Whether you play doubles or singles, table tennis can be a healthy way to lose fats. In fact, you can enjoy several table tennis healthy benefits by playing a game of ping pong on a regular basis.
Let’s find out what those benefits are.
Does Table Tennis Help Lose Weight?
Table tennis is one of those sports that are entertaining and sometimes addictive. It’s a fun and easy means of burning calories.
Aside from that, the risk of suffering from any form of injuries is significantly lower compared to other games.
On average, a high-speed game can burn up to 270 calories per hour. It even helps you improve your overall reflexes and concentration.
By actively participating in a game of table tennis, you can maintain a healthy cardiovascular system and improve your overall health.
Due to this, table tennis is a fun and exciting means of shedding those extra pounds.
Aside from its effective calorie-burning property, table tennis is also known to offer a wide range of other health benefits such as the following:
1. It Improves Your Mental Acuity
Playing a game of table tennis will help improve your mental acuity. It is because of the game’s nature consisting of quick bursts that require excellent hand-eye coordination.
As you become more experienced in playing table tennis, you will be able to sharpen your mental acuity and reflexes to the point where you can see the ball’s speed, spin, and placement.
These three attributes are crucial in a game of table tennis and experienced players are skilled in creating and solving puzzles that involve the three.
Also Read: 9 Best Ping Pong Tables
2. It Strengthens Your Core Muscles
Table tennis strengthens your core muscles, particularly the ones in the fore and posterior regions of your body.
Since table tennis involves constant and high energy movement, you will be able to strengthen your abdomen and back portion with the lateral twisting of your side abdominal muscles.
Also, striking the ping pong ball with a barrage of quick and controlled bursts will stimulate your shoulders and arms.
Meanwhile, chasing the ball after it lands on your side of the table will exercise your legs and strengthen your joints.
3. It Improves Your Balance
Table tennis helps improve your balance as you master coordinative movements.
As you play a game of ping pong, you will need to maintain an equilibrium posture in order to exert enough force to strike back.
Likewise, maintaining balance is especially important for elder people who have already lost the balance of their body.
They can regain that lost balance by playing table tennis.
4. It Improves Hand-Eye Coordination
With your eyes on the ball and a hand on your racket, the game of table tennis is a natural example of a game that promotes hand-eye coordination.
Moreover, it is considered as one of the fastest sports with a ton of variations to the ball.
It is for this reason why a high level of hand-eye coordination is necessary.
The longer you play table tennis, the more you will be able to develop a heightened hand-eye coordination skill.
Aside from that, it also stimulates mental alertness and fine-tunes your motor skills.
With regular play, you can be able to read the trajectory of the ball and strike it with impressive accuracy.
5. It Improves Mental Awareness
Playing keeps the brain sharp and active, and this is true with ping pong.
According to a report by Alzheimer’s Weekly, patients who suffer from the condition can benefit from playing a game of ping pong on a regular basis.
Several Alzheimer patients were able to experience an increase in their motor skills and mental awareness from playing table tennis.
It has also been found out to increase blood flow to the brain, thereby creating the possibility that it could even prevent dementia.
See also: Best Ping Pong Paddles
6. It’s Easy on the Joints
Despite being a fast-paced game that involves constant movement, table tennis is a game that’s easy on the joints.
As such, you can improve your leg and arm strength without straining your joints.
This is particularly beneficial if you have undergone any surgery on your knee or suffered from ankle pains and backaches.
7. It’s a Good Way to Socialize
Whether you choose to play table tennis at home with your friends or in a local play center, table tennis provides you the opportunity to create bonds with people, particularly if the both of you share the same common goal.
Since ping pong is a game for all ages, both young and old people can play the game at the same time.
Though not directly a health benefit, the fact that you can build healthy and lasting relationships can give you a positive outlook on life.
This, in turn, will help you live a healthy, fulfilling life.
Is Table Tennis Really Good for the Brain?
We’ve already mentioned how playing table tennis regularly can improve your mental health.
However, what exactly happens in your brain when you play? According to research, playing ping pong incites different areas of the brain, including the following:
Memory. High levels of aerobic activity can increase the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, a protein which is known to promote the growth and survival of neurons.
This, in turn, helps ward off diseases that affect brain performance such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
Mood. Table tennis, along with any other aerobic exercises, helps boost your mood.
This is because of the release of neurotransmitters, chemicals which are known to decrease during depression.
Attention. Lastly, increased aerobic exercise will improve your ability to focus and pay attention.
This is definitely what happens when you’re playing table tennis.
Your attention improves dramatically by keeping your focus on the ball and anticipating any succeeding events.
The Bottom Line
Without a doubt, there are many table tennis healthy benefits you can get from playing the game on a regular basis.
As a fast-paced game that requires no physical contact between players, even the elderly can benefit from a game of ping pong.
Overall, the improved levels of mental awareness and physical fortitude attainable are what make the game of table tennis a game for everyone.
