Badminton Training for Legs

To be good at badminton, leg training is a must.

Badminton requires leg explosiveness and agility. The ability to move quickly about the court is a necessity for anyone wanting to play high-level badminton. Becoming a good player requires more than just sport practice. Players who truly want to be good also put in significant amounts of time doing leg training.

The First Exercise

Weight training is essential to high-level competition.

The first exercise in leg training for badminton is the squat. Squats are performed by placing a barbell high on your shoulders, held in place with your hands. The weight on the barbell will depend on the individual. You should be physically taxed after eight to 12 repetitions. Your feet should be slightly wider than your shoulders. With about 70 percent of your weight on your heels, squat down until the tops of your thighs are parallel with the ground. Try to maintain an upright posture. Inhale as you lower yourself and exhale forcefully as you go back to your starting position. Do eight to 12 repetitions per set.

More Exercise

A combination of sport skill practice and exercise is best for improvement.

The next exercise is called a forward lunge. Standing tall as you did in your squat stance, feet slightly wider than shoulder-width. Step forward about two feet with your non-dominant leg. (Which leg would you use to kick a football? Use the other leg to start.) Allow your back knee to bend toward the ground. Forcefully push off your forward heel to return to your start position. Maintain the shoulder-width distance of your feet. Consider that your feet are on "railroad tracks" and when stepping forward you want to remain on the railroad track. If your feet start moving inside the tracks you will have balance issues. Inhale as you step out and exhale as you forcefully kick back to the start position. Do 12 reps on your non-dominant leg and then 12 reps on your dominant leg.

Running Stands

Running stands will help you cover more of the court.

Running stands is great for explosiveness, strength and endurance. Find a football or basketball stadium where you can go exercise. Running up and down the stands will help significantly increase your explosiveness. Start by running the stands once and increase from there as your stamina improves. You will soon find yourself able to jump higher and faster that you have in the past. The result will translate to being better able to cover the court.

Get Faster Side-to-Side

Agility is a key component to winning at badminton.

Shuffling side-to-side is our next exercise. Start at one side of the court and shuffle to the other side, then shuffle to your original position. Do not cross your feet. Also, do the drill as fast as possible. Perform this drill three times before stopping to rest. You will be able to cover more of the court side-to-side after a month or two of performing this drill.

Get Faster

Your speed on the court will increase substantially.

The next drill is designed to increase your speed forward and backward. Start at the serving line and sprint to the net. Now backpedal to the serving line. Repeat this drill three times before stopping to rest. You will increase your ability to move quickly around the court with this drill. You will find that shots that were once out of reach are now easy returns. Follow this workout program and you will substantially increase your explosiveness and agility for badminton.

References

• A good badminton site.
• The website for USA Badminton