I love playing badminton but to keep my body strong and stay away from injuries I have to do some strenghtening excersises as well every week. Especially focusing on legs (stabilises the knee), core and shoulders. Earlier I used to go to a gym to do this but I'm lazy and often I was not there for 2-3 weeks and had to start all over again every time. But then I quit the gym and bought myself a kettlebell instead. It only takes about half an hour ones or twice a week to keep your whole body in shape. The thing with kettlebell excersises is that they train your whole body in a very functional way. Another benefit is that it really builds up your stamina. It's a cheap (you can do it at home) and fast way to avoid injuries and build up your overall strenght/stamina. I provided a good link on an example of how it can be done. Of course you can through in some squats, pushups, dips and whatever you feel like in between instead of jumping ropes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grypJo2pUek
I had to google what a Kettlebell was . I might buy a couple as it seems to be only $15ish locally for me at Fitness Depot. Something different from the normal free weights I use.
They're good when you first use them because of the different action to normal free-weights, but eventually they won't have the same effects as they did when you first bought them. I use them with my normal exercise programme and they work alright.
After watching the vid I chose to add kettlebell to my training routine to add some variation. My local fitness center didn't have any skipping ropes... so I opted for some chineese footwork instead of skipping. Works great and a nice break from the usual cross-training, running and weight lifting.
hahaha, been using kettlebells even before i started baddy. Even if you dont have it at your gym you can use a dumbbell for the same exercises. now i use the weight plates as the new ones are covered with rubber and have holes as handle-holds crossfit training is pretty awesome though, but its hard to get "into" it
I use 12kg and 16kg depending on what exercises I'm doing. What is right for you totally depends on your strength.