I've recently bought this AT800 DF which is Head Heavy. I've played with a head light racquet for 4 years (Forza Titanium Tech 900), and in the 45 mins I played with the new AT800, my arm started to hurt! Is it normal that your arm starts to hurt when you switch from head-light to head-heavy racquets? Any suggestions how I can avoid this the next time I play?
yes it is normal ... maybe its due to the long years that you have used a head light racket ... Sudden change to a head heavy racket would cause your arm to hurt ..
yes, i believe it is normal. dont think theres any way to avoid it, just need to use it more often so u get used to it . but IMO AT DE isnt that head heavy.
It doesn't have so much to do with the head heaviness, but more so the stiffness of the racket. Armortec 800 is a very stiff racket, and light, therefore you will a lot more vibrations coming from it. I haven't used the other racket you mentioned, but I would venture to guess it is much more flexible than your new armortec. Also, jumping up in tension can cause more shock to your arm. Give it some time, and rest, and you will get used to it Hope this helps
really stiffer = more vibrations? my stiff 3U Ti-10 vibrates much, much less than my flexible 4U ISO-TiSP SR. in fact the ISO gives my joint pain after just a while using it.
Try to relax your swing and grip abit more. The AT 800 is not an easy racquet to use. Usually the stiffer the racquet, the more you have to compensate for the shocks of hitting the shuttle. Mis-hits tend to amplify the shocks more and over time your joints will hurt if you don't adjust your swing.
Perhaps the head heaviness is trying to "correct" your stroke? I find that players who start off with head light rackets tend to be able to get away with all sorts of shot techniques, sometimes sloppy ones-- since a head light racket is more responsive to your maniuplations and quicker in general, people tend to be able to hit from all sorts of angles. It lets people get away with sloppy footwork, when for example the bird gets behind you or far to your side, because they can still sorta "hook" some wrist power into the shot. But with head heavier rackets, people are forced to use more proper strokes-- they're slower to initiate into motion and the follow through has more momentum, so your range of motion is relatively limited comapred to a head ehavy racket. Perhaps, being used to a light racket (which can use wrist power to fire shots from many angles), you're attempting to use the same kind of stroke technique on a head heavy racket-- the problem is that since the head heavy racket won't allow you to use shoot from those angles, and thus, you're feeling that extra strain for startup swing and extra strain for follow through is jerking your swing into your shoulder. I've known a few people who had this kind of problem (when switching to head heavier rackets). Though it is common, it's something that you should correct (or improove) your technique to alleviate.