Off-court badminton training exercises

cheat sheet
You and I are lucky that several pro players have shared some of their badminton weight
training methods online.

I have taken the liberty of gathering a list of exercises performed by them. It’s not exhaustive but
intended for both myself as a reference point, and for you as a good starting point when putting
together your own program.

This list is broken down into three areas but some of the exercises naturally target more than
one body area, which is handy for us but it makes it difficult to categorize them in isolation.

The three areas are:

1. Leg workout
2. Core workout
3. Shoulder and upper body

Let’s dive in.

1. Leg workout

Squats

Here’s a clip from the Malaysian Badminton Association with their coach and Lee Zii Jia
showing us how to perform the squat correctly.

https://youtu.be/wA4fbTe5oU8?t=8

Jump squat

Next, Viktor Axelsen shows how to perform the jump squat on sand.

https://youtu.be/IamLZlFc8wU?t=81

Side lunges

Here he is again showing the side lunge.

https://youtu.be/IamLZlFc8wU?t=203

Lunges

This is a fundamental part of reaching the far net drops in badminton, and explosively returning
the cover the next shot. Training this weekly as helped me tremendously win more net duels!

https://youtu.be/U-HFmu4Nm04?t=67

Calves

Here Greg and Jenny from Badminton Insight show us how to train the calves by jumping on our
toes while avoiding the heels hitting the ground.

https://youtu.be/0hHNet25ddI?t=306

And, finally, a list of similar alternative exercises that don't require you to go to the gym.

https://youtu.be/0hHNet25ddI?t=49

2. Core workout

Anti-rotation cable side step

Axelsen performs something similar to crab walk-by-side stepping while pulling the cable to add
resistance. This exercise is good for both the legs and core.

https://youtu.be/IamLZlFc8wU?t=289

Mobility (staying low and moving from side to side on court)

https://youtu.be/IamLZlFc8wU?t=113

Notice how Axelsen does this exercise on sand while keeping low to make it extra difficult.

Side planks

Here he shows us side planks.

https://youtu.be/IamLZlFc8wU?t=161

Alt. arm leg plank

Next, Axelsen is doing alternate arm and leg planks from dog (or cow) position while moving
one arm up along with the opposite leg before shifting to the opposite side.

https://youtu.be/IamLZlFc8wU?t=177
3. Shoulder and upper body

Battle ropes

Here Axelsen shows how he uses battle ropes to build upper body endurance to keep smashing
his opponent in the ground. I’ve always thought that these ropes look cool in action.

https://youtu.be/IamLZlFc8wU?t=46

Romanian deadlift

Next, he shows how he uses the Romanian deadlift exercise to train his back and legs at the
same time.

https://youtu.be/IamLZlFc8wU?t=218

Medicine ball slamming

This exercise is great for the shoulders and core and comes in two variations: one where you
throw the weighted ball into the ground to build shoulder endurance (so you can keep
smashing), and another where you throw it into the wall to gain rotational power for your smash.

https://youtu.be/U-HFmu4Nm04?t=104

Single dumbbell arm row

This exercise is used for your backhand and to decelerate your overhead shots. The key is to
use the back of your shoulder to lift rather than the triceps.

https://youtu.be/U-HFmu4Nm04?t=187

Powerful smash and defensive shots

Thomas Laybourn gives examples on how to get a more powerful smash along with defensive
shots like blocking and drive shots. It’s done by training the forearm rotation both with a heavier
power trainer racket and by using weights.

Power trainer example:

https://youtu.be/J4tIpVTF5fA?t=60

Weights example:

https://youtu.be/J4tIpVTF5fA?t=288

Hand weight example:

https://youtu.be/J4tIpVTF5fA?t=463