How to boost your speed endurance?

In this specific article, Hongyan and Julie explain how endurance in general and speed endurance in particular are key points to become a better badminton player as it will:
•    Improve your control over the shuttlecock 
•    Allow you to recover faster the effort
•    Speed up your game
•    Increase your reaction time (for speed endurance)
 

Endurance is the capacity to do an activity with a preset intensity for a long period of time – here, a entire competition, a set of few matches, playing one match after the other with the same intensity and same efficiency. And it is a crucial part of badminton in order to make progress in tournaments.  

Why should you include endurance in your preparation?

It is no secret that badminton is a fast sport, that needs to be played at a high pace for a long time. Endurance will allow you to perform well in badminton, as it will allow you to recover faster after the effort – between points, of between matches. It is especially true for those of you who compete in different categories – singles and doubles.

If global endurance is crucial for anyone, so is a specific type of endurance is just as important to work on: speed endurance. The latter is the capacity to maintain a fast and intense movement during a long time: quite important when the matches go down to a deciding game and you need enough stamina to accelerate the pace, keep fast footwork in order to keep a good quality of shots. Then, also, stay focused and have a clear mind about your tactical game as well as recovering faster between points.

How to bring efficiency with endurance and speed endurance?

 
An endurance effort is not necessarily an effort made on a long period of time and there are different ways to work on endurance efficiently. One of them is to work on a continuous physical work while focusing on levelling your effort depending on the needs, while paying attention to your breathing. Another one is to work on your strength endurance (see link here). A third one of intermittent work, with high level of intensity (around 90 % of maximum capacity) and a lighter effort in the same exercise (passive or active recovery with around 40% of your maximum capacity) 

For all three following exercises, aimed at increasing your general endurance, you should maintain a good quality of gesture. The intensity should remain the same for all exercises with a regular breathing. And don’t forget to warm up before this (joints, muscles and cardio)

Exercise 1: 
continuous physical work out. 3 series of 5 min, 8 min or 12 min, depending on level. For level 1: 5 min of non-stop effort, with a change of exercise every 30 sec. For higher levels, start over when you are finished with the 8th exercise. 

1.    Heel to buttocks on the spot
2.    Jumped lunges
3.    High knees on the same spot
4.    Tepping
5.    Mountain climbers
6.    Burpees
7.    Jumping jack
8.    Steps on staircase 

Exercise 2:  
Running for 10 to 15 min, 3 times, or run in one go, 30 to 45 minutes. 

Exercise 3:  
Mix of run and active recovery time: 45 to 1 min of running, then shuffle steps, side steps for 45 sec to 1 min. Repeat the exercise 10 to 15 times depending on level.

For the following exercises, the focus is intermittent work and speed endurance: the effort intensity should be 80 to 90% of your maximum speed 

Exercise 4: 
In a badminton gym, sprint back and forth on one court, then two courts, three courts and four courts all in one go. Work with a change of direction and change of pace for 20 sec, 30 sec up to one min. 5 series. 1 min of rest between each series 

Exercise 5: 
Run outside for 20, 30 or 45 sec, at about 90 % of your maximum speed, then 15 seconds of rest by running at very slow pace. 2 series of 10 times.

Exercise 6: 
Indoor cycling: 30 sec of hard work with high resistance and maximum speed, then 30 sec of rest by cycling at slow speed with low resistance. 6, 8 or 10 minutes depending on your level.

Exercise 7:   
Do double jumps for 20 sec / 30 sec / 45 sec depending in your level. 8 series of 10 to 15 times. Each time, rest as much time as you’ve worked out (this is a good exercise also to work on the speed endurance of the arm) 

Specific for badminton: 

Multi shuttle exercises: You can speed up the feeding of the shuttles depending on your level. The goal is to maintain the speed of movement close enough time to be close to the duration of a match. 

Each player works continuously or a total session of 30 to 45 minutes. Rest 45s seconds between each of these four exercises for 5 to 8 rotations.

1.    Smash at the net: 10 shuttles
2.    Play big court: 12 to 16 shuttles
3.    Play late shots on big court 4 corners 12 to 16 shuttles 
4.    Play late shots forward in defense mode: 12 to 16 shuttles

Hongyan’s tip: To see if you have a good endurance, measure your