Badminton Training

Figure 8 Routine

(I've posted this in Jonas Rasmussen's Forum as well.)

For many years now, I've tried to convince the coaches and players among my friends to examine the results they seek to achieve before embarking on weight-related exercises. Success has been kinda mixed, I must admit.

Well, here's a chance to choose and judge for yourself.

The obvious starting point is: what are you playing? singles or doubles?

For the most part, badminton is a game of accuracy, deftness and speed. Most people believe that muscular strength (or power) adds speed. It certainly does... but only to the shuttle. In fact, a bigger or stiffer physique reduces the speed of the player.

So who do you want to be? A lithe, swift player who has accuracy, coiling ability and great touch skills or a brawny, slower player who packs an extra-powerful smash?

Well, going by results, the former wins every time in singles and it's the latter that triumphs in doubles.

It's no wonder then that the world's best singles players are lithe and light. Lin Dan is 178cm tall and weighs 66kg, Taufik Hidayat is 173/65, Lee Chong Wei is 172/60, Bao Chunlai is 190/67 and Lee Hyun Il is 177/69.

Quite a few of the former greats were stocky players (e.g. Rudy Hartono, Liem Swee King and Yang Yang) but their short builds kept them light. Of course, the non-Chinese races don't come by lightness too easily. But when they do, they win. Morten Frost Hansen, Fleming Delfs and Prakash Padukone were as light as could be. (The notable exception here is Hashim Hafiz who is a hefty 79kg. )

On the other hand, top doubles players come heavy (the odd one here is the enormously talented Sudket Prapakamol who weighs just 66kg). Tony Gunawan, Jonas Rasmussen, Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng (the smash-emperor) aren't exactly featherweights.

Unlike singles which relies on the speed of the player, doubles is all about the speed of the shuttle. Here, power translates to enormous advantage. Players can afford to be heavier (and thus, slower) because there's two of them to cover the playing area. At an extreme, enormous power is a great add-on but, almost always, it detracts from accuracy.

Building a body rippling all over with bunched muscles is not going to be of much help. Arnold Schwarzenegger wouldn't win a badminton point from Peter Gade, unless gifted out of sympathy. Muscles in the calves, in the thighs, around the shoulder, in the back of the upper arm and everywhere in the forearm are those wedded to top badminton. Thickly developed muscles hamper twisting and stretching, the movements crucial to winning. Light workouts with medium loads are more than sufficient. After all, what's required is not the strength of a mighty oak tree but the flexibility of a humble blade of grass.

If surprising deception, powerful flicks and steep smashes are what you seek, try the Figure 8 routine.

It has 8 steps.

To begin, stand up with your feet as apart as the width of your shoulders.
You will need to keep your legs in this position throughout the routine.
Allow your arms to hang loosely by your sides.

(Stop whenever you feel strain building up in your muscle and allow your arms to hang loose for a while.)

Here we go:
1. Keeping your elbow and wrist straight, raise your arms very very slowly, slowly rotating them to bring the palms face up, continuing until your palms meet above your head. (Ideally, it should take you at least a whole minute to bring your palms together.)
2. Follow the same path and action down until your arms are again hanging loosely by your sides. (Again, do this ultra-slowly.)

Now pick up and grip your usual racquet with your fingers (not your palm). During the routine, keep your eyes rooted to just above the centre of the racquet face (the point where the shuttle makes ideal contact).

3. With the arm stretched, the elbow straight and the wrist straight, draw the figure 8 in the air with the whole arm 8 times each in all directions (up, down, right, left, front and back).
4. Repeat step 2... but this time, draw the figure 8 in reverse
5. With the arm stretched and the elbow straight, draw the figure 8 in the air with just your wrist 8 times each in all directions (up, down, right, left, front and back)
6. Repeat step 4... but this time, draw the figure 8 in reverse
7. With the arm stretched and the elbow bent at 90 degrees, draw the figure 8 in the air with just your wrist 8 times each in 4 directions (up, down, left and front)
8. Repeat step 6... but this time, draw the figure 8 in reverse

By now, you'd have made 256 figure 8s in the air.

Practice this routine for a few days and see the change for yourself.
If this doesn't give you very fluid and deceptively strong forearms, I agree to be called President Bush.

Remember, the wrist is only a joint. What lends power and speed to its movement is your forearm. Squeezing coiled steel handgrips and gel-masses is also good, not because it makes your grip powerful but because it strengthens your forearm. (A powerful grip is of little merit in badminton. In fact, the better players grip their racquets lightly, and not tightly, as a looser hold allows the wrist to whip down.)

Finally, a word on exercising with heavier racquets.

Squash racquets, tennis racquets and the like are good if your intention is to develop your arm and shoulder muscles. In fact, the same can be achieved by sand-filled beer bottles, soft-hold light dumbells and even lightly head-weighted old racquets. The only thing to remember is that whatever you choose, it must have a grip similar in circumference and feel to your badminton racquet.

It would be great if you could do the Figure 8 routine with a heavier racquet. But never ever practice badminton strokes with anything but your playing racquet. It will kill your timing and feel.

It's quite common to see people train or warm-up by hitting shuttles with a squash racquet. This is, to put it mildly, ill-advised. Nothing could be more fatal to your game skills.

Of course, the badminton racquet will feel lighter after a warm-up routine with a heavier racquet. But then, it would feel even lighter if you had been swinging a hammer previously. (Have you ever seen a professional golfer practicing his swings with a long-handled hammer or a baseball bat?) If you want a lighter feel, get a lighter racquet. And, in any case, the illusion of lightness disappears after you've hit a couple of shots with your badminton racquet.

(After the Figure 8 Routine has given you a powerful whipping action, please call me to find out how you can pay me and how much you can pay me.)