Weight Training for Badminton

Discussion in 'Jonas Rasmussen Forum' started by Mark A, Sep 2, 2005.

  1. Mark A

    Mark A Regular Member

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    Hello all,

    This is my first post, so don't be too harsh!

    The topic of weight training with respect to badminton is something close to my heart so I thought I'd share some insight, since the correct exercises can really improve your game. I've been bodybuilding for 5 years and playing badminton for 9.

    There are four main areas of interest with regards to badminton:

    Thighs - explosive starts and jumps
    Calves - calves are responsible for all foot flexion, for general court movement, allowing direction change etc.
    Torso - allows you to lean in any direction to retrieve the bird, and twisting into a shot gives a fair increase in power
    Forearms - Forearm pronation and supination generate most of the power in a lot of badminton shots

    As to which exercises to perform, the aim should be for STRENGTH rather than SIZE, since excessive amounts of muscle can impede movement (and make you heavier!). Since size comes about from lifting extremely heavy weights for an extremely short amount of time, you should be safe;

    Leg press - I personally prefer these to squats, since there's no danger of injuring any other body part (particularly to lower back) trying to maintain the proper form. The leg press activates almost all the muscles of the thigh (and certainly all the important ones such as the vastis and adductor magnus) and is actually more effective than the squat. Position your feet HIGH on the platform (this minimizes excessive knee/hip flexion and is just as effective as with feet low).

    Calf raise - Simply stand on an elevated platform (about 15-20 cm will do) and repeatedly raise yourself up and down on your toes (and I mean ALL THE WAY up and down, without bouncing). Add some dumbells once you become proficient. This exercise is preferable to other seated exercises because it works ALL of the calf muscles (the soleus in particular).

    Crunches/Back Hyperextensions - These two will work the front AND back of the torso. Execute your reps SLOWLY with these (as the rectus abdominus and eretor spinae respond best to steady, moderate tension) and breathe OUT as you approach full compression. Finding some way to add resistance to torso TWISTING motion is very difficult using freeweights (you could probably use a medicine ball in some magical way) but there are special machines which emulate this movement. It's also worth adding some dumbell leans (side to side) to work the obliques.

    Forearms - Ah... the forearms. Let me dispel one myth immediately: performing endless wrist curls and extensions has NO effect on badminton shot power :eek: (the racket is held AT RIGHT ANGLES to the axis of the forearm, so there's no way any flexion/extension of the wrist can occur). Your best bet is to shadow your badminton shots with either a squash racket (as JR does), or with the head cover on your badminton racket. Either of these will give a resistance to the pronation/supination (forehand/backhand) movement.

    Another possibility is to use a (very) light bar: hold it at one end with your forearm out in front of you, parallel to the floor and at 90 dgrees to your upper arm and repeatedly pronate and supinate the bar from one side to the other, stopping when the bar reaches level. This is extremely difficult even with an empty bar, so try it with the handle end of a sweeping brush first (seriously!).

    The bicep does assist the supination movement, so some barbell/preacher curls are a good idea (sadly, the pronator quadratus ALONE is responsible for pronation and resides in the forearm; the upper arm does not come into play).

    I'm not suggesting you perform these exercises to the exclusion of all others (quite the opposite), but performing MORE of these exercises (or more frequently) will tailor your workout towards badminton prowess. The very best place to find exercises for a particular muscle or group is probably

    http://www.exrx.net/Exercise.html
    .

    as there are little movies showing the correct form.

    Sorry for the long thread, but this topic really does deserve a lot of detail.

    I hope this has been of some assistance to you.

    Happy training!

    M ;).
     
    lakshyamalik likes this.
  2. JR

    JR Regular Member

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    Ty

    Thank you for this information!!

    You´re right it´s very inportant to focus on weighttraining otherwise you´ll never become a worldclass player. All the areas you mention needs attention as you cannot allow yourself to have any weaknesses your opponent can capitalize on!!

    In Denmark I have a personal weighttrainer who helps me create the program I need to perform well.

    Kind regards

    Jonas
     
  3. Pete LSD

    Pete LSD Regular Member

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    As well as enhancing performance, weight training reduces the chance of injuries.
     
