Strength Training

Strength is aquired through resistence training, either using free weights, machines or your own body weight. If you have access to a gym it is likely you will have access to all three methods, however if working from home you may only have a set of dumbells. Free weights and body weight exercises are superior to machines so don't worry if you haven't a gym membership. If you have no weights at home, there are varations of different body weight exercises to make them harder so again initially it is not such an issue. We will focus on free weights and calisthenics. With any exercise it is important to complete a throrough warm up.

In order to develop strength you have to lift heavy. Obviously this is subjective. If you struggle lifting your own body weight, for example press ups, then you should focus on calisthenics and develop your strength before moving onto free weights. Of course calisthenics are not limited to developing strength for beginners. There are many different types of body weight exercices which people almost universally find difficult. Pull ups are a great example. When lifting heavy weights it is important to have a spotter for safety reasons.

We should define that weight lifting is considered in sets and repetitions (reps). Reps are the amount of times you complete an action. So if you do ten press ups, you completeted ten reps. A set is made up of reps. So again, if you complete ten reps, this is a set of ten reps. Then you take a small break and maybe this time only complete 7 reps, this is a set of seven reps. A set can contain any number of repetitions.

There are a number studies which try to determine what is the optimum rep range to develop strength. Most studies point to 3-5 reps per set. This does not mean lift a light weight 5 times. You should be struggling to lift the weight at 3 reps but still able to meet 5 reps. If you can do more than 8 it's time to up the weight. This should be done in small increments of about 0.5kg - 1kg. If it is still too light try adding another 0.5kg. Any rep ranges from about 8-10 focuses on hypertrophy and 12+ would be endurance. However we a purely focusing on strength. Because we are training for strength, do not automatically assume you will become big and bulky. Although hypertrophy may be a bi-product of weight training, it is unlikely you will put on any substantial muscle following a badminton training routine.

These exercises should only be done upon completeing your warm up. Please click the links on the left to view some examples of important exercises.