Proposal of Training ProgramFor Table Tennis Players

Project Done By Loh Zheng Yi 3I316, Ng Boon Hian 3I3 and Lim Jun Weng 3I315

PBL1/7/2010

CONTENTIntroduction

Jargon and Techniques

Grips

Rules, Scoring and Proceedings

Physics behind the game

Human Physique

Training Program

Diet

Physical Aids

Total Cost

INTRODUCTION

For this 2012’s Olympics, the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) hopes to bag a medal in 1 sports field. Thus, for this report, we will be providing a detailed and meticulous report on the table tenis category to equip and improve the skills of athletes and to come up with a thorough and conclusive plan.

INTRODUCTION TO TABLE-TENNIS*

Table Tennis is based on the game Tennis. In place of a court, it is played on a table that measures 2.74m (9 ft) by 1.525m (5 ft), with a 15.25cm (6 inch) - high net.

Players hit the ball across the table, to bounce on the other side of the net. They score a point if their opponent is unable to get the ball back in play, or allows it to bounce more than once.

At the Olympic Games, matches are played over a maximum of seven games, with 11 points required to win a game (with a lead of 2 points). Team events matches are played at the best of 5 matches (4 singles and 1 doubles). Players and Teams progress through knock out rounds in four events: Women’s Singles, Men’s Singles, Women’s Team and Men’s Team.

(extracted from 2012 London Olympics site)

JARGON AND TECHNIQUES

2 Bats + 1 Ball + 1 Net + 1 Table + 2 Players = Table Tennis

There are grips and techniques in table-tennis. There are 6 grips Seemiller grip, V grip, pistol grip, hammer grip, shakehands grip and penhold grip. Of these 5 grips, shakehands and penhold are the more common and elite grips and the other 3 are relatively newer grips.

175km/hour is a good speed for a top player although the speed is affected by air resistance. Due to gravity, the ball will drop as it flies over the net. With this speed and hitting the ball at net level, it is impossible for the ball to be hit over to the opponent’s court.

Chop – Used to counter Top-spin. Defensive technique

Crossover point – a point where the player cannot effectively use a forehand or backhand to counter.

Topspin – a technique used to deliver the in an arc over the net. Topspin is used to bring the ball down more quickly besides gravity. The ball is hit harder but still lands on the table. Arms are at 90 degrees for this spin.

Backspin – Defensive technique to return the top spin. Causes the ball to arc and make it drop slower than by gravity alone.

Push – Common technique – not forceful but for defending. Not employed for competitions

GRIPS

Shakehands grip (shallow)

For this grip, 3 fingers are wrapped around the bottom of the paddle and the thumb around the other side. Index finger is placed along the backside of the paddle. This grip is quite loose and allows for easy change in angle to hit the ball. Forehand and Backhand hits are also easy. Power from wrist can also be used to hit. However, there is crossover point where either forehand and backhand cannot be properly used to hit the ball.

Advantage

- Power of wrist- Easy adjustment of angle- Increased amount of power and spin

Disadvantage

- Crossover Point

Shakehands grip (deep)

For this grip, the same concept of a shallow shakehands grip is applied too. However, the hand is pushed upwards nearer the bat. It lets the user have more control over the paddle but wrist flexibility is removed. This is for precise control but less power. Crossover point too.

Advantage

- Precise control- Easy to use backhand and forehand

Disadvantage

- Crossover point- Less power

PENHOLD GRIP

Split into three types, Chinese, Korean/Japanese and reverse, all are fairly similar. As the name goes, a penhold-like grip is extended on the paddle. It is able to produce a very powerful topspin ball to finish games off. Flexible wrist movement to effectively counter short balls.

Advantage

- Signature powerful topspin to end games effectively- Very flexible movement to counter all balls- No crossover point for Chinese and Korean/Japanese grip

Disadvantage

- Crossover point for reverse hold- Difficult to produce topspin from backhand

RULES AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE SINGLES EVENT GAME

Rules are set by International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) with its headquarters in Switzerland. A committee made up of many other representatives to determine rules and regulations and adjudicate games with their rules.