  4. JR

    JR Regular Member

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    yes

    Yes, that´s also a good benefit from doing weights!!
     
  5. wun.sun

    wun.sun Regular Member

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    Sorry to bump this up, but this thread seems somewhat relevant to my question, and didn't want to create a new one.

    I am currently wondering what is a better workout plan for badminton, high reps and low weights, or low reps, and high weights? What do is better in your opinion for badminton.

    Furthermore, would it be possible to post a old schedule of your workouts, to see what type of muscles groups you worked within a session in the gym, and why muscles you focus on?

    Thank you

    Vincent
     
  6. abcdef200886

    abcdef200886 Regular Member

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    also, It cures the muscle, in the sense that, about 9-10 years ago, i have a shoulder injury from playing basketball, when i was introduce in badminton, i started to play it regularly but the problem is my shoulder. What i did was to strengthen my shoulder by lifting weights and target the muscles around my shoulder and eventually, no more pain in my shoulder. About 4 years ago im doing badminton full time, :D
     
  7. charls

    charls Regular Member

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    imho and currently what i do is high reps and low weights. my purpose is for strenght. lots of info here how to regain strenght pls search, and one more article which i found most valuable from this site is the "figure 8".sorry cant give ur the link but pls search..its is very very good and had had help me in my game.:D wonder when can i treat a beer for the author:cool:
     
  8. wun.sun

    wun.sun Regular Member

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    :)

    I did do a search, or why did you think I bump up a 4 year old thread?

    The purpose of my question, was pros/cons of high reps/low weights vs low reps/high weights, and was directed to JR.

    Also, I was trying to get to see what type of weight training plans the pros use.

    The figure 8, I did find before hand, and seems useful, though I am still trying to understand it all.
     
  9. Licin

    Licin Regular Member

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    is swimming has any benefit to a badminton player?
    what kind of benefit will it give? other than improving in stamina...?
     
  10. Amin Khalili

    Amin Khalili Regular Member

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    Based on my experience , I feel my body slightly better . It feel like you train with heavy racket , then you switch to light racket . Something like that . Hope you can understand me ...
     
    #10 Amin Khalili, Sep 26, 2009
    Last edited: Sep 26, 2009
  11. JR

    JR Regular Member

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    Hi Vincent!

    Good question.....First of all strength training is a individual thing if you think as a pro.....You need to know your weaknesses and strengths first. I did this with the physical trainer in the national center. Further there is a huge difference between a non-season and season period when it comes to weights.

    If you want to get more explosive it´s generally a good thing to do low reps with high weights as fast as you can, still controlled, though and not too heavy weights. Find the weight you can lift exactly 8 times and nothing more .....If you want to do some pre-injury training lifting low weights many times should be the choice as this generates strenght and you can control the movement....

    I don´t think bodybuilding is very usefull for a badmintonplayer. It´s ok, but should not be done over a long period of time. Having too big muscles is not an advantage as a professional badmintonplayer.....

    Another thing is to remember to use different variations of training in the selected bodyareas. After a while the effect of the exercise diminishes and you will benefit from changing the exercise to get the best effect....So have a couple of variations of the same bodyarea ready when you start on a weights-program......

    Then there is the matter of adjusting the program to the individual. For instance I´m the explosive player by nature and therefore I generally focus on doing pre-injury training.....This doesn´t mean that I don´t do explosive weight training....I just do it to get a boost in my speed close to tournaments....

    Kind Regards

    JR
     
  12. Mark A

    Mark A Regular Member

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    Wow - long time since I started this thread...

    Have to agree with Jonas in his use of 8 reps for power - heavier weights cause the muscles to work more explosively, rather than gradually (if you were to use 15 or more reps). The legs are particularly responsive to low rep/high weight training because they are not used to it: they spend all day walking, which is a (very) high rep/low weight exercise:D.

    Also agree with Jonas in that bodybuilder-type muscle gets in the way - I know from experience:eek:. Pro badminton players have it right: average amounts of muscles and not a gram of fat on them (that's why they LOOK so muscular).
     
  13. Amin Khalili

    Amin Khalili Regular Member

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    Dont have fat at all?How great is that!!! .. ?Me didnt do for six pack training since scare if any effect on it .........
     
