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Badminton players need to possess a variety of fitness capabilities to be successful. Cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, agility, power and strength are all desirable traits that can be developed with regular training. Strength training for badminton should be as sports specific as possible, and your program should reflect the demands of your sport while still leaving sufficient time and energy for playing practice.

Aerobic Fitness

Badminton matches can be quite long, so aerobic fitness is an important part of the sport. To develop your aerobic fitness, jog, cycle, swim or row for 20 or more minutes at least three times a week. To ensure you get the most from your aerobic training, keep your heart rate between 60 percent and 90 percent of your maximum.

Anaerobic Fitness

Because of the start-stop nature of badminton, you will benefit from performing interval training. Interval training consists of alternating between periods of high-intensity work and low-intensity recovery. For example, you might spring for 30 seconds and walk for 90 seconds. This type of training simulates the ebb and flow of a badminton match.

Muscular Endurance

During a badminton match, you will be required to run, lunge, jump and sprint for the duration of the game. To achieve this you will need good muscular endurance, especially in your legs. To develop muscular endurance, perform high-rep sets of exercises such as lunges, squats and push-ups with short rests between sets. If your legs begin to tire at the end of a badminton match, you need more muscular endurance training.

Power

Although both the racket and shuttlecock are very light, you will need muscle power to produce powerful badminton shots. This is especially true when hitting the shuttlecock the length of the court or going for a point-winning smash. Medicine-ball throwing exercises are an excellent way to develop upper body power. Use a light- to medium-weight ball initially and progress to a heavier ball as you become stronger.

Vertical Jumping

If the shuttle is hit high above your head, you may elect to jump for it instead of running backwards to intercept it. One of the most effective ways of developing your vertical jumping ability is to do plyometric jumping drills. One example is squat jumps. Bend your knees and squat down. Jump up as high as you can into the air. On landing, immediately descend into another squat and repeat for six to eight repetitions.

Flexibility

Badminton, like fencing, is a sport of lunges. Your ability to perform a deep lunge can be the difference between missing and hitting a return shot. To develop your flexibility for lunging, stretch your inner thighs, hips, hamstrings and glutes on a daily basis. Additionally, developing flexibility in your upper back and shoulders may add a small amount to the length of your reach. Stretch only after you have warmed up to get the most from your stretching and minimize your risk of injury.

Agility

Badminton is a fast-paced game and your ability to react quickly to the actions of your opponent is vital. One way to develop your agility and eye/hand coordination is to use an agility ball. Agility balls are uneven balls which, when dropped or thrown, will bounce in random directions to which you must react. Try standing about 10 feet from a wall and tossing an agility ball at it. Try to react as fast as you can and catch it as it rebounds. Agility balls are available from sporting goods stores for about $15.00.

General Power

Strength and explosive power are an essential part of the badminton training program, according to Sports Fitness Advisor. General power is developed through resistance training in the gym. Badminton players can develop power by selecting multi-joint, free-weight lifts and performing them quickly and explosively. For maximum power gains, perform sets of one to five repetitions, using loads of about 70 percent to 80 percent of your one rep maximum.

Speed and Acceleration

Speed and acceleration are sport-specific forms of power that allow badminton players to shift directions and accelerate to the shuttlecock as quickly as possible. Players can train acceleration by performing explosive exercises in the legs, Sturgess and Newton report. Split squats and single-leg split squats emulate the muscle patterns needed for speed and acceleration in badminton, and you perform these exercises explosively using about 30 percent of your one rep maximum to achieve increases in acceleration power.

Jumping Power

Badminton players must jump as high as possible in a short period of time to smash the shuttlecock over the net. This skill requires power in the lower body. Jumping power can be achieved through plyometrics, Sturgess and Newton write. Plyometric exercises take advantage of the muscle's stretch-shortening cycle, allowing for quick, high-velocity muscle contractions. You can perform standing jumps, box jumps and depth jumps to develop the leaping power you need for game situations.

Program Design

For maximal power gains, combine resistance training and plyometrics into the same workout. This is referred to as complex training and can increase power through "potentiation" effects, according to Peak Performance. Potentiation refers to a heightening in the responsiveness of muscle fibers. Perform complex training by selecting a resistance-training power exercise such as the power clean, and immediately follow it with a plyometric exercise such as a vertical jump. Perform three sets of each exercise to maximize potentiation effects in the muscles.

The Strength Demands of Badminton

Strength, according to the National Strength and Conditioning Association, can be categorized in a number of ways: absolute strength refers to the maximum amount of force a muscle or muscle group can develop; strength endurance refers to the ability to perform a high volume of sub-maximal contractions without fatigue; and speed strength, which is better known as power, is strength expressed at speed.

The low weight of modern badminton rackets and the low inertia of the shuttlecock means that badminton has a relatively low demand for absolute strength. However, badminton players will benefit from increasing their strength endurance and speed strength.

Strength-Training Modalities

You can develop strength endurance and speed strength by using a variety of strength-training equipment. Free weights such as dumbbells, barbells and kettle bells, resistance-training machines, rubber resistance bands, medicine balls and body weight exercises are all effective strength-training modalities.

Regardless of the type of strength training you perform, begin each workout with some light-cardio and stretching to warm up, and finish each workout with more stretching to minimize muscle soreness and promote flexibility.

Major Muscles Used in Badminton

Badminton involves a lot of lunging movements, which engages the quadriceps and hamstring muscles of the thigh as well as the gluteus maximus or butt muscles. The adductors and abductors, located on the inside and outside of your thighs, respectively, are also heavily involved, especially when you lunge in multiple directions.

Badminton also involves lots of twisting and reaching movements, which place a significant demand on your core muscles---your abs, waist and lower back. Hitting the shuttlecock uses the muscles of the chest, back and shoulder, and the degree of involvement depends on the shot being played.

Strength-Training Exercises for Badminton

There are a number of exercises that you can perform to increase your strength for badminton. Forward, sideways and backward lunges with or without weights will help develop lower body strength, as will squats, leg extensions, leg curls and leg presses. Develop power to increase your court speed and vertical jumping ability by performing split squat jumps and squat jumps.

To improve your upper body strength, perform shoulder presses, lat pull downs, chest presses and rows. Like most racket sports, badminton players are prone to developing rotation cuff problems. To minimize your risk of developing rotation cuff problems, you should perform medial and lateral shoulder rotation exercises using dumbbells, cables or resistance bands.

Developing a Strength-Training Program

Because strength training is one of a variety of fitness components that need to be addressed in your program, make the most of your training time by performing compound exercises that exercise multiple muscle groups. This approach means that you can train all of your major muscles using a minimal number of exercises in a single exercise session performed once or twice a week.

Build each workout around lower body and core exercises as these are the dominant muscle groups used in badminton, and also include exercises for the upper body. To combine upper and lower body work into the same exercise, perform complex exercises such as front squats combined with shoulder presses or lunges with biceps curls. This will further reduce your strength-training time and allow you to focus on other elements of your sport.

Article was quoted from Live Strong