When do you eat before playing badminton?

Discussion in 'Techniques / Training' started by Yodums, Mar 3, 2003.

  1. Yodums

    Yodums Regular Member

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    I'm just curious what is the time in between your meal and when you begin to play badminton. Do you walk or something after you eat so you digest the food?

    I usually eat 1 hr - 1 1/2 hrs before playing (Full meal) and like if it is badminton in the early morning I usually grab a bite of a bagel with cream cheese or something.

    Also, is it bad to drink coffee before playing? I don't know why but it keeps me awake and energized.
     
  2. Chia

    Chia Regular Member

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    I usually wait 2 hours or else i will cramp up after i eat a big meal.

    I don't think drinking coffee is good for you. It might help you boost your energy for the first part of a game, and it will eventually wear down and u you will feel tired. Try something else more healthy, like fruits or something.
     
  3. palydu

    palydu Regular Member

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    I usually have a banana or two, either a bottle of water or Gatorade and the favorite food of the health nut that's me - Odwalla Bars! Basically, try and consume healthy amounts of carbohydrates and proteins.
     
  4. Yodums

    Yodums Regular Member

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    Today I ate bananas before I played but I never suffer cramps in a game. Perhaps it's more for singles since you run alot more.

    I'll experiment with the coffee though.
     
  5. JChen99

    JChen99 Regular Member

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    1 Big X-tra 15-20 mins before playing :D

    dont hav bananas on an empty stomach especially before large amounts of exercise
    and I heard Coffee before exercise is not good as well
     
  6. thezone

    thezone Regular Member

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    ok lets get this straight coffee is bad for u before any sort of physical activities because it makes get dehydrated quicker and bannanas are good because there is fiber or something and it tends to prevent you from getting cramps and i know about this from experience and through coaches advice because i tried this during cross country
     
  7. JChen99

    JChen99 Regular Member

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    Caffine in the Coffee also makes your blood vessels dialate, which could result in increased blood flow to your brain and muscles etc. Even though it dehydrates you, I think if you drink enough water it'll still be fine. There was something else that makes coffee bad besides dehydration, couldn't remember which.
    Bananas provide K+ ions for your body which prevents cramping. However, when you have low Ca+ ions in ur body iz not good for u for some reason...(I'm not 100% sure about this but doesn't K+ ions replace the Ca+ ions in ur blood/muscles?)
     
  8. loverlionus

    loverlionus Regular Member

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    During weekdays I play after office hours at 6-8 pm. We have a break for snacks every 3 pm so that's the last meal I eat before I play. The snack is usually sandwiches or noodles. I'm also a little hungry by the time I'm halfway playing, which is around 7 pm.

    During weekends I play in the morning at around 8 am onwards and I only have breakfast after playing.
     
  9. bigredlemon

    bigredlemon Regular Member

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    That would be cancer. Caffine "overclocks" your body such that immune functions gets neglected, which allows normally occuring malfunctioning cells to grow instead of being quickly killed off before it becomes tumerous.
     
  10. fhchiang

    fhchiang Regular Member

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    hmmm....

    i would say the best time to Eat is 4 hours before playing...



    food needs about 4 hours to fully digest......



    if u eat 4 hours before play... by the time you play... you'll have lot's of energy.. yet a light body because the food have been digested
     
  11. JChen99

    JChen99 Regular Member

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    nah... BRL, I was thinking short term effects, not long term ^^"
     
  12. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    As for coffee, I think the effect will depend on individuals. For some it will help, for others it will deterimental. It has an effect of making people a bit more highly strung so although physically, a person might feel more 'charged', the mental effect might affect proper stroke production and timing.

    Ca2+ ion derangement can also cause muscle cramp. Despite taking extra K+, body physiology tries to rigidly dictate that Ca++ levels are kept pretty constant. Wether exercise affects Ca++ levels per se or just the amount in ionised form due to hyperventilation, hmm, I don't know.

    whatever happens, if you keep off the coffee and take in some electrolytes and water, it's going to suffice for most people.

    Chen Gang (ex China national player) was spotted drinking cola(!) during one of his matches. Other internationals just take plain water during the course of a game - just to put things into perspective.
     
  13. LazyBuddy

    LazyBuddy Regular Member

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    4 hrs before the game, I stopped eatting. I usually have lunch before 1 or 2 pm, and most of my practices/games are 7pm or later.

    I will feel terrible if I have a full meal within 3 hrs before a game. I drink a lot during games, and maybe once a while, get a candy bar something, if I really feel "powerless".
     
  14. patrickshum

    patrickshum Regular Member

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    for my experience, i think eating plain bread and water is the best, don't eat too much though... you can eat 1 - 2 hours before the games... drink lots of water when you're playing... but never drink too much at once....
    don't drink stuff like coffee, hot chocolate, milk.... coffee can makes your hands shaky (lose consistency), hot chocolate and mlik makes you thristy all the time.... milk also make you produce more latic acid so your muscles get tired more easily....

    apart from what you eat....
    stretching, warm up, stretch between games and enough sleep is also EXTREMELY important
     
  15. LazyBuddy

    LazyBuddy Regular Member

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    Really?

    Personally, if I just eat plain bread (without flavor) and water, I will get kinda of sour feeling in my mouth and stomach. :(
     
  16. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    i have noticed that eating a powerbar an hour before badminton really helps in both energy level and also mental alertness.
     
  17. Pete LSD

    Pete LSD Regular Member

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    Dim Sum

    And keep away from Cantonese Dim Sums at lunch time. I found out the hard way. The dim sums made me very full and affected my appetite for dinner. By the time I had a few of games with Kwun, Ricky and Mr. Ng (back in August?), my energy level and mental alertness dropped right down to bottom. :mad: So, always stay away from junk food and other hard to digest items. Eat two energy bars and a banana before your games.
     
  18. jwu

    jwu Regular Member

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    avoid anything that is hard to digest and just snack on some powerbars or fruits. eating after playing is pretty good since your metabolism will be up after the game. I usually just grab a quick sandwich or something lite an hour before I play. Drinking stuff like gatorade helps too.
     
  19. zero

    zero Regular Member

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    I see some people eat peanut butter sandwiches during tournaments. Isn't that supposed to be good because the peanuts give you protien?

    I don't really know....any takers?:confused:
     
  20. bigredlemon

    bigredlemon Regular Member

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    Protein is good but not DURING tournaments, since you body has to "suspend" muscle function to digest it. They probably shouldn't eat that unless they have more than an hour break.
     

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