment. 

debraj wrote: i had exactly same problem like you many times. my hitting partner would get pissed and i would get embarrassed.... it always turned out to be 1 of these 2 things: 1. racket head heavy with rubbers (80% time) 2. rubbers too old, need replacement (20%) Now here's the trick. If it is number 1, put some weight below your racket... may be stick a rubber grip with some overhang below handle...or stick a penny below the handle...or use lead tape...or reduce top rubber weight. Voila! let me know how it goes. :)

murraylp2 wrote: Hello, -Never had problems warming up before but when I went to warm up on day, for the first minute i literally couldnt hit the table (only with forehand, backhand is fine), my arm was not at all fluid and my motion was so bad that the ball would go straight up in the air and nowhere near the table.

I should probably also add that currently the only way i can warm up is by:

larrytt wrote: this isn't as rare as you'd think. There's a good chance the root of the problem is either your grip or ready stance. The grip might have been rotated slightly off, or the thumb in the wrong position, or something like that. If the stance, you might be standing too straight, feet too close together, or something related to that. If the grip or stance are off, everything in between can get twisted out of whack, and so the stroke feels wrong and the stroke inconsistent. Get the feel of your grip and stance right and everything will likely fall into place.  -Larry Hodges

 some good advice there, it also depends what the other player is doing some test out your cross over and wider shots

murraylp2 wrote: Hello, -Never had problems warming up before but when I went to warm up on day, for the first minute i literally couldnt hit the table (only with forehand, backhand is fine), my arm was not at all fluid and my motion was so bad that the ball would go straight up in the air and nowhere near the table. - For the last few weeks I have been suffering from this, forehand takes 10 minutes to even become "decent" and way longer to become fluid. -It is proving to be a major problem for me. Any tips of how I can fix this or how this has suddenly happened? -Also I am only 15 years old and been playing for 2 years  Thanks

This isn't as rare as you might think. There's a good chance the root of the problem is either your grip or ready stance. The grip might have been rotated slightly off, or the thumb in the wrong position, or something like that. If the stance, you might be standing too straight, feet too close together, or something related to that. If the grip or stance are off, everything in between can get twisted out of whack, and so the stroke feels wrong and the stroke inconsistent. Get the feel of your grip and stance right and everything will likely fall into place. 

-Larry Hodges