I'm a school student, and ever since i ended elementary and started jr high, i had an unusually heavy backpack (reason? i am too lazy to use my locker). At first, i barely could hold on the backpack b4 i collapsed my arms and let the thing down.. but after years, now i can't even feel it. And this got me thinking, if wearing heavy backpacks while ur playing can help u gain more speed. It's like playign with a squash racket to strengthen ur arm. After i played with my backpack, i would feel very light and move around the court much better(?) Did anyone have any experience with this? Is it a good idea, or is it just dumb?
It is not a good idea carrying a bagpack and play. You might feel faster and gain speed after you remove ur bagpack. However in the long run , you will are more prone to back,knee and ankle injury due to the weight and the posture while playing carrying the bag.
you could do that by weight training than rather hurt yourself when wearing a backpack while playing. Wouldnt the straps hold you from lunging and clearing?
Very unsafe way to train. Your centre of gravity is shifted and you are going to hurt your back or stomach muscles badly one day.
Instead of playing with the backpack, u might only consider doing footwork drill with it. It should be a safer solution.
I agree with ants there, the risk to your back is quite high with a backpack. Try strap on weights that some basketballers use when they train or a simple arm pad. Remember to increase it gradually, not entirely at once.
Anybody training at a high level would be subjected to training with a weight vest. This is an efficient and common training method. However, for badminton purposes, it is not recommended that you exceed a maximum weight limit of about 5% of the player's body weight (as suggested by B. Omosegaard in his book on physical training for badminton). That is, if you weigh 70 kg, the extra load should not exceed 3.5 kg -- including the backpack itself. But, as several posters have already suggested, take caution! A backpack is not the same as a "real" weight vest. The weight vest is padded by lead or sand weights, and gives an even distribution of extra weight to the upper body. A backpack gives less weight distribution, meaning you'll have to be even more careful.
I cant remember what i use last time for basketball. It is a vest with add-on weights. Its comfy and doesnt make you uncomfortable. This vest is suitable for sports.
Hmm.. talking about carrying weights while playing reminds me someone once told me that to improve ur footwork speed u can try doing the drills with sandbags tied around ur legs.I never tried it and forgot it long back but the idea just popped now.I am not sure where to get them. Is that unsafe too?[though i would suppose it's not as bad as using a backpack] But i think the method is pretty effective as u will become much faster in the process.
yeah, you can get thos power walker weights for yuor ankles and wrists. i wouldn't recommend the wrist ones since they interfere with your swing action adn put a bit of extra strain on your shoulders and elbows. the ankle ones work great though think you can probably get belts for your waste too which would work quite well. only trains your leg strength though - should improve your stamina too. it sucks being slow when your training with them on though..... it's funny how light footed you become when you take them off and play though.. like walking on air
Osomegaard gives 2 recommendations. For plyometric jump training the extra weight should not exceed 5-10% of body weight. For badminton exercises (e.g. shadow footwork drills) the extra weight should not exceed 3-5% of body weight. I think the reason behind the difference is that with plyometric training you are concentrating only on building strength/explosiveness. With shadow badminton exercises you are working on strength/explosiveness AND technique. You don't want too much weight or it will interfere with the technique. <edit> and strength training on its own should be done under more controlled circumstances, so there should be less chance of accidents. Shadow exercises could be less controlled. Your movements may be decided by a coach calling out directions, so you may not always know which direction you have to move. So more chance to be off balance.
Cheers for the correction, Neil. I didn't have Omosegaard's book around, so I was recalling from memory (and I should perhaps have indicated that)...
For me it's a bit too extreme... but maybe more serious players can find some gain in playing with added weight. Whilst speaking about weights, I've seen many basketball players wearing weights around their ankles giving them some extra air when playing without... I guess I would mess up my timing 'a bit' if wearing different kinds of weights on different occations. On lower player levels I think, I think alot , it's more of an mental illusion, if you like, and thus giving you the feeling of being quicker/whatever. Kinda like when you stand in the door and press your arms outwards and upwards for a minute or two which really makes you believe you can fly .... no really mate! like a bird
I would not suggest ankle weights as they will hurt your knees and mess up your joints in the long run. However, I see the vest used very often, but only for footwork drills. Not really used in practice games or other full court drills.
I've seen my coach using ankle weights in a practice game against Ng Wei a few years back. He didn't advise using them unless the footwork was already correct. Training with good footwork is better than training bad footwork with weights
Osomegaard is right that its the safety limit to train at that weight recommendation, but sometimes you have to go to the extremes to progress to the next level. I weigh 55g and I was carrying 5kg weight vest last time while doing footwork and even two vs one game, it was easy. My coach told me that's light but doesn't wanna put it up cause I don't have enough muscles yet. However he admits that Djarum Kudus (one of the top clubs in Indo) makes their players with good muscle size carry 20kg while doing the same thing. I don't believe that that is exaggerating because people in the army basically carry the same weight or even more while running around. If I'm not wrong, there is an article at Badminton Central about Gong Zhichao running uphill with a 20kg weight vest as well. This is not to say that you should start with 20kg straight away, do remember that these people I've quoted are full time professionals. Rather, find a weight that can drastically wear you out within 30minutes of your normal footwork drills. Addressing the initial question though, no, don't use backpacks as they pull ur spine backwards. You have to find a weight vest, or use ankle weights and wrist weights. You could get around 3kg a piece of those wrist and ankle weights. But as Cheung suggested, don't start using them unless your footwork is already good.
Here is an idea.. How about gaining 5kg and train with that weight and drop your weight before big tournaments? I think Boxing and other sports do that as well. This way the weight will be more evenly "distributed" and less harsh on your back
I can proof "losing weight" really can boost up ur speed and endurance of the game. Myself lost about 20 lbs since about 16 months ago.