Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players (singles) or two opposing pairs (doubles), that take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court divided by a net.

Of all the racket sports Badminton is the fastest, involving fleet of foot, lightening reflexes, tremendous body balance, excellent reach, quick recovery time and boundless stamina to excel.

There are no rest intervals between prolonged rallies, meaning a player needs to be in supreme fitness to withstand the physical strain, otherwise he is liable to lose long rallies due to fatigue.

Badminton Strength & Power Training

The goal of this program is not only to improve your performance, but also to help you meet and withstand the demands of badminton. This means that not only will you become stronger and more explosive but your body will also function better, move better and be more resistant to injury. The first four week, block of training is called the foundational training phase. These sessions will focus on correcting imbalances while creating a strength base. This will ensure that the body is functioning optimally and better prepared for the later stages of training. The second four week, block of training moves into what is called an intensification training phase. During this training block, you will shift from unilateral movements to compound exercises emphasizing heavier loads and explosive contractions. This will result in performance improvements coming from an increase in relative strength and the ability to produce explosive movements.

Badminton Movement Training

The movement sessions in this program are designed to not only improve your speed on the court but also the quality of your footwork. Becoming more powerful while developing efficiency will ensure you are able to play at the highest intensity while conserving energy and preventing injuries. The first four weeks will focus on developing coordination and the development of power through low complexity plyometrics and footwork patterns. As the program progresses the difficulty and complexity will increase. In the seconds four weeks there will be a distinct increase in intensity. The plyometric exercises place a greater emphasis on utilizing the stretch reflex, developing reactive and explosive strength. You will also take advantage of the movement quality and power you have developed as you test your ability to string together more complicated footwork sequences at higher speeds.

Badminton Fitness & Conditioning

All the skills and tactics in the world will be of no use if an athlete does not have the endurance to support them. Badminton creates an interesting challenge from a conditioning perspective. The individual rallies are 7 – 15 second bursts of high intensity efforts. This requires a well developed Anaerobic A-Lactic System. However, the time between rallies is insufficient to completely restore the energy expended. Over the course of a few rallies a deficit builds up and fatigue sets in. However it is possible to minimize the decrease in performance through the development of the Anaerobic Lactic and Aerobic energy systems. With all energy systems working together to support the production and recovery of energy it is possible to perform at a high speeds and intensity over the course of an entire match. In the early stages of the program the primary focus will be on building your aerobic base. This will develop a tolerance for higher training volumes and the capacity to recover from high intensity efforts. As you progress through the program the emphasis will move toward higher intensity. Moving beyond your anaerobic threshold, where the aerobic system becomes insufficient in meeting energy demands is where performance improvements will become more noticeable. To do this we will utilize interval training of increasingly higher intensity. Ultimately, the goal of this program is to transfer improvements in fitness to the sport of badminton. With this in mind as you move through the program the conditioning methods will move from a more general nature, utilizing equipment like the stationary bike, to shuttle runs on the courts, to actual sport specific movement like footwork patterns.

Definition of Key Terms in your Program

Movement Type Jump: A two foot take off followed by a two foot landing. This can be done from a bilateral (2 foot) stance or split stance Bound: A single leg take-off followed by a single leg landing on the other leg. Hop: A single leg take off followed by a single leg landing on the same leg Initiation Type Non-Counter Movement: Take off from a static position without a pre-loading counter movement. Does not utilize the stretch reflex. Counter Movement: Take off involving a pre-loading counter movement utilizing the stretch reflex. Double Contact: a quick low amplitude counter movement followed by larger more powerful counter movement. This coupling of movements generates a greater response from the stretch reflex. Continuous: rapid repeated movements defined by making contact with the ground and taking off as quickly as possible. Depth Jump: The stretch reflex is amplified by jumping from an elevated height then landing and taking off as quickly as possible and jumping as high as possible. Movement Direction Linear: Movements falling in this category involve displacing the body either forward, backward or upward. Lateral: Movements displacing the body to left or the right away from the centre of the body. Medial: Movements displacing the body to left or the right in the direction toward the centre of the body. Movement Emphasis Vertical: Movements emphasizing maximum vertical displacement. Horizontal: Movements emphasizing maximum horizontal displacement.