SIMPLE RULES FOR SINGLES EVENT

- Check whether the game is a best of 5, 7 rounds- Standard win for each round is 11 points with a 2 point lead- Decide who will be serving using guess method- Ball kept in hand of one player and other player guesses which hand ball is kept- Winner gets the right to choose to serve or return first- Ends are switched after each game in the match- After each 2 points, serving is switched to other player- Score begins at 0-0- Service starts with the ball in hand and without using spin- A proper serve is required to start the game- Proper serve has to have the ball bounce on server’s court and then over to opponent’s court- If ball hits net assembly (assembly consisting of clamps and net) or opponent is not ready when ball

is served, it is declared a let by the umpire and the server is warned and to re-serve.- Subsequent lets will result in deduction of the point- During returns, the ball must hit the opponent’s court and not land in one’s court or the point is

deducted

FOR DOUBLES EVENT

- All rules previously remain except for certain circumstances- Players take turns to return the ball- If another player returns when it is not his turn, team loses a point- Ball must be served diagonally during doubles

SUMMARY OF RULES AND SCORING

A point is awarded to one:

- If opponent fails to make a correct service- If opponent fails to make a correct return- If the ball passes over one’s court or line on the board- If opponent obstructs (touches, carries) the ball- If opponent strikes the ball twice consecutively- If illegal side of the paddle is used (paddles will be checked by opponent and umpire before play to

ensure that it is legal on at least one side)- If the playing table is moved by opponent- If opponent or anything he wears touches the playing surface- If a doubles opponent strikes out of sequence

EXPEDITE SYSTEM

Employed after at least 9 points is scored by both players and after 10 minutes time limit

- 13 returns would amount to a win for the receiver

- Each player serves for 1 point until the end of the game

(ITTF Rules)

PHYSICS BEHIND TABLE TENNIS

PHYSICS AND TABLE TENNIS

To play table tennis well, the player must know the basic physics concepts on table tennis. Such concepts will act as his base knowledge for him to build skills on, and are hence extremely important.

POWER, WORK AND ENERGY

Table tennis requires the player to react extremely fast in a set amount of time, notably in the time the ball has in contact with the paddle. In this time, the player has to deliver the largest amount of power to the ball in that fixed amount of time. In physics, the equation for power is

When time is fixed, the only way is to increase the amount of work done. As for that...

Hence, the player must be able to deliver a higher force to the ball to increase its force of motion. It is nearly impossible to increase the distance unless the player can manage to utilize the magnus effect or make the table wider, which is illegal.

To increase the force, the player must make the ball accelerate at a faster rate, as increasing the mass of the ball would be illegal.

When the ball is currently heading towards the player's paddle, it is decelerating due to air resistance, causing the initial velocity to drop below zero (means the ball is moving backwards which is wrong) . To increase final velocity, the player must hit the ball hard to give it that velocity. Such increase in velocity will also cause the ball to gain a higher kinetic energy.

FORCES OF FLIGHT

For any projectile moving up into the air, there are 4 forces acting on it.

- Weight is gravity at 10m/s and depends on mass of ball

- Drag is air resistance opposed to flight direction

- Lift is dependent on speed of rotation of spinning ball

- Thrust is dependent on the force pushing the ball through the air

NEWTON’S LAWS OF MOTION Newton's 2nd law of motion states that when a resultant force acts on an object of constant mass,

the object will accelerate the move in the direction of the resultant force. When the player hits the table tennis ball with the paddle, the force by the paddle causes the table tennis ball to start moving through the air. Due to air resistance, the table tennis ball decelerates at a constant rate. When the other player hits the ball with the paddle, the ball changes direction and starts to accelerate through the air until its force is equivalent to air resistance. When that happens, the ball will decelerate continuously until its velocity reaches 0 or when the other player hits it with the paddle.

Newton's 3rd law states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Hence even if the paddle was not moving, the moment the tennis ball hits it, it will rebound back. This is also the case for tennis balls hitting the table.

MAGNUS EFFECT

The Magnus effect is a phenomenon that occurs when an object spins rapidly through a fluid (such as air). Such a phenomenon creates a magnus force in the area of low pressure, that is perpendicular to the force of motion.

