Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, every badminton player might be afraid of the consequence of the lack of effective practice in their game. Many of you may have observed a decline in your performance and fitness due to the pandemic.
I am sure you might hear of the saying, ‘Where there is a will, there is a way’. So don’t be disappointed as I will help you with key exercises to practice at home to not lose touch with your game and be very much in form.
There are many ways you can practice badminton at home without a partner. So in this article, I have described various exercises that will help to improve your badminton skills as well as overall body movement.
Moreover, this will help you feel more confident once you get back to your normal routine. Here are some exercises or drills that you can practice in minimum space.
Wall Practice
Wall practice is one of the basic and most important drills in badminton which you can do at home as well. You just need a wall, your racket, and an old shuttle.
You can tape the wall as per the height of the badminton net(1.524m) and practice accordingly. Of course, the walls of your home may not be of great height so at home you can practice chest level shots also known as parallel shots. Remember to squat a bit and jump which your legs shoulder-width apart while receiving the shuttle.
Practice both ways, backhand, and forehand and this helps to efficiently improve your grip pattern. Parallel shots are more important for doubles players so practicing this at home will keep you quite in touch for your shots. Remember to control the strength so that you can maintain a rally with the wall.
Challenge yourself by aiming a rally of 100,500,1000 and more. There are many benefits of this drill as it improves your reflexes, wrist power, and coordination as well as speed in changing your grip.
Skipping
Badminton movement heavily depends on your toes and skipping is one of the best exercises to strengthen your toes and joints around your ankle. Beginners can start off by skipping with both legs and then can progress to skipping on one leg for better strengthening.
Try to do at least 1000-2000 skips or for 10-15 minutes and keep challenging yourself. Moreover, skipping is a great exercise for your cardiovascular system. So it will help to improve agility as well. Those facing problems with skipping can opt for a jog or a run on the treadmill.
Skipping rope also works up your calves and forearms which are equally important in badminton. While forearms help to execute better and stronger shots, calves bring out efficient movement on the court.
Advance players must focus on mastering double skips as this is a great exercise to improve your jump while smashing.
Physical Fitness And Training
Badminton is the fastest sport in the world and physical fitness is of utmost importance. The Lockdown phase and staying at home may be challenging as it restricts movement and activeness which can lead to weight gain and losing muscle strength.
Badminton requires everything from speed, agility, strength, and power. So, to focus on every aspect, it’s better to plan your training to focus on each parameter for better results. Consult with your coach or fitness trainer while planning for the same.
There are many exercise patterns that you can add to your practice.
Agility Exercises
Agility helps to sustain long and intense matches and plays a key role in a player’s performance. One of the main reasons that Asian players dominate the badminton world is that they possess good agility in their bodies. There are many exercises that you can practice to improve agility that can be easily performed at home.
Remember to jog every day for at least 10 minutes and also mix it up with skipping for 10-15 minutes or 1000-2000 skips regularly as these are great for your cardiovascular system.
- High Knees
- Moving legs back and forth, side and inside, and criss-cross.
- Kangaroo jumps
- High jumps (you can mix it with two low jumps and then a high jump)
- Lunges (moving/stationary depending on your comfort)
- Sprinting- This can be done stationary standing at one place or if you have someplace in your hall/veranda you can utilize that space to sprint for 2-3 rounds.
Shadows
Shadow practice is one of the most important elements in badminton. Importantly, it is done without the need for another player, shuttle, and court. There are various variations that you can add to your shadow practice but remember to practice it at least once a week. Moreover, visualize each shot when you are practicing shadows.
This helps to improve, coordination, speed, movement, and balance on the court. When you watch players like Tai Tzu Ying, Kento Momota, you must have observed their amazing footwork pattern which helps them to cover the court fast as well as efficiently.
As you are at home, you can practice shadows on your terrace or your lawn. Remember to focus on your speed and technique and try to increase your speed eventually. In addition to this, don’t practice shadows on a hard or rough surface as it can affect your knees.
Racket Swing Practice
Well, this is specifically to keep your arms under motion while at home. The racket swing practice is practiced stationery where you just move your hands and arms with your racket imagining yourself hitting a particular shot.
This is very effective for practicing smashes, clears, and backhand shots, defense, and many more as it helps to improve your gripping pattern and arm strength. To make it more challenging try to use a heavier racket or a tennis racket for added benefits.
Circuit Training
Badminton is a very intensive sport that demands overall body fitness. Circuit training helps for weight loss, agility, stamina, and overall physical strength. There are many exercises that you can incorporate into your circuit training.
You can perform each exercise for 30-50 sec and move on to the next. However, remember to practice exercises that will focus on each area of your body like core strength, arm strength, and leg strength.
Core Training
Core strength is very important in any sport as it helps to improve balance and stability. Dedicate a part of your training once a week to developing your core strength.
There are numerous exercises that you can practice to develop your core, for eg, crunches, planks, mountain climbers, and many more. All these exercises can be easily performed on a yoga mat. Keep challenging yourself to feel the burn.
Shuttle Training
On the court, this training is usually done on all six corners of the court. However, at home, you can focus on one area each by placing 5 shuttles on a particular area and 1 shuttle in the middle.
By using proper footwork, you need to pick up all five shuttles one by one and place them in the middle by moving to and fro from the middle. You can practice this for 3-5 sets on each side.
Final Thoughts
Everybody is different and can handle different levels of stress. So please remember to understand your body and figure out how much stress can it handle so that you don’t overexert yourself as this could lead to injuries. Patience is the key to success so be patient to see your results as it takes time for your body to accept and show changes.
Your performance in every type of sport heavily depends on your physical fitness as much on your skills. Therefore, devote your time to improving your overall body fitness as this will improve your game even more.
Developing your skills and improving fitness can be done anywhere so don’t be disappointed and keep practicing on your own. Please remember to consult your coach or trainer before you start your home fitness program.
