Hi. I have to bike from school to my house for around 30-40 minutes each day on a mountain bike for summer school. I have heard and learned on Badminton Central that biking is neither efficient nor a beneficial way to increase badminton skills. So I am not looking for too much help on that department. I'm asking if there are any cons to biking. Such as focusing too much on my thighs and slowing me down. Things of that sort. But biking for 30-40 minutes a day can at least be helpful to my cardio correct? I try to bike really fast and I pant and sweat within 5-10 minutes. Thank you for reading. Edit: I have also noticed that I should pull my seat up more so my legs and stretch all the way to pedal. However my legs aren't very long and then my foot wouldn't be able to touch the ground if I sit on the bike and stop. Haha. So are there pros and cons of biking this way. Should I set it higher, or would that hurt me more badminton wise. Sorry for so many hard questions.
Biking is great for cardio, which is good crosstraining for any sport. However biking has your legs going in one direction, usually at a relatively constant pace. That is quite different from the starts and stops and three-dimensions of badminton movement. You should probably adopt the modern technique of high cadence in your pedalling. If you are a old slug like me and use high gears and slow cadence, you will have strong but slow legs by summer's end.
That is such a wonderful tip. Your right! Do you mean I should switch to a lower gear so I can peddle faster? I always want to change it to high gear so I can go faster. Edit: And my high gears require a lot more power to pedal, and I wouldn't be able to pedal as fast either.
I tend to use the high gears and 'mash' as they say. At the end of the summer I'm in the best cardiovascular shape of the year. But when my Fall baddy starts up, I find it hard to accelerate and change direction. Besides being out of practice, it surely is because I've become encumbered with slow strong legs. The current wisdom with the ArmstrongisGod crowd is that a high cadence in low gear (pedalling like 90 rotations per minute) is overall more efficient and kinder to the joints. The point for someone who plays serious badminton (not me) is that the high cadence method would keep your legs fast.
Stages of bike life Progression of compliments as age collects its tolls: 1987; bike-free roads, every hill in 10th: "Nice Legs!!!!" --15 yo girl from window of passing car. 2001; same bike; out of shape and out of fashion: "Go, Old School!!" --15 yo boys smoking on side of road. 2008 "Nice legs!" --60 yo dirty old man at badminton.
biking is better cardio than badminton i think. biking helped my knee joint get better play badminton. i had knee joint pain a lot when playing badminton. i started biking 40min a week and the pain slowly vanished. bike is awesome for you. if i could bike to school or work i would definitely do it. couples year from now you will be great full that you did it.
Like others have already mentioned, biking is good cardio. I think it is better to use higher cadence so your muscles are not training for slow movements. High speed reps help. If done properly, the strengthened leg muscles from cycling can help with prevent injuries. I've been commuting by bike for about 20 years now. I've had no knee or leg problems at all playing badminton. When I saw a live pro tournament, I was surprised to see that a lot of the top men have leg muscle definition similar to pro cyclists. Your bike seat height should not allow your leg to fully extend otherwise it puts too much stress on the knee and more pounding on your bum. If it is set too low, it is also stressful on the knees. If you haven't found a good starting point for seat height you can try the one Greg Lemond used (he refined it from his coaches I think) 0.883 x (inseam length)= length from bottom bracket spindle to top contact area of seat.
You have to consider the fact that the cardiovascular conditioning you get from cycling is very specific to cycling. I remember when I was in high school, I would spend 60-90 minutes a day on the bicycle, because that was my mode of transportation. In fact, I would have a 30 minute ride just to get to the badminton club, and after playing it would be 30 minutes to get back (and up a big hill too). Now, the first sport in the fall during HS would be x-country running. Did all that cycling prepare me for that activity? No, not really. In fact my running was kinda ugly because I was more on my thighs to provide power as opposed to the hips. So, if you have to bike, do so, but don't expect any amazing physical benefits from it.
A respectfully disagree with the cardio being very specific. Cycling can make your heart and breathing more efficient --- less likely to be out of breath and being able to recover from an anaerobic burst. Both of these are directly applicable to badminton. My HS experience is different. I started cycling in HS ,even though I had asthma, to avoid paying for the bus. I cycled about 80km each day. In PE class we were required to run the Terry Fox or Milk Run competitively. I came in 4rd out of the school so the track coach asked me to compete in return for allowing us to skip half a day and an Oh Henry bar. I took 3rd in the district for 200M and 7th in the cross country. This is without going to any practices or doing any training running. It's true that your thighs can get a bit bigger than necessary for badminton but that serves to intimidate your opponents
You are right to adjust the height of your seat correctly when biking, take note that your legs should not stretch fully but should be "almost" fully , over stretch legs will cause knees injury. Your foot not being able to touch the ground if you sit on your bike is correct. Yes, biking strengthen the knee and can be a good way to help reduce knee pain because you build stronger knees . Its good for badminton.
Too much biking can cause infertility in men. Too much pressure and friction can cause microtraumatization and will do funny things to your manhood. But how much is too much?
The damage you describe is probably most likely only a concern for those who bike for very long periods (serious road bikers) or those who suffer frequent 'collisions' with their equipment while going over rough terrain or doing tricks. (Can't be true...otherwise I wouldn't have my 3 beautiful kids: Sildenafil, Tadalafil, and Vardenafil. )
Poor Lance Armstrong? Praised as a demi-god, had three kids despite his cancer, and has dated Sheryl Crow and Kate Hudson? You mean that Lance Armstrong? Granted, I wouldn't switch places with him considering all he's been through. (PS I wonder how well he knows Sildenafil [=Viagra], Tadalafil [=Cialis], and Vardenafil [=Levitra])
Male mountain bikers have half the sperm count and half the sperm's mobility of non-bikers. Too much heat in the most important region of the body is the main cause. That is why it is most healthy for men to stop using underwear and to wear loose fitting trousers or shorts for maximum flow.
We will have to watch the Olympics to see if the Scottish Mountain Bike team are wearing kilts for superior air flow. (Heaven help us if they're in 'regimental dress')
