Tuesday 25th November 2008
I wrote in my last blog update (way back in August 2008) that my table tennis training would have to be put on hold while I traveled overseas to the UK and Western Europe. Now I'm back, and it's time to get busy for 2009!Starting Point
To begin with, I need to take stock of my current situation, so I can start working on my plan for the next 7 months leading up to the Australian Open in July 2009.
Physical Fitness
This is a bit of a mixed bag at the moment. I was worried about putting on weight while travelling, and I had actually put on about 3kg in the first 2 months, while in the UK, putting me back up to 86kg (189.5 pounds). Not good! But when I hit western Europe my appetite dropped off (maybe the stress of travelling in non-English speaking countries?), and in the next 5 weeks I dropped to 79kg (174 pounds). This wasn't ideal either, because along with some bodyfat I've also lost a fair bit of muscle as well. Still, I'm around 12-13% bodyfat now, which is a definite improvement over the 93kg and roughly 25% bodyfat I had at the beginning of March, so I guess I can't complain.
Along with the drop in muscle, I've also lost a bit of my aerobic fitness as well. Although I did a lot of walking around in Europe, it's not the same as a proper training regime. I have done a couple of aerobic sessions since returning home and it is obvious that I've got some work to do to get back into shape physically.
So what I need to do over the next 2-3 months is get rid of the last of my excess bodyfat, while also building up my muscles a bit. I'm going to ease into my training - this week I'm aiming for only 1 hour of walking aerobics per day, just to break my body back in gently. If I feel up to doing a bit more I'll do it, but 1 hour is all I'm aiming for. Then next week I'll add in an afternoon session of maybe 30-45 minutes, and see how that goes. I'll monitor my heart rate in the morning to make sure I'm not overtraining, and slowly build back up to the 3-4 hours a day I was doing back in July. The main thing is not to rush it, and give myself time to adjust.
On-Table Training
This coming year I want to change my usual on-table training routine to incorporate the lessons I learnt in 2008. In a nutshell, I need to be doing the things that a defensive player should be doing, not an attacker's routines! So this year I'll be doing the following:
- Change my mindset - I need to train like a defensive player, and use the correct defensive tactics during my matches. No more trying to be another Joo Se Hyuk!
- Use more simple, fixed defensive drills to fully groove my chopping techniques. I'm going to stick with my Tackiness Chop 1.0mm for the time being, and really try to develop my ability to vary the spin on my chop from a float all the way to a heavy backspin.
- Do more practice of my return of serve - I have not done enough of this in the past.
- Do more service practice - I have never really done enough of this either!
- Improve my footwork and stance - once I get my fitness back, I need to work on getting a wider stance and maintaining a forward lean, even when moving backwards into my defensive position. My defensive footwork could use some brushing up as well.
- Keep working on grooving my forehand loop technique - I have to make sure I use my knees to adjust my height, and stop dipping my right shoulder during my backswing.
- Sharpen up my push from over the table, using both my inverted rubber and my long pips.
- Do more work on my mental game - even though I'm a firm believer in the value of mental training, I'm not giving it the time and effort it deserves.
- I will make more use of multiball (once my fitness is back), in order to increase the intensity of my on table sessions. At my age, I need to train more intensely for shorter periods, so multiball is a great way to get more work done in a shorter time.