Imagine a table tennis ball flying through the air. As the table tennis ball spins on its rotation axis, it carries a layer of air with it due to its rough surface. This layer of air gets swept away, but it happens on different fronts. Air at the front is carried to the back of the table tennis ball, while air at the back is carried to the front of the table tennis ball. However, air being swept towards the front from the back acts against the force of motion, causing it to slow down and stop moving. This creates an area of high pressure below the tennis ball. While

this happens, air being swept to the back acts with the force of motion, thus it pushes the air above the tennis ball along with it, creating an area of low pressure. This pressure indifference causes a force of lift to be created, similar to that experienced on airplanes, towards the site of lower pressure.

In table tennis, this effect is often encountered and can be used to the players advantage to launch an unexpected curved ball. It also allows for a variety of spins that can be used on the ball. Table tennis paddles are often equipped with rubber padding to allow the ball to be gripped so that such spins can be performed.

PROJECTILE MOTION

A projectile is defined as an object that is propelled into space by the exertion of a force. In table tennis, the table tennis ball will be in projectile motion the moment the paddle hits it. In projectile motion, a table tennis ball has 2 forces of motion; one downwards (weight) and one in the direction the table tennis ball was hit (towards the other player). Since the two forces do not affect each other, the velocity of the table tennis ball with a forwards direction does not affect the velocity caused by G.

Hence, a ball that is dropped from a certain height above the table will reach the tabletop at the same time as a ball that was also dropped from that height, but accelerated towards the right. With this knowledge, players can estimate the amount of time it takes the ball to hit the table simply by dropping the ball from a specific height, such as the height of his paddle, to help him to decided on certain strategies. Hence,

(Horizontal Velocity stays the same)

(Horizontal Distance = Horizontal Velocity X Time)

(Vertical Displacement)

(Vertical Velocity)

Note that trigonometry should be used to break up diagonal vectors into horizontal and vertical vectors.

But this also helps to simpilfy things. During a match, the ball will often travel in a parabola curve until it hits the table or the opponent's paddle. If a player does not know about projectile motion, he will find it very hard to estimate the place where the ball lands. But knowing that G does not affect the distance the table tennis ball travels horizontally, he can estimate the place where the table tennis ball lands with this simple formula.

Knowing that u is negative and that time is the estimated time it takes for a ball to fall from the height of the paddle onto the table top, all he needs is to use the right amount of force to control the variable a. With much practice and accurate estimation, a player might just be on his way to winning.

HUMAN PHYSIQUE IN TABLE TENNIS

MUSCLES AND TABLE TENNIS

Other than being physically fit, professionals need to train their muscles in their arm, notably the leg muscles, shoulder muscles, chest muscles, back muscles and arm muscles, and get them to work in balance.

The performance of muscles such as pectoralis major are crucial to the performance of a table tennis player. In addition to the pectoralis major, muscles such as the quadriceps (femoris muscles) and the abdominal muscles are also important.

These muscles must be trained to peak performance to be strong, flexible and fast, for a player to attain peak performance.

HUMAN METABOLISM

Table tennis requires large amounts of energy, which can be explained in terms of metabolic equivalent, basal metabolic rate and lean body mass.

Lean body mass is the mass of a subject's body, minus the mass of his fats. Therefore, it is also the mass of the organs, skeletons, systems, cells, etc without the fats. This lean body mass can be used to calculate the basal metabolic rate through Cunningham's formula, also known as

BMR is expressed in kilocalories (kcal) per day. Basal metabolic rate calculates the amount of energy required for metabolism that is needed to keep the subject alive without the addition of any extra energy requirement that comes from playing certain sports or other activities. Such a calorie requirement constitutes about 70% of a human's daily enery requirement, the others being the energy needed for digestion and daily physical activity. These requirements are fulfilled by the breakdown of carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

Carbohydrates are normally the first to be metabolized to produce energy, followed by proteins and fats. While carbohydrates are enough to maintain much of BMR needs, a gruelling session or a continuous match of table tennis that lasts for 2hours or more will require the body to tap into its fat stores, after most carbohydrates have been burned away.

If little fats were available, proteins would then be metabolized. If large amounts of proteins were to be metabolized, this could cause severe degradation in various organs of the human body because cells are made of proteins. Therefore, a nutrient diet must always contain all three components - carbohydrates, proteins and fats. This would be further emphasized on in the other section.

