Coaching
Play Better Badminton Training 3：Basic Endurance Concepts
What is lack of endurance?
Fellow players, do you often find that you run out of steam so can’t perform as well as you might before reaching match point.
This is often blamed on lack of lack of fitness but it’s more accurate to say it stems from a lack of endurance.
What do you think when you see the word endurance? Marathon runners and triathletes? You are right in both cases.
As the picture shows both these sports require activity over a long period of time so need endurance more than most other sports! However, endurance is still needed for badminton and taekwondo etc.
Today, we will introduce everyone to the muscle endurance needed for badminton and training methods so you will be able to compete right to the end of the match!
Marathon runners really needed muscular endurance training
(Source: Official website of the 2011 Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon)
(http://www.hkmarathon.com/marathon/chi/media/press/press_110222.jsp)
What is muscular endurance?
Endurance is the length of time a muscle can be continually exerted against resistance or number of repeated actions that can be performed against resistance.
In the book Sports Training Methods (5th edition,) by Prof. Lin Zheng-chang, there is a clearer definition, with muscular endurance divided into two different intensities: “Low Intensity Exercise Endurance”(LIEE) and “High Intensity Exercise Endurance”(HIEE).
- LIEE：Sports that need this are characterized by low intensity over a long period of time, such a marathons and triathlons.
- HIEE：Sport that need this are characterized by low short, high intensity and intermittence, such as badminton (picture 2), basketball (picture 3) and taekwondo (picture 4) and other sports that require repeated sprinting, jumping and sudden stopping.
Picture 2 Badminton
Picture 3 basketball (Source: Liberty Times sports news http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/2012/new/feb/16/today-sp11.htm)
Picture 4 Taekwondo (Source:Beijing Olympics Official website)
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2008-08/21/content_6958989.htm
Running around a track is often suggested as a training method by coaches and players. If 2000-5000 meters is run continually on a regular basis, aerobic fitness can indeed be increased but don’t forget—jogging is different in nature to badminton, a sport that requires sudden racket swings and rapid movement over short distances.
It is worth noting that in the book Sports Training Methods, it is suggested that, because LIEE will reduce muscle power, all athletes whose sport requires muscle power should avoid LIEE training!
As for how to improve your muscular endurance for badminton, please refer to Muscular Endurance training—upper limb training and Muscular Endurance training—lower limb training.
( Edit by VICTOR Badminton )
