10/10/2019 A Healthy Diet For A Badminton Player During Training & Competition - Joel Gayle School of Badminton

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Badminton is the fastest racquet sport in the world, which requires rapid footwork, quick
re exes, agility, resilience, craftsmanship, speed in conjunction with superb conditioning.  The
anaerobic energy system is relied upon heavily during high intensity intermittent bursts of
energy expenditure.  The aerobic energy system is required throughout longer rallies and
during periods of recovery

A Training Diet

Badminton players should aim to have a healthy balanced diet consisting of:
Vegetables and legumes

Fruits

Wholegrain bread & pasta, brown rice, noodles, wholegrain cereals, new potatoes with    
the skin

Low Fat dairy products – Milk, yoghurt and cheese

Protein rich foods – Lean meat, sh, poultry, eggs, tofu and pulses

Healthy fats – Olive oil, nuts, seeds and avocado

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10/10/2019 A Healthy Diet For A Badminton Player During Training & Competition - Joel Gayle School of Badminton

Lot of water

Carbohydrates are the essential sustenance needed to provide energy for high intensity
training or during competition.  Therefore, meals should be based around foods rich in healthy
carbohydrates to ensure suf cient fuel during activity.  Try not to consume foods high in
saturated fats and limit overall fat intake.

Post-Training Diet

Eating and drinking immediately after training is highly advised as these promote recovery and
storage.  Recovery of the losses your body undertook during training; also your body is more
ef cient at storing recovery fuel directly after training/matches.  Healthy carbohydrates and
uids help replace glycogen and water losses throughout a match, it is scientifally proven that
the muscles store more glycogen immediately after activity.

Protein is also essential to the recovery and to the maintenance of the body post-matches and
training. Protein provides the amino acids responsible of rebuilding muscle tissues that are
damaged during intense, prolonged exercise. It can also increase the absorption of water from
the intestines and improve muscle hydration. The amino acids in protein can also stimulate the
immune system, making you more resistant to colds and other infections.

A few examples of foods and beverages which aid recovery are, jelly beans, crumpets, white
rolls, ripe bananas, watermelon, dates, yoghurt, low fat milk, recovery shakes (with low fat milk),
Sports drink (to replenish electrolytes) and fresh fruit .

Fluid intake

Fluid intake is essential before, during and after training for good hydration because staying
hydrated affects performance and can be the difference between a win and a loss. For training
under 1 hour, it is claimed that water is the best,cheapest and the most convenient option. For
longer sessions or when training is extremely demanding on the body, using sports drinks is a
good option, as they not only assist with hydration but also provide extra carbohydrate for the
working muscles. Athletes should be aiming to have very pale urine most of the day, indicating a
healthy level of hydration.

Pre-Competition Diet

A pre-competition meal is important to maximise glycogen stores which will fuel t h e b o d y

during competition. The meal should be consumed approximately 2-4 hours prior to
competition to allow enough time for food to be digested. Ideally t h e m e a l s h o u l d consist
of a rich source of carbohydrates, be low in fat and bre to allow for easier digestion and avoid
stomach discomfort during exercise.

Some examples include:

Toast/crumpet/muf ns + spread + yoghurt

Bowl of cereal + reduced fat milk + fruit

Pasta + tomato based sauce + dinner roll

Ham & Cheese Roll/sandwich + fruit

Smoothie with reduced fat milk/yoghurt, fruit & honey

If like myself, you nd it dif cult to eat before competition or suffer from an easily upset
stomach, then you can have a liquid meal equivalent or fruit smoothie which avoids the full

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10/10/2019 A Healthy Diet For A Badminton Player During Training & Competition - Joel Gayle School of Badminton

bloated feeling.

During Competition Diet

Timing your meals can be dif cult due to the unpredictability of scheduling during competition. 
However these snacks are imperative to ensuring you have the fuel and uid required to
perform at your optimum.

During match play, if the correct nutrition strategies have been adhered to, then drinking water
will suf ce (for me that's Ribena).  At times I take a banana onto court and take bites during sets
or drink breaks.  The main objective is to minimise carbohydrate depletion and the loss of
uid/electrolytes – so eating fruit, cereal, breakfast bars, dried fruit, jam or honey sandwiches
and sports drinks are good to replenish fuel.

Post-Competition Diet

The same processes undertaken during post training (stated above) can be applied when
thinking about post competition nutrition.  You should aim to eat within one hour of playing; this
will give you the most nutritional bene ts for recovery and replace energy stores. 

Consume foods rich in carbohydrates to restock on glycogen and protein to repair muscle
damage.  We have established that uids play a vital role in aiding the recovery process and if
the correct foods and uids are consumed the bene t to your body will be hydration, muscle
repair, growth and immune system protection.
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22 Comments

n a k komal 17/5/2016 04:03:30 pm

Reply

Kundan singh 17/7/2016 11:29:38 am

Help me

Reply

Rachel 4/11/2017 08:18:02 am

May I please know your second name...

Reply

Jyotsna 11/10/2016 07:46:40 am

My daughter is into professional badminton aged 14years. She has very bad eating habits.Trains somewhere upto 7-8
hours daily.Recently in test it showed that she has less protien, minerals and water in her body fat is slightly high but in
control.Needed advice to improve

Reply

DIYA AGARWAL 6/11/2016 05:03:34 pm

Can u pls send me a daily fodd chart from time to time ....I am 11years old and I practice for 4hours a day ....so pls help
me ..

Reply

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