Hi, Sorry if this question has been asked before. I sprained my right ankle pretty badly a few months ago when I made a lungeing movement during warming-up with someone in a half-court. I can now play almost 100% as before the injury, but certain lungeing and twisting movements can still hurt the ankle a lot. I'm just wondering if you guys can tell me how to correctly warm-up for badminton. I remember pretty clearly that I did several stretches for the arms and legs on the day of my ankle injury, but I didn't do any running or jogging to make myself warm. Currently, I'm not doing any stretches at all before start playing badminton. Instead, I just practise with other people in half courts by hitting the shuttle as hard as I can with minimal running or lungeing until I start sweating. Thanks a lot. newplayer
First, do some gentle aerobic exercise. For example, jogging or cycling. Do this for 5 minutes or longer. Second, do some badminton movements. Lunges, shadow badminton, anything that is similar to the movements you will need in a game. You can also do some dynamic stretches (stretches which you do not hold). Third, knock up on court. Fourth, play
It is my belief that it is all in vain if you only do stretching before playing without a proper warm-up. I could be wrong... However, I do know that everyone being engaged in some sport at a respectable level always do warm-ups and are well prepared for physical activity. About the ancle which someone mentioned... I've seen supports which you can play with and these will limit the mobility of the ancle and thus not allowing it to do movements it shouldn't do. check it up if you havent... just a tip
Stretching different sources say different things about stretching http://www.topracket.com/Badmintology/index.php?QuickLink=Stretch01 advises that "Stretching before performance, either static or ballistic, should be advised against. There are several pieces of research that indicate strength reductions due to stretching which will reduce performance and might increase risk of injury." Bo Osmegaard in "Physical Training for Badminton" does include "short duration stretching exercises of the legs, trunk and arms" in a basic warm up, but stretching is more aimed at post-exercise to maintain flexibility. "Continuous heavy muscular tension tends to leave muscles and connecting tissues a little shorter than they were before the training session. Stretching exercises counteract this. The fact that stretching exercise reduce muscle soreness...is another important effect" although badmintology says "Relief from or prevention of DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) by any form or regime of stretching has repeatedly not been found"
and Cheung found some research on Army personnel that concluded pre-exercise stretching did not reduce the risk of injury http://www.badmintonforum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=13586
Oh, I have 2 sets of ankle protection thingys. The first set is very soft and small, kind of similar to wrist guards, and you wear them like socks -- not very limiting in terms of ankle movement, it's more useful in making you aware of your ankles. The second set costed me AUD$100, and is made of hard plastic and cotton cloth. These are meant to be tied very tightly around the ankle and they are very limiting in terms of ankle movements, thereby providing much more protection. However, they are also very big, bulky and uncomfortable. One of them left a nasty scar on my left leg, because the hard plastic kept rubbing against it. Since my skin doesn't heal very well, I had to stop using them. Thanks a lot to all of you who provide advice. newplayer
I do brief light dynamic stretching on my legs and arms before games. My routine after games are longer and more complete static stretching. That made quite a difference in reducing muscle soreness and cramps. Two years ago before I incorporate postgame stretching into my routine, I was dealing with lingering muscle soreness in my racquet arm and both legs after every session... sometimes even leg cramps in the middle of the night. After I added the new routine, I got virtually no postgame cramps whatsoever.
Surely a warm up would just entail, well, warming up your muscles by doing some sets of movements. Just get your limbs ready to move, i see no need for a really drawn out or long winded regime. You could also try some meditation before you start, its surprising how effective that can be, especially if youre feeling a bit pooped
Well.. it takes the muscles about 20 min get "all warmed up" so any warmup over 20 min is a waste of time, roughly said. You might consider do a bit running, 5-8 min, while you use your arms (swinging and stuff), then a quick stretching, not holding for more than 10-15 sec. Do same mass-training, which reduces the risk of injuries. it could be: stand on one leg for 35 sec, then raise your self up on the toes -still standing on one feet, 10 times and then stand on one leg for 20 sec, with your eyes shut ... increases your balances with and increases your strenght in your angle. -- And off course switch feet afterwards. 6 push-ups, 10 sit-ups, 10 sit-ups to each side, and 15 of any excersice for your back. ..etc
I think Cappy has a good point here. The post game stretching is way more important than stretching before game. This is what I do: after the session I let my body cool down for about 1 - 2 hours (I'll eat a bit & take a shower and preferably a Sauna too - that helps a lot as well!). After that I have a certain routine consisting of about 15 stretches, and it takes about 15 - 20 minutes to go through it. And if some of my muscles feel sore 1 - 2 hours after the game, I put more emphasis on stretching them. Why 1 - 2 hours after, why not before? Because stretching a warm muscle, which is already well stretched, takes you nowhere (probably just makes it ache more). A massage every 3 - 6 weeks would be good too - massage is a huge boost to muscle recovery! Don't get me wrong, warming up & stretching before the game is important too. But if you want to be ready to play the next day, you must remember to stretch after the session. My pregame warm-up is pretty much the same as what newplayer said (10 - 15 minutes slow half-court play + couple of minutes harder play + some 5 minutes of light stretching), and it has served me well.
Before any stretching , sometimes i do 5 mins jog or jumping jacks to warm up the muscles. Once the muscles already warmed up , then proceed to stretching.
Another, little mentioned, benefit of the warm up is that the elevated body temperature speeds up the body's energy processes. i.e. your body can deliver energy to the muscles faster. A 1 degree rise in temperature is supposed to speed up the energy processes by 13% When warm, the elasticity of connecting muscles tissues and tendons is increased. This should make moving off after your split-step that little bit more efficient/explosive/faster.
personally i always cycle to where ever i'm playing (with in reason). This means that my body has had a good 15+ minutes of a warmup by the time i get there
My group does some light stretching on our arms and legs for approx. 5 minutes. We then start with some light drives at about half-court/service line. We certainly do not start by hitting the shuttle as hard as possible! We warm up our arms with short drives, semi-net shots, and short lobs. We then move to about 3/4 court and repeat hitting drives/overhead lobs at about 70% strength for another 5 minutes. This will progress into high offensive and defensive clears and smashes with full power.