  14. NGRA2000

    NGRA2000 Regular Member

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    Checked with a famous World Class Chinese coach regarding weight trianing for junior, he recommends more reps less weight.
     
  15. Rykard

    Rykard Regular Member

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    did they say what exercises?
     
  16. virco

    virco New Member

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    That is mainly because high weight training in juniors (under 20 y.o.) is definitely not recommended as it can severely interfere with bone growth/development.

    On the general topic of weights training for badminton players, indeed a list of exercises used by a pro or advanced player would be very interesting & helpful. Cheers in advance.
     
  17. bighitter

    bighitter Regular Member

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    I know this thread is an old one, but I have a few points that may interest some of you.

    In the context of Badminton, like any sport it's important to have a well developed postural muscle base from which to increase stabilisation and prevent injury. Imagine this as a group of muscles found throughout your body that help to control explosive movements, prevent injury and provide good day to day posture. Essentially it helps balance movement in the body. Rectus Abdominis is a good example of this, but there are many smaller and often over looked postural muscles found EVERYWHERE in the human body. Without developed core muscles, you will injure yourself repeatedly and cause damage to passive structures.

    So in terms of where to start with any weight training, I would always start with exercises that involve long extended holds of posture. Pilates or Yoga is especially good for this. But for those of you who'd prefer to do their own exercises there are two areas to target. Postural muscles found in the trunk/pelvis and the rotator cuff muscles that stabilise the shoulder (a thoroughly unstable joint!). Muscles such as quadratus lumborum and rectus abdominis can both be tackled with sit-ups and the like. Rotator cuff muscles are a little more tricky. Try rolling a ball on a wall with your arm out stretched and your palm flat for a few minutes, or until you feel the burn, and then increase the difficulty by moving further away or using a heavier ball.

    Once I feel I've strengthened my core, I would move on to endurance and explosive power. Endurance is generally covered well already, if you're doing a decent cardiovascular workout, and traditional weights, with high reps and low intensity (which I suspect most badminton players do!). This targets a specific muscle fiber, Type IIa, which provides strength and endurance.

    But, what really makes professional Badminton players special are their highly developed Type IIb muscle fibers. These are called very fast fatiguable fibers for a good reason, as they generally only last for seconds only.

    I've listed below the movements that I think are most explosive in Badminton:

    Hip Abduction & Adduction
    Forearm Pronation & Supination
    Tensing your grip
    Thigh & Calf Flexion & Extension
    Lower Limb Pronation & Supination

    As said previously in this thread, it's important to work on these movements with high intensity, and low repetitions. Alot of the pronation, supination and grip exercises can be done at home. I'm not going to cover specific exercises for these, as they're all easily googlable. But I figured it might be useful to have a list of (at least what I personally think) are the most important explosive movements in badminton.

    Good luck to all, and I hope I've been of some help!

    PS: Remember ALWAYS train each muscle with their antagonist otherwise you're looking at a host of issues down the line (e.g. Your Hip Abductors, with your Hip Adductors, or Forearm Pronators with your Forearm Supinators)
     
    #17 bighitter, Nov 10, 2014
    Last edited: Nov 10, 2014
    Swedebadminton likes this.
  18. WandaGray

    WandaGray New Member

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    The reason you see a lot of core exercise is because core is important to generate torque power and stabilize the body so keep on doing that. The whole body should be worked out but I will focus on what I think is a must:

    Legs

    Goal: Develop speed, jump and stability

    Routine: Barbell Squats, jump squats, dumbbell lunges and weighted calf raises done with not to heavy weights but explosive and fast
    https://arynews.tv/en/sarahah-know-sender-name-trick-mobile-app/ (with form). I would argue that the only exercise you can do slow and a bit heavier is the barbell squat (with form).


    Shoulders

    Goal: Develop stability mobility and correct imbalances

    Routine: Front raises, side raises, military press and dumbbell press.

    Wrists

    Goal: Develop strength

    Routine: Wrist curl and reverse wrist curls.
     
    #18 WandaGray, Mar 18, 2019
    Last edited: May 10, 2019

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