The Metabolic Equivalent is actually a set of numbers ranging from 1 to 17. These numbers are multiples of the BMR and is used to calculate the energy required for certain activities. Hence, 1 MET would be equivalent to one BMR. The MET value of table tennis is roughly 4.5, hence it would be classified as a moderately intensive activity. With this calculation, an estimate of the energy required for table tennis play can be obtained, and this also sets a baseline for the diet.

However, do note that such values are just indicative averages, and may not be applicable to every player.

ANAEROBIC METABOLISM

Anaerobic metabolism powers up muscles used for short, intensive burts or twitches, while aerobic metabolism substains long exercises such as marathons, etc. Such fast reflexes are hardly uncommon in table tennis, hence it is important that players train up anaerobic muscle systems to allow them to perform the fast and intense hit they need to execute in that crucial microseconds the paddle touches the ball.

Anaerobic metabolism makes use of Adenosine Triphosphates and Creatine Phosphates, both of which release a large amount of energy upon metabolization in the lack of oxygen. Muscle cells contain ample supplies of both to last about 30s, but it is impossible to substain this metabolism. After such chemiclas are used up, the body undertakes glycolysis to break down glucose and glycogen via a series of chemical reactions that result in the release of energy.

However, such metabolism creates a chemical called lactate, which causes muscles to be tired. Hence, anaerobic metabolism cannot be substained for long, but its effectiveness can be increased via anaerobic training (training that lasts less than 2mins) to allow the body to better tolerate large amounts of lactate.

TRAINING

Table tennis is quite physically intensive. Besides having only 0.5 seconds to respond to a ball that can reach up to speeds of 200km/h, the player must stay clear in his mind and counter the opponent's tactics with fast reflexes and a large force. Such requirements require the player to be well trained should he be playing in tournaments. Different training suits different levels of play.

MODERATE TRAINING Goal - Improve Stamina

Target - Casual Player

Moderate training is enough for players who play table tennis casually. Despite this, itcan still be intensive but offer enough training for the casual table tennis player. Note that players should know the sport before this - that includes the biochemical requirements, rules, and tactics. The player must at least be able to employ basic strategies against his opponent before doing such training.

This stage of training is focused on building up the player's stamina, such that he does not faint in the middle of a match. Hence, this stage will involve a lot of aerobic exercises - such as swimming, cycling, walking, running, etc, for 20-40 mins in a week. Basic exercises such as pushups, crunches, jumps, are also applicable.

(Jumps)

Moderate-Intense Training

Goal - Improve Strength, Flexibility and Speed

Target - Competitive Player

In this stage, the goal is no longer to increase stamina, it is to develop muscles that can deliver the hit with a bang. To accomplish this, the player should undergo weight training once a week, working out all the muscles that are used in table tennis. Muscles include

Leg muscles (7 sets)

Chest, lower back, upper back, abdominal muscles, carves

Biceps, triceps

Below is a list of popular weight training exercises. Each exercise should be done 24 times and the whole procedure should take about an hour. Note that this is not plain body building - the ultimate objective of this

training is to get the muscles to be in sync with each other, as well as creating balance within the body. Therefore, multi-joint exercises like the barbell full squat and gorilla chin are good exercises. Another way to train is to simply use dumbbells or plain weights.

Muscles Trained Exercise Recommended Picture Illustration

Quadriceps Barbell Full Squat

In this exercise, a bar rack is placed onto a person's back and then he has to squart down at a 90-100 degree angle without actually sitting on the floor.

To allow for safety, it is recommended that the placing of the barbell on the person is done on a squat rack.

Legs should be positioned shoulder-width apart and a straight back must be maintained. Try to reach the ideal angle of 90 degrees.

Pectoralis Major Inclined Dumbbell Press

In this exercise, dumbbells are lifted and lowered. This strains and trains the pectoralis major muscle, and is performed similarly to pushups (except its the other side now)

An inclined chair has to be used, while dumbbells should be lifted one at a time to ensure safety.

To end the exercise, place the dumbbells on the thighs then on the floor.

BicepsEZ-Bar Curve

In this simple exercise, an Ez-bar (or a small barbell) is lifted up with the hands while the person is standing straight.

At the peak of lifting, push the bar towards the body and squeeze the biceps.

