Hmm just a question. Because currently I am mainly working out my quads and calfs. Calfs buy doing the new heel raises and skipping generally. And sqauts and wall sits , for quads. Generally , calfs increase the height of jumps? And quads , increase speed of footwork? Is this correct? Are these the "main" 2 muscles in the legs used for badminton?
Heh - it's legs day today for me at the gym. It's the thighs that are responsible for at least 95% of the power of a jump, the calves only add a couple of inches (try jumping JUST with your calves, legs straight, if you don't believe me). Calves do come into play with quick push-off movements because the foot has to straighten. It's better in the long term to use calves for this because these muscles are a LOT smaller than the thighs and require less blood (so you won't tire out as quickly). Again in my experience, the very best overall thigh exercises are hack squats (http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/SLHackSquat.html) and leg presses (http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/SL45LegPress.html) - these light almost EVERYTHING in the thighs up, not just quads. I would first do some leg extensions (http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/LVLegExtension.html) until your quads are rock hard with blood and then move onto the presses. Calves are more difficult to train - there aren't that many machines so you have to rely on your own bodyweight. One- or two-leg raises are perfectly fine, but you might have to go quite high in reps to get coverage.
Hmm , just wondering what are the main muscles in the "Thigh"? Used for moving quickly and jumping high? Thankyou for the post Mark .
When you jump, or perform ANY sort of pushoff, the knee obviously always goes from bent to straight (knee extension is the technical term), but so does the hip. The quads are responsible for the knee portion of the movement while the hip extension is done by the hamstrings and glutes. There are four quads and four hamstrings, but all four quads are engaged in leg extensions and all four hamstrings are engaged in leg curls; if you twist your feet to point in or out on the leg extensions you can shift a little bit more work onto the outer or inner quads respectively. A leg press switches EVERYTHING on, but placing the feet LOW on the tray will focus more on the quads while feet HIGH will bring the glutes into play. There's a BRILLIANT book called Target Bodybuilding (Tesch) that uses MRI scans to determine EXACTLY which muscles are used (and to what degree) for a variety of exercises, including thighs. If you can find you should get it!
I'd do sport specific exercises. There are not many moments in badminton you tiptoe with you knees fully extended (now you use the Gastrocnemius muscle). I'd say tiptoe with flexed knees are more specific for badminton (now you use the Soleus muscle). Also i don't see the point in isometric wallsitting with your hips and knees flexed in 90 degrees. Badminton mostly has plyometric movements (contraction of a muscle directly after stretching) and less isometric movements of the legs. (I think isometric contractions are common in the lowerback, for stabilizing [see: core-muscles]) Why train muscles with exercises when you don't use them that way in badminton? Ofcourse these exercises will help, for sure. But I think they're not as effective as (sport)specific exercises. Also: Some exercises may not be effective for badminton. But keeps you feeling fit, wich is a (subjective) mental adventage over your opponent in plays.
But on the other hand whats the point in training only half of a body part because you feel the other half wont be necessary???? I'll give you a really dumb example lol Blatently obvious in regards to people who have no idea about muscles and how they work in accordance to movement and motion. Basic person thinks ~ Im right handed so all of my power and movement with swings will come from 1 side of my body?? So im gonna do bicep curls for my right arm, shoulder press for my right shoulder situps targeting my right side abdomenal muscles and leg excersises for my right leg. The other half of my body wont be used in particular that much for badminton because im right handed so i wont worry about training them..Whats the point right?? Not aiming offence at anyone in the thread or trying to change peoples points of view just opening up a different view that some people in the world may see or understand. In order to gain full advantage in badminton physically, you need to condition your entire body. This means going further than just arms abs and legs. Isolate the different muscle groups for each section. IE legs, calfs, quads, Butt(glutes) and strengthening and conditioning them properly. Abs upper middle and lower. Side obliques aswell. Biceps, triceps, forearms, shoulders hands. Back upper, lower and side laterals. ETC ETC ETC ETC ETC Im not saying you have to be training like a bodybuilder or even doing extremely strenuous excersise. But if your going to condition your body for something at least do it fully and properly. This way the gain will be more consistant and will in the end give you a greater outcome overall. Hope at least some of that made sense to you guys
Bradymyster , I agree with you - and this is what I am trying to do. Select all the specific excercises for specific muscles. Theres no point of having really strong biceps , when you have weak biceps. A chain is only as good as its weakest link.
