Endurance

Endurance maybe considered the most important fitness aspect wiht regards to badminton. When people think of endurance they usually picture long distance runners. However badminton is not usually played at a continuous moderate pace. There is a mix of continuous pace and sudden explosive movements to play strokes and move around the court. These movements require a lot of energy.

Energy comes from several sources within the body. In general the two energy systems we are concerned with are the Aerobic and Anerobic systems.

The Aerobic Energy System

The aerobic system relies on the ability of the body to transfer oxygen to the muscles in order for them to be efficient. The aerobic system is important in badminton to sustain long rallies both in doubles and singles. Endurance training is making the body more efficient at transporting nutrients and oxygen to the muscles to fuel their activity.

Badminton players requires excellent cardiovascular health in order to perform at their best. When you get tired, errors start to creep into your game. Therefore it is important to have a high level of endurance to maintain a high level of play.

Improving your cardiovascular capacity is done through moderate exercise, such as jogging or swimming. Please click the link on the left to see various options of exercise to improve cardiovascular fittness.

There are numerous health advantages to cardio as well, which involvte lower blood pressure, reducing stress and improving the heart to pump blood more efficiently, among others. In addition you will also be able to train for longer enabling you to perfect your footwork.

The Anaerobic System

Aerobic fitness is important because matches can often last an hour or more. Being able to maintain a high level of fittness throughout the match will give you the advantage over a less fit opponent.

But in badminton, rally's are often short, sometimes a few seconds. However in these few seconds the pace of the rally often requires short bursts of intense activity, such as jumping and lunging. This kind of activity is known as anaerobic. The energy used does not come from oxygen but from energy stored in the muscles (phosphates) and glucose.

However the energy stored in the muscle is extremely limited and maybe used only a very short period of continuous exercise. This maybe as little as a a minute or two. If the activity is sufficiently intense that aerobic metabolism cannot compensate, the body breaks down glucose. This is knows as anaerobic glycosis.

This process of breaking down glucose also releases lactic acid as a by-product. This can contribute to fatigue and also, at very high levels, compromise the efficiency of the muscle. Therefore training the anerobic system, along side your aerobic one can improve your badminton game dramatically.

In badminton the two systems work side by side as there is continuous play, coupled with short sharp movements around the court. A good badminton player needs both their systems to be effective in order to be at their best.