How to warm up in badminton to avoid injuries

It’s surprising how many players I have seen on court without proper warm-up, where I train there are also some club members who are not taking any professional coaching but playing just to stay active, but little did they know, not doing proper warm-up before playing badminton can have a negative impact on their body, so in this article, I will teach you a proper process which you need to follow every single day before playing to avoid any injuries and get that blood flow up so that you can move more swiftly on Court.

Why is it important to warm up

The purpose of a warm-up is to prevent injury by increasing the body’s core and muscle temperature. Warm muscles increase the rate of energy production which increases reflexes and lowers the time it takes to contract a muscle. A good warm-up should also increase the range of motion and mentally prepare you for exercise.

Some misconception

This is one of the common mistakes which I have seen most player doing and also I have seen in some videos on YouTube who are telling you how to warm up,
You need to understand the difference between static and non-static (Warm-up) exercise.

Static exercise

In this type of exercise, you hold a position for a particular time like a ground touch, split, etc. These should be done when your body is properly warmed up, think of your muscle as a rubber band, stretching it when it is not lose can cause you injury.

So static exercise should always be done when you have done your training and not before practice sessions

Non-static exercise

These are different from the earlier ones because here you are constantly moving your body meaning your main goal here is to warm up all of your muscles and to make them lose as much as possible before your practice session to avoid injuries.

Using proper equipment is also necessary to avoid injuries read how to choose a racket

Step by step exercise

• Running
• Neck rotation
• Shoulder rotation
• Wrist movement
• Lower Back
• Knees exercise
• Ankle rotation
• Skipping
• Footwork and Wall practice (If you have time)

The first thing you need to do after getting in a proper attire is doing enough for at least 20 minutes(in winter) and for 10 minutes(In Summer) to get that blood flow up and running.
Try to maintain a consistent speed instead of going all out, your goal is to warm up your muscle not to tie them, so run at a normal pace.

You have done your running now perform each of these exercises which I am going to mention the download of each body part.

Neck

While playing badminton there is a lot of neck Movement in bold like when you are hitting show from the back of the court and if you have not properly warmed up neck muscles chances are high of getting sprain, do these exercise before your practice session

The first exercise is moving your neck forward and backward also sideways at a slow pace ( 10 times)

After that do clockwise and anticlockwise rotation with your neck (10 round each)

Shoulder

The number of players who have asked me about the tips on how to cure the shoulder pain is unbelievable, but you can avoid this by some exercise

First exercises to do full arm rotation clockwise and anticlockwise (10 rep with each arm)
After that use both of your arms and perform the same motion

Wrist

I believe this is one of the most ignored body part when it comes to warming up but as a badminton player, you cannot avoid any muscle because in this sport you are using each and every single muscle.

Hold your wrist and rotate it clockwise and anticlockwise 10 times
This exercise is enough for you to warm up these muscles

Lower back

Back muscles are used when you are shifting your body weight from lung position to base position, it is necessary to properly warm up this muscle to avoid any injuries and move more fluently on Court.

These two are the exercise which I like because of her beginner-friendly it is
First, rotate your hip and make a circle clockwise and anticlockwise (10 rep each)
Second exercises are a windmill (what I call it )

Knees

Chances of getting any injury in badminton are very high because you are constantly doing lunges jumps and other source of any movement continuously every single day, so always warm up muscle around knees.

Here don’t confuse it with bones i am talking about the muscle which surrounds it, stand with both of your feet together slightly band on your knees and make circle clockwise and anticlockwise ( 10 rep each )

Pro tip:- Always drink water or any other liquid while sitting or crouching position and not while standing, Reason?

When you drink water standing up, the water which goes in passes through the system with a straight gush, not really reaching the organs where it is supposed to do the job. Hence, the impurities which are supposed to go out get deposited in the kidneys and the bladder.

This, in turn, can also put bones and joints at risk as the water gushes down the body. You can also experience joint pain, bone degeneration, and weakness. Thus, the speed of chugging water down and how you drink it has an important role to play.

Ankle

With the tip of your toe firmly attached to the court( one at a time) make circles clockwise and anticlockwise with your heel ( 10 rep).

Skipping

The reason, why I would suggest you to skips before playing, is because in badminton most of the movement is on the toes so it is beneficial to warm up these muscles before start playing.

If you know how to skip I will suggest you to at least 200-300 skips but if you are a beginner go with jumping jacks

Finally Shadow/Wall practice

This one is optional as many players don’t have the proper technique to performing so only if you know about footwork or wall practice it is beneficial for you.

Thank you for reading