Badminton is of those sports which require the most Endurance. Quick reflexes, Smashes, Shot Techniques, Foot Movement makes this sport a very high energy requiring sport. Well, while watching the game, it looks very easy to play, but the real stamina is seen once you are playing along.
For an active and fit living, Badminton is one sport that can be played by a person of any age bracket. Well for those who are young, the energy levels shall surely be high, but for others with proper technique and movement, the game can become interesting plus it can help in increasing the fitness level in the person.
Following are few exercises that are aimed at helping to improve your fitness levels.
Jog
The best and easy way to increase stamina is to Jog. Try to jog at least 3 days a week for 30 minutes on end. As Endurance is a key factor in badminton, more the stamina you have, the better will be your movement on the court.
Skip
Playing Badminton means being on your toes all the while. Skipping for at least 10 minutes a day will flex your toes and will help in keeping your feet light for quick movements.
Shadow Playing
Practice shadow playing to allow yourself to visualize how to move till it becomes instinctual. If you can master this, you won't have to consciously worry about the footwork needed in real game situations.
Silent Footwork
You can measure your quality of footwork by observing how little noise your feet make when you move and land. The lesser the sound, the better you are at absorbing the pressure and body weight.
Holding the Racket
Badminton isn’t an easy game as it looks to be. One of the biggest element in Badminton is to learn the technique of holding the racket. Be it forehand, backhand, smash, drop shot, every move has a different way of holding the racket and timing the shots for better accuracy.
Exercises for Better Strokes
Play Half-Court Singles
One of the most common type of exercise among badminton players is allowing focus on your technique of footwork or endurance. Make use of the first half of the court while rallying to each other. Playing Half Court Singles allows you to focus on limited space thereby increasing your accuracy to better your shots. This technique allows you to face a fast paced exercise in a confined space which eventually trains you to have quicker reflexes while focusing on particular strokes.
Play Rear-Court Singles
This exercise helps you in mastering the strength shots which are from one end to another. This is a basic exercise which allows you to improve your drive and clear strokes, getting you familiar with right technique used when contacting the shuttle and the power required to hit the shuttle high in the air to the back of the court. The biggest joy of the game is to hear the sweet noise that comes when the shuttle is being hit by the racket with proper timing.
Court Movement
One of the best exercises is to work on half courts and try to cover the 4 corners with your racket in hand with proper steps and foot movement. The best way to do it is to mark the center point of the court. After every shot the objective should be to reach the center so as to be ready to cover the court for the next shot. Try practicing the way the shot should be played to give you enough time to recover from your position and get back into the hitting position. You can also position the shuttles at the 4 corners and try to reach the shuttles within 3-4 steps from the centre and back.
Work on your weak strokes
Once you start playing for a while, you would surely get an idea of the places that require improvisation. Try working on positional plays wherein you can cover the front shot as well as recover and play the next shot from the rear of the court. Badminton is a game played on steps. The longer and quicker the steps with control on your body as well as the shot movement results in better accuracy but requires very high stamina and endurance. For many players, backhand is generally the weak spot, so if you notice you have difficulty in that area, spend the entire session returning shuttles solely with your backhand.
Train Your Smashes and Lifts
Being able to execute a proper smash and smash defence are the abilities that separate the serious and the casual players. For this advanced exercise, Ask your opponent to initially be the lifter, constantly lifting (and subsequently defending) the shuttle cock high in the air into a smashing position for the other. The other player constantly attempts to smash the shuttlecock back downwards.
Badminton is one game that will make you feel excited once you start playing with techniques and is a game that will boost your stamina and endurance with time. There are numerous videos online on the techniques to play the shots and foot movement, however we feel that with little focus of proper training, it will become very easy to learn the technique better. Eventually it is a game and there is a chance of getting hurt, hence wear proper non marking shoes while playing.
For a good professional player, the game can get longer. Try sipping Energy Drink or a Health Drink to boost your energy levels during the game.
We hope this article shall help you enjoy the game better and will help in increasing your endurance level which will be helpful for your active and health life.
By - 360activeliving