Off-season maintenance

Many less experienced players either play socially or not at all during the summer (outside the traditional Badminton season of September-May).  This means that players lose fitness, touch and flexibility, and when the season starts, it can take a few months to get back to match fitness.  

Here are some achievable activities you can do with minimal equipment which will help you start strong.

1. Other sports - Couch to 5K is a great example of a free fitness programme, and in 3 months will take any couch potato and turn them into a runner able to complete 5km of running.  This might not sound relevant to badminton, but building and maintaining a base level of endurance makes a huge impact to players to play longer, work harder and recover more quickly.

2. Stretching - above exercise, good flexibility and bodily stretchiness improves lots of your body's biomechanical functions, reducing injury, recovering from particular moves such as lunges and jumps, and getting rid of lactic acid build-up (lactic acid causes cramp).

3. Working on specific badminton fitness exercises, including lunges, dumbell rows, core exercises and plyometrics.  The folks over at Badminton Insight can explain it best so watch this!

4. Activities at home!  No court needed, and we are happy to give you shuttles (just ask, we have hundreds) - these help you develop grip, finger control, reaction speeds and balance.  Again, the folks at Badminton Insight have got it covered:

5. Play more!  Simply put, the more you play, the more experience you will gain, and the more you learn about why improving your physical fitness, flexibility, and finessing skills make a positive difference to your on-court enjoyment.   It doesn't have to be competitive, in a club environment, or even with the same shuttles, if you play regularly then you will start next season one step above players that don't.