Our coach seems to be having a great time inventing new ways of making our muscles ache. . . =/ He got us to do little squat jumps along the length of the court that just kill the legs, I've only just recovered 3 days later! ! Get into a low squat position back vertically straight. Thigh's as horizontal as you can get them. On your toes do a SMALL hop sideways so your left foot lands where your right foot was. Keep going along the length of the court but do it slowly. . The exercise keeps your legs constantly loaded & your muscles can't relax like when your legs are straight or fully bent. Small movements mean you can't "Drive" up with a big burst & use the momentum to finish the squat. Hopping on your toes keeps you de-stabilised so your muscles continually have to adjust to keep you balanced. 5 return trips up and down the court and my legs are buggered. . .
1 thing everyone is missing in this thread. Your legs are 1 thing and they are made up of many muscles which contribute to power and movement when jumping or doing footwork. But the most important muscle believe it or not for badminton is actually?????????? Your butt!!! or the gluteus maximus muscles. I dont know exactly how the physics work with these muscles controlling or contributing to most of the movements the most effectively, but i was told this by an old training partner who is now a footwork specialist coach in denmark. He also plays and trains professionally in 1st devision over there now. But yes if you want all of the work on your legs to pay off. Make sure you concentrate hard on strengthening your butt muscles as a priority over all others.
The glutes and the hamstrings are super important particularly since they're usually extra weak in most people. They generate a lot of power from the hips.
try to buy adjustable dumbbells for your home work-out. you should have at least 2.5 and 5 lbs. plates to start with. you can add/buy more plates in the future. try to do the usual leg exercises like squats, lunges and calf raises with the dumbbells and this will surely strengthen the targeted muscle groups and increases bone density. in the long run you can definitely have stronger legs for more effective footwork.
Don't aim for bigger legs, it'll mainly make you heavier (although having stronger legs does mean a certain increase in leg muscles but that's not the point). Just aim for more powerful legs, period.
yes. you can do the usual leg exercises (without dumbbells) and leave a few sets with dumbbells. your goal is to strengthen the targeted muscle groups. with a 5 to 10 lbs. dumbbells, you cannot expect to grow muscle mass but you can attain definition and cuts. try 8 to 12 reps for 3 sets. you can customize your program by simply increasing weights on specific leg parts where you think you just basically need more development.
I, too, have a similar issue whereby my legs are very weak and i often get tired easily. I'd say do some jogging regularly at a nearby soccer field or something about 6 rounds to start off with. You can also train the legs by doing squats thrusts/burpies or just regular footwork anywhere and time yourself using a watch.
Just to add to this... I'm far from a fitness expert... but a friend of mine showed me a technique for squats that really makes you work hard... I was at the point where I could do hundreds of regular squats without extra weights (because I don't have any ), and it seemed like a waste of time. So he told me to go down slowly (2-3 secs), then when you're in "sitting" position - "pulse" for around 5 seconds (very small movements up and down), then hold your position for a further 5 seconds before slowly coming back up. Now I struggle to make it to 20 . It's reeeally tough (for me at least). He says the pulse and hold can be applied to many exercises and it's also a useful way to progress if you don't have weights. Apart from squats, I do calf raises and glute ham raises (or something - again I'm no expert - hardly even know the names >_>... but like you I want stronger legs ).
Or you can lean/sit against the wall with your thighs horizontal and then stay there for around 3mins at least. You can also do this while watching tv, all you need is a wall and clock.