Other weights can be used if the player deems it to be suitable.

Triceps V-bar attachment

This exercise is used to train the triceps. Place both hands on the pulley handle (v-bar) and lean slightly forward. Then, push down on the handle until the arms are parallel to the body. Next, relax the tricep muscles slowly until they move back to their original position.

Note - The back should be straight.

Abdominals Gorilla Chin

This exercise is adapted from the chin-up exercise (or pullup). In this exercise, a person tries to go an extra step further by crunching up his whole body and doing a chinup at the same time

This trains the abdominal muscles, which are crucial to the flexibility of a player

Lower Back Back hyperextension

Using a hyperextension bench, the player should bend forward slowly while making sure that his back is straight, in addition to making sure that the thighs are fully on the widepad. Then, slowly bend back to the previous position

Note - the back should be straight at all times.

Shoulders Reverse Flyers

This exercise is somewhat similar to the inclined dumbdell press, but it is not done in the same way. Firstly, the person must hold the dumbbells such that his arms are perpendicular to the bench, pointing downwards.

Next, move the hands up slowly, until they are pointing outwards, away from each other. Then, slowly move them back into position.

INTENSIVE TRAINING Goal - To Train for peak performance

Target - Tournament Players

This final stage of training consolidates both aerobic and weight training (anaerobic + aerobic training). Combine that with proper planning and you will get peak performance. Henceforth, the key to this stage is to plan carefully before the tournament/olympics start.

There are four parts to this training

Off-season (10 wks)

Pre-season (8 wks)

In-season (4 wks)

Rest (2 wks)

OFF/PRE SEASON

In these two seasons, the player will have to train a certain number of sets of each type of muscle. Leg muscles should come first, followed by shoulder, chest and arms. He should attempt to challenge his limit by doing a second set with more weights after the first set. The amount of repititions of the first set to be done should be defined by him.

In addition, aerobic training should also be done to maintain the stamina gained previously. Such trainings should be carried out as much as weight training. In addition, the player should play the game everyday to practise his strategies and skills. However, note that overtraining could disrupt the whole program, so the player should try and only train at most one body part in weight and aerobics.

Note - common injuries occur in shoulders, upper back and lower back.

During the Pre-season, the player should try and decrease the muscle movement time, hence he should do weights training with special modifications so that his muscles perform at maximum power during contractions and release slowly during relaxation. Try aerobic exercises at maximum capacity in the amount of time required for 1 table tennis match.

IN-SEASON

In this season, train only once a week. However, be at the field more often.

REST

At this point, do not go into complete 100% rest. This will cause you to lose all the stamina/power built up over 18 weeks. Instead, do regular exercises at your own pace and play a sport of your choice.

This concludes the training program.

DIET

As table tennis is a highly competitive sport in which players will use up large amounts on energy and water, it is important to ensure that players receive adequate water and carbohydrates during practices and competitions. However, vitamins and other minerals are also important as they help to repair and maintain tissues and build muscles. Thus, it is important for table tennis players to maintain a balanced diet, especially during a competition as the athlete needs to stay healthy for the duration of the competition which can last up to 10 days.

GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MAKING A DIET:

1. Eat a variety of foods – combine grains, vegetables, fruits, milk products and meat. This ensures that the players can get all the different types of nutrients they need.

2. Energy intake – energy requirements vary according to age, gender, body composition and type of activity related to intensity and volume.

3. Carbohydrate consumption – this is the main energy source for Table Tennis athletes. Carbohydrates stored in muscles can be depleted after an hour, depending on the intensity of the matches, making it important to give the player a constant supply of carbohydrates between matches.

4. Fluids - the need for water increases since players perspire and ventilate. Dehydration can lead to a decrease in performance. Water should not be consumed in excess.

Before competition day, the diet of the player should:

1) Have a high protein content. This is important as this period is where the athlete will receive most of his/her proteins as during the competition, the athlete will have to consume less protein since proteins digest slowly and are not need to produce energy.

2) Provide large amounts of a wide variety of nutrients so as to maintain athlete's health and help to build up tissues before competition.

Recommended foods for this period include:

Milk Soy Milk Eggs Cheese Yogurt Peanut Butter Lean Meats, Fish, and Poultry* Beans, Tofu, Lentils, and other Legumes* Grains, including bread and pasta* Nuts and Seeds

*Relatively lower oil/fat content and are thus highly recommended.

