Ok i know the subject title is a little odd, but i was wondering if you badminton players out there do much muscle training for your legs. I'm talking about your Quads, Hamstrings and Calf muscles, well mainly most of the muscles in your legs. Reason being i noticed alot of the professionals, have rather well built legs, so i wondered which muscles groups help in which area of badminton. I mean which muscles are most effective when jumping, sudden change of direction, lunges etc. I stopped going to the gym a long time ago, but i did use to train the usual, quads, hams and calfs, since it ws so long ago i couldn't really tell if the weight training to my legs helped my badminton game.
I know little and also cared very little as to which muscles in your legs are responsible for which aspect of footwork involved in the game. I would imagine that it'd be a good idea to train all muscles in your lower body right from the hamstrings down to the toes. I play at least twice a week and my calves and hamstrings are considerably bigger than most men's. I'll measure and probably post a picture of them when I get home.
haha, my legs used to be considered as such. However I've been working out for about the last few months (maybe half year) and I can proudly say they're bigger than what they used to be. Still got a way to go though... so i'll say they're just bigger than drumsticks
What a shame I don't think this was the type of reply Kc was looking for. I play alot of singles and i realise the importance of muscles, footwork in the game. I wouldn't mind having some insight into this Unfortunately the posted replies don't help answer Kc's questions and neither do they benefit any readers, so why bother posting?
From what I know: calfs are effective for the sudden change of direction and quickness on the court. It helps with the pre- hop too. quads and hamstrings are more effective for lunging for shots. All three of the above muscles play a part in jumping. as for developing these muscles, specific exercises can be found in many previous threads, do a search.
I have some friends with skinny legs.. but they can jup very high and change direction very quickly as well... sometimes its not only the muscle mass.. its your muscle fiber.. it can be trained to be a fast twitch or slow twitch.
my legs are a bit skinny but on the same filled with strong muscles and last summer I was able to lift 260 pounds with my thighs... so it's not only how big they are but also how strong they are....but have not been training my legs since august so now im only able to lift 130-140 pounds
I can lift 340 with my legs. But I don't do that often. Infact, I only did it once to see how much I could lift. But I was able to do 10 reps with that weight. But on a regular basis I lift 150 really fast and many times until my muscles get tired. I don't want a lot of muscle mass (although you can't help but gain it after so long of playing badminton). I can cover the court pretty well. I still need to work on my initial take off though.
My legs are not small, but they're not like Chen Hong's. I do a lot of weight exercises on my leg. These include: Leg Press 420 lbs. 3 sets, 20 reps Leg Extension 75 lbs. 3 sets, 20 reps Leg Curl: 100 lbs. 3 sets, 20 reps Calf Raise: 140 lbs. 3 sets, 20 reps Squat: 220 lbs. 3 sets, 20 reps I wish my legs had more definition, then they'd look like Chen' s! LOL
I think leg size is not an accurate determinant of strength. partly because of the importance of the hamstrings. I used to be able to do 750lb on the leg press with spagehtti legs, and even though they've grown much bigger since then, I can't even do near that much. Btw reaper, it looks like you have very strong hamstrings compared to your leg muscles.
since the season is almost over i've started back at the gym, i always get grief for having chicken legs, so part of me wants huge legs, but after looking at various baddy players i've learnt that it's not about physical size - why would you want to be physically huge? the lighter and stronger you can be the better. However this in itself is impossible to control - peoples body's respond differently to training - not everyone will have the same strength to weight/size ratio - but we can all be the same strength.. the exercised that reaper suggested are ideal - start off at the highest weight you can do 20 reps of - and then reduce by 5kg each time - until you physically can't lift any more.. works a treat ) Neil
