Keeping Badminton Fit during the COVID pandemic

The past few months have been unpredictable and abnormal. Gyms all around the world have been shut down due to the global pandemic going on around us. Unfortunately, playing in the backyard isn’t the same experience as playing in a gym with mat courts. The pandemic makes it difficult to get little if any court time while still staying safe. Badminton Warehouse presents 5 drills and exercises you can utilize to improve your badminton skills at home.

Hitting Against the Wall

This exercise may seem difficult at first, but as you gain momentum, it becomes an extremely beneficial exercise. All you need is a racket, bird, and a smooth wall to prevent the bird from flying in unexpected directions. As you complete this exercise, it is important to bend your knees and take the shots at the earliest point, practicing how you would receive a shot in a match. This exercise will increase racket speed, anticipation, and reaction time. Hitting against the wall is extremely convenient, as it can be done alone and requires minimum equipment.

Jump Rope

Jumping rope is extremely versatile. There are hundreds of different variations to use in order to improve your badminton skills. Speed jump rope as well as double jump rope are extremely effective in working calf muscles and increasing explosive power. For speed jumping, set a timer for 1 minute and see how many times you can jump during that time. Repeat this 5-10 times and see if you can beat your initial “score”. Once you have mastered this, try the double jump rope. Double jumping is an advanced skill that takes practice. Try to jump as high as possible and whip the jump rope around twice. This exercise definitely takes some getting used to, but with practice, this exercise has high potential.

Ladder Training

This exercise requires an agility ladder, but it can be substituted with tape placed on the floor in the shape of a ladder. Ladder agility drills usually include movements in patterns along the ladder. These exercises will help with agility, or your ability to change direction quickly. Ladder training increases speed through cardio. You can find many videos to follow along on youtube.

For this exercise, you need 7 cones or shuttles. This would be ideal to do in the garage or the driveway. Place them in what would be each corner of the court and one in the center. Practice bringing the birds to the middle by using footwork to retrieve them. Once all of them are in the middle, practice placing them back in their spots. Time yourself and mark that as your base time. Complete 3-5 times and try to decrease your time each set. This exercise will help with the muscle memory necessary to move smoothly and efficiently on the court. Footwork is a fundamental part of playing badminton, and mastering it is vital to progress your skills. This footwork drill helps to build on the basics of badminton.

Core Workouts

Although it seems simple and rather broad, core exercises are imperative in improving one’s badminton game. A strong core is necessary to be stable on the court. Improving core stabilization, core workouts allow you to optimize production, transfer, and control of force and motion. This will ultimately improve movement and stability on the court. This increased stability will allow the player to be ready quickly for the next shot. One specific exercise that is beneficial for improving core strength is planks. Complete 3-5 sets of 1-minute planks each day during your workout in addition to other core workouts including side planks, leg lifts, and V-ups.

Even though we are in the middle of an extremely uncertain time, there are plenty of ways to progress your badminton game at home. These 5 exercises will help improve your badminton game in multiple ways while staying safe in your home or in your driveway.