During competition:

Competition time is the time to really watch the diet of the athlete and during this period of time which is filled with intensive matches, athlets diet should be:

1) Low fat/protein, since both digest slowly and proteins are not needed as fuel. More worth it to consume larger amounts of carbohydrates

2) Foods should contain at least 60% carbohydrates

3) Sufficient water as large amounts of water will be lost through pespiration. Best to consume mineral water as they have the extra advantage of providing minerals.

RECOMMENDED FOODS:

Best choices for breakfast meal:

-Cereal – with low-fat milk-Yogurt – low-fat, plain or fruit-Fruit-French toast and/or pancakes – with no added butter or margarine-Egg dishes – not fried

-Ham or steak – if lean/not fried (small amounts)-Potato – not fried-Rice – not fried-Noodles, Pasta-Toast – with limited amounts of butter/margarine-Muffins – try jam or jelly, not butter-Beverages – Athletes should drink plenty of fluid!-Bottled water-Fruit juice – fresh, canned, cartons-Skim milk, Ovaltine

Best choices for lunch or dinner meals:

-Fruit and vegetables, fruit and vegetable juices – fresh, canned, cartons-Soups – broth-based-Meat, Fish, Poultry – broiled, roasted, baked, barbecued, poached (reasonable portions;trimmed fat; skin from chicken removed)-Cold cuts – turkey, chicken, lean beef, lean ham (reasonable portions)-Meat alternatives – beans, peas, and lentil dishes if these are familiar foods; gas produced when these foods are not part of the usual diet can cause discomfort.-Vegetables – steamed, boiled, baked-Potatoes – baked, boiled, mashed (without butter/margarine)-Rice – steamed, plain-Noodles – plain-Pasta – plain or tomato or vegetable sauce-Bread – rolls, crackers, all breads-Salads – bean, peeled fresh vegetables, fruit salad, low-fat cottage cheese; (small amount of dressing)-Desserts – fruit, yogurt (low fat), custards, puddings-Cheese – in moderation

To summarise the above, it is best to avoid animal-based foods such as meat and eggs and milk. Foods should contain as little oil as possible. When taking animal based foods, avoid fried food and fatty meat.

Other things to avoid:

Fibre rich foods: whole-grain bread, cookies, and whole-wheat cereals, dried fruits. These stimulate digestion and should be avoided. especially if athlete has diarrhea

Alcoholic drinks: They not only decrease athlete's reaction time, perception and eyesight, but also dehydrates ahtlete. Avoid at all costs.

Gas-producing foods: cabbage, broccoli, onions, and carbonated drinks, make some athletes feel bloated. Coffee, tea, cola, and chocolate may cause diarrhea, which can have a dehydrating effect.

Caffeine: dehydrates athlete.

Basically, do not consume any foods that digest slowly, stimulate digestion or cause dehydration.

Digestion timings(estimate):

Make sure to plan meal times well. Going for a competition with a full stomach is not beneficial to the player and may possibly result in appendicitis.

(1) Allow 3-4 hours for a large meal (approximately 500-800 kcal or more) to digest.(2) Allow 2-3 hours for a smaller meal (approximately 300-500 kcal) to digest.(3) Allow 1-2 hours for a small snack or blender/liquid meal to digest

Things to note:

Water consumption should not exceed water loss(refer to table):

Body Mass(Kg)   Approx. amount of fluid absorbed per hour (ml)

30 300-450

40 300-600

50 500-750

60 600-900

70 700-1050

80 800-1200

90 900-1350

Salts should be taken moderately as they provide minerals.

PHYSICAL AIDS

Table Tennis does not require any specialised gear for the competition. Top athletes don simple bermudas and light-weight clothes to ensure hi-speed and alert movements to block off or strike balls. The main components of table tennis gear are nets, blades, rubber, glue, robots, shoes. This report will discuss the rubber and shoes as the others are more irrelevant in competitions.

