All other things being equal, the player with more stamina will most likely win a match in baminton. This is because while good stroke skills, effective shot placements and fast footwork are important characteristics in a good player, fitness is necessary in executing and sustaining these movements for the duration of a match. As a player's energy is depleted, his or her ability to perform also goes down.
The Nature of Badminton
Unlike marathon or jogging, moves in badminton vary from standing to slow and sudden actions. Predominantly, however, badminton involves a lot of sudden, short and explosive movements, such as doing a jump smash, pedaling back to return a clear shot to the back of the court, lunging forward to catch a drop shot to the net, jumping toward the net to deliver a net kill shot, engaging in a back and forth exchange of drive shots, etc.
Badminton, therefore, is more of an anaerobic sport, which is characterized by short, sudden burst of high intensity actions, especially in men's doubles. A good example of an anaerobic sport is a 100-meter sprint which, for top Olympic sprinters, lasts only under 10 seconds. Other sports, such as marathon, are considered aerobic sports because they involve continuous movements at more or less the same pace and are appropriately called steady state activities.
However, considering the duration of a badminton match, which could last from 30 minutes to an hour, it also has aerobic elements which means it would also require sustained endurance. So the more accurate description would be that badminton is both an aerobic and anaerobic sport, with emphasis on the anaerobic aspect.
The Three Energy Systems
There are three energy systems responsible for supplying energy to the body that every serious badminton player should know. These are the (1) ATP-PC or phosphagen energy system, (2) glycolytic or lactic acid energy system and the (3) oxygen energy system. The oxygen energy system is activated during aerobic exercises, while the ATP-PC and glycolytic energy systems are used during anaerobic exercises.
Anaerobic Energy System
The ATP-PC or phosphagen energy system and glycolytic or lactic acid energy system are grouped under the anaerobic energy system. Anaerobic simply means without oxygen, as opposed to aerobic, which means with oxygen. Therefore, the phosphagen and glycolytic systems do not rely on oxygen for the production of energy needed by the muscles.
The key ingredient in all mascular activities is the chemical adenosine triphosphate or ATP. ATP is said to be the currency of energy because it is responsible in producing the energy needed to fuel muscle activity; without ATP the muscles cannot contract or produce movement. It should be noted that the three energy systems similarly work to produce ATP, which then releases energy needed by the muscles.
ATP-PC Energy System
The ATP-PC energy system relies on the ATP stored in the muscles, which is found in small quantities only at any given time. When food taken by the body is broken down through the digestive process, ATP is produced and stored in the muscle cells. With the help of another chemical called creatine phosphate or phosphocreatine (PC), also found in small quantities, the stored ATP supplies the energy needed by the muscles to produce high intensity movements of short duration. Because of the speed of the activity involved, the respiratory process is not fast enough to deliver the oxygen needed to produce ATP and so the body must rely on the ATP already stored in the muscles.
This energy system, however, is limited in that it can only fuel muscle activity for a short duration, usually lasting between six to eight seconds. Some place the duration at 10 seconds. Because of the speed with which it supplies energy to the muscles and and the short duration it lasts, it is the energy source in short burst, high intensity actions, such as in the execution of a smash shot, a quick lunge to catch a drop shot, or in most badminton rallies which usually lasts for only a few seconds.
Glycolytic System
If an activity lasts for more than eight or 10 seconds, another energy system kicks in: the glycolytic or lactic acid energy system. As the ATP and phosphocreatine stored in the muscles are exhausted after the muscles have been engaged in an activity for eight or 10 seconds, the glucose stored in the body (glycogen) is broken down by the process of glycolysis to produce the ATP needed by the muscles to continue functioning. This allows the muscles to carry on for two to three minutes until muscle fatigue sets in. Because the glycolytic process produces lactic acid as a byproduct, the accumulation of lactic acid hinders muscle movement which is the reason for muscle fatigue or cramps. This point at which muscle fatigue sets in has been called anaerobic or lactate threshold.
Like the ATP-PC energy system, this system supplies energy to the muscles fast because all the ingredients needed for the production of ATP are already in the body. The oxygen energy system, on the other hand, requires oxygen to be drawn from the atmosphere and must pass through the complicated process of respiration and circulation in producing ATP. Thus, the ATP-PC and glycolytic energy systems are most ideal sources of energy for anaerobic sports like badminton because they provide fast and short-term energy needs.
Oxygen Energy System
The oxygen energy system involves the transfer of oxygen from the atmosphere to the body through the respiratory process, which involves the inhalation of oxygen for delivery to the lungs, blood stream and ultimately to the muscle cells. Here, through a process called oxidation, the inhaled oxygen burns fat and glucose that produces the ATP needed to fuel muscle activity. The oxygen energy system produces the greatest quantity of ATP chemicals, but because of the rather lengthier process involved this system cannot meet the muscles' energy requirements for immediate and sudden movements of high intensity.
An activity lasting for more than three minutes allows the body to meet the muscles' energy needs through the supply of oxygen. The oxygen energy system is, therefore, responsible in providing energy to the muscles in aerobic sports or steady state activities, such as marathon or long distance cycling.
Developing the Energy Systems
Since badminton is both an aerobic and anaerobic sport, it is important to develop the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems.
The aerobic energy system (oxygen energy system) is fairly easy to develop by engaging in continuous steady state activities or those where the pace of movement is more or less the same, such as running on the treadmill at a constant pace, jogging, brisk walking or cycling. Rather than the intensity or speed, the emphasis on these activities is in increasing the distance gradually until endurance builds up. Aerobic exercises strengthen the heart and lungs and improve the body's ability to use oxygen, which in turn increases the body's endurance in sustained physical activities.
Developing anaerobic endurance is the more daunting task because it demands a higher intensity of exercise. The purpose of anaerobic exercises is to increase the body's tolerance of lactic acid build-up. Although fitness experts recommend both continuous and interval training as a way of developing anaerobic endurance, badminton coaches recommend a badminton-specific interval training for endurance in badminton. Interval training is defined as bouts of exercise interspersed with short rest intervals. The exercises are performed in sets at high intensity for a certain period followed by rest periods.
Shadow Play
The most recommended interval training for badminton is the shadow play, which is accomplished by moving around the court with a racket and simulatenously performing strokes at every corner. The movements are done by moving to the right, middle and left of the net, then to the right and left sides of the court, then to the right-middle-left sides at the back of the court, then back to the first steps, doing this drill repeatedly for as long as possible. In Advance Baminton Techniques, Butch Oreta recommends that this drill is done every other day. According to Oreta, the player must increase his or her time doing this drill for every suceeding session until the drill can be done in sets followed by brief rest periods (e.g., three sets of 3 minutes each, with rest of a few seconds after every set).
The shadow play will prove most beneficial to the player because not only will it improve anaerobic endurance, it will also improve his or her footwork or even the racket stroke. The player must, of course, be conscious of doing the correct footwork and racket strokes. For an example, see former men's singles world champion Peter Rasmussen of Denmark perform the shadow drill on Badminton Site.
Avoidance of Injuries
Players should take care whenever doing exercises by first consulting their doctors if fit to perform a particular drill and doing the necessary stretches and warm-ups before exercise.
References:
Downey, Jake, David Brodie. Get Fit for Badminton. Great Britain: Pelham Books Ltd., 1980.
Martos, Maria. Adenosine Triphosphate: The Necessary Fuel for All Body Cells. March 1, 2010.
Renato Bautista, Jr. - Renato Bautista, Jr., who is also known as Jun, is an attorney in the Philippines and loves to write about law and politics. As an ...
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