Table Tennis is currently one of the commonly played sports in the world. It is a sport which either involves two or four players holding rackets, where they hit a ball forth and back across a table. The game of table tennis takes place on a hard table which is partitioned into two equal sides by a net.
Not all Table Tennis players are aware of the fact that the nutrition affects the performance in the long run. If you are keen on improving your fitness as a table tennis player, then nutrition is a key factor which must be carefully sorted out. Great athletes who are always in shape would always credit this to their observed good nutrition. They watch their diet and take foods which are instrumental to their sport.
Energy building foods:
Table tennis might not be an all-around movement game like basketball or football, this does not still mean that it is not a stressful game. For the aforementioned game, there is always an opportunity to relax even while the game is in play. However, when it comes to table tennis, you always have to be on the lookout and movements are always on impulse. The body needs a great deal of energy to perform properly to this effect. To achieve this, the diet of a table tennis player has to contain about 70% of carbohydrate which would be stored as glycogen in the body. Recommended carbohydrate sources for table tennis players include potatoes, brown rice, oatmeal, whole wheat pasta, wheat meal and almonds.
Lean muscle builders:
While working on keeping your body in shape, there is also the importance of keeping your body in check. A table tennis player needs to ensure that overlooked decisions such as the weight of the paddle counts. A paddle which is light-weighted would lessen the chance of a player getting easily tired after a long game. On the other hand, a player with big arms would find swinging a problem, and this would consume more energy and eventually lessen the stamina of the player. So in this case, it is recommended that 20% of the calories consumption should have a protein source. Recommended protein sources include eggs, fish, lentils and nuts.
Easily digestible foods:
Some table tennis players have had issues when it comes to losing crucial games due to digestive issues and that can be regarded as a careless act. To avoid this mistake, you need to take foods which would not cause complications for you on the field of play. Some known foods which are common causes of poor digestion are beans and peas, and they should be avoided before a game.
Brain boosters:
One of the benefits of table tennis is the improvement of the brain’s mode of processing and calculations. Taking foods which are good brain boosters are another way of speeding up this benefit. When the brain gets tired, the chances of winning a game are usually low. So to avoid this, foods such as grapes, berries, coconut oil, olive oil, walnuts and eggs are good sources.
Water:
The importance of water cannot be over-emphasized and athletes are always advised to consume a lot of water. Water helps in digestion and the movement of nutrients to the various parts of the body which need them. They also control the body temperature and replace gone body fluids which are usually lost through sweating during a game. Drinking a lot of water can be accompanied by taking fruit beverages which are not known for giving digestive problems.