GLUE (SPEED GLUE)

In the past 20 years, speed glue has been wildly popular in table tennis. Buying custom rackets with the racket and rubber separately and then applying speed glue gives proven benefits to ball speed, control and movement. Speed glue offers more power and speed to every hit. This process involves applying glue to both sides of the bat and then attaching the rubber. Certain time intervals after sticking the rubber on produces optimal results. After use, the rubber is removed and left to rest to prepare for the next game.

Using Glue has been studied by the ITTF and has recently been curbed in major competitions. Previously, glues contained Volatile Compounds (VOC) and this has been found to be harmful to the environment and the player's health. Thus, it has been banned as of 1 September 2008 for all competitors. Additives and turners and oils are also banned under ITTF. These illegal substances when smearedon the racket can improve performance.

Gluing improves the performance by increasing thickness of bat and the toughness of the surface. This allows for better steer on top of power, speed. It also allows shorthands to turn balls into top spins. Thus, the thickness of rubbers is also limited to 4mm under ITTF.

Speed glue are also used for offensive players only. Thus, if our athlete uses defensive techniques, there is no need for gluing. There are two types of glue - glue sheets and water based glue. Glue sheets are 0.05mm thick and not very popular due to its inflexibility. Water-base glue is more popular.

A new alternative to speed glue is boosters, which is applied to the rubber for multiple layers, after which the rubber is stuck to to blade with normal glue. Boosters inprove the player's handling of spins and the speed of the ball, and are as god as, if not better than speed glue. One downside to boosters is that the effect will wear out after 3 to 4 weeks, though it is cheaper than speed glue which can cost up to $60.

SHOES

For this section, it would be more practical to look at butterfly's table tennis accessory websites as it is based on sole preference of players. All table tennis shoes have the same function - to allow easy movement.

ETC

For gear, 1 highly recommended table tennis equipment comes in the form of the Li-Ning Flame Dragon Competition Shirt, from the table tennis icon Li Ning. It is extremely lightweight and serves its purpose of causing the least interruption to the player's movement. The material of the shirt is 100% polyester and it uses modern-day wicking technology to help transfer your sweat from the inside of the shirt to the outside, where it can dry faster.

Grip rackets can be used to increase athlete's grip on the bat as well, allowing for easier and better control.

COMPRESSION LEGGINGS

For old athletes or for athletes with constant joint and muscle pain, this is the perfect solution. Although a tightening sensation is felt at the start, it graually goes away and does not affect overall performance. It also relieves pains and cramps after prolonged playing.

EXTRA INFORMATION

Rackets now have two colours on them because previously, players had all sorts of rubber surfaces - speedy, smooth, hard, easy-to-spin, etc. This caused confusion to the opponent who would not know what move the other player would use. Thus, colours indicate techniques and help players to be conscious of their opponent's next move.

ESTIMATION OF COST OF PROGRAMME

Training: (WE HAVE OUR OWN GYMS, take in to account diet, equipment)

Equipment: For table tennis, the only equipment required is a paddle, and a good set of table tennis clothing.

COST: Shirt: $40Shorts: $28Balls: $Shoes: $74.3-$95.6Blade: $31-$203.6Equipment - Barbell: $30-40Equipment - Ez-bar: $30-40Equipment - Dumbbell Set: $100-200Rubber: $17.4-$61.6Glue: $9.3-$57.4

Total approximate price for full attire and paddle: $360-$766.2

Diet: Total cost for meals throughout a ten-day long competition: $400-$500

REFERENCES

Exercise Guides. Retrieved July 1 2010, from http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/ C. Lillieroos (n.d.) Strength and Conditioning for Table Tennis. Retrieved July 1, 2010 from

http://www.usatt.org/news1/Champion_Physical_Training.pdf P. Herman (2007) Physics of the Human Body. New York: Springer. Retrieved July 1, 2010

from http://books.google.com/books Rotary Cuff. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved July 1, 2010 from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/rotary_cuff Metabolic Equivalent. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved July 1, 2010 from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/metabolic_equivalent Anaerobic Metabolism. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved July 1, 2010 from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/anaerobic_metabolism Basal Metabolic Rate. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved July 1, 2010 from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/basal_metabolic_rate Rotary Cuff. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved July 1, 2010 from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/rotary_cuff

Khan Academy (producer). 2009. Projectile Motion and Problems (Video Series). Retrieved 1 July, 2010 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcSadoSQhdA