Ballet is good for everyone. Whether you are an office guy, a table tennis player, or any other sportsperson, you will benefit from ballet.
Over the past few years, most athletes have used ballet as a cross-training activity to improve their energy, concentration, and flexibility. Table tennis players can benefit from the immense benefits of ballet. Below are some of the benefits you can gain.
Improved Cognitive Ability
Ballet classes might look slow-paced, but they are more than they seem. Ballets have to repeat a move several only after they are shown once. This requires the utmost concentration. At the same time, ballet has to concentrate on their legs, feet, arms, head, facial emotion, and so many other aspects all at once.
It is challenging to concentrate at first, but with each passing class, your cognitive abilities improve, and you are able to multitask. This will be advantageous in competitive table tennis. The cognitive abilities are ideal for the family or office or competitive table tennis games.
Ballet can also be your release – a place where you come, forget everything else in your life, and immerse yourself in the moves.
Increase Speed
Table tennis is a fast-paced game, and you need to be up to the speed to beat your opponent. Ballet might not be fast-paced, but it works out the muscles you need to work out on ballet and other sports.
As a table tennis player, you will move from one end of the table to the next, sometimes for hours. While at it, you will work out your upper legs, arms, torso, and hips as you strive to hit the ball. You place a lot of stress on your hamstrings, gluteals, and your quadriceps. These are the same muscles worked on in ballet. During ballet movements, you will stretch and elongate the muscles strengthening them and enhancing their flexibility.
The flexibility and strength of your muscles come in handy when you need to play fast in table tennis or any other sport.
Improve Hand and Eye Coordination
With table tennis, your eyes should be on the ball all the time. You, therefore, need to learn to coordinate your eyes and your hands. You can practice coordination in ballet. When practicing different moves, your core will be engaged, your shoulders relaxed, your back straight, and your arms and legs moving with the body’s flow. You still need to maintain a turnout, full leg extension, pointed toe, and move with the music. There is a lot that goes on in ballet that by the time you learn to execute a few moves, your mind and body have a great connection.
Body Strength
Can you survive a few hours playing table tennis? If you can’t, you need enhanced body strength. The leg lifts, the bends, working multiple muscles, and the fast and slow movements all come together to enhance your body strength. The act of balancing in ballet works out your core as you engage the abdominals, glutes, legs, and the back.
Ballet works out the body muscles without the use of weights. This way, it increases your strength when you are playing table tennis.
Increase your Endurance
There is a lot of standing in ballet. Most of the exercises are slow and are only a few minutes, so most of the time, the ballet is standing at the barre, after spending a few hours standing at the barre, your stamina, and endurance at the ping pong table.
There is a lot of repetition of exercises for different muscle groups. If you follow the ballet with an intensive muscular workout, you will have enhanced your stamina a great deal.
Enhance Your Flexibility
One of the main benefits of ballet for everyone is increased flexibility. Most ballet exercises involve stretching out different muscles. After practicing ballet for a few weeks, you will start developing lean muscles. Flexibility is a key ability for every ballet as each move aims for height, extension, and strength.
With increased flexibility, you will have a lower risk of injury when you play ping pong.
Conclusion
Ballet is beneficial as a cross-training activity for most sports, besides table tennis. Instead of doing intensive exercises alone, start with ballet, and then do your reps – this way, you will gain mentally and physically. Better yet, you will gain a new skill while at it because ballet is a skill as it is a form of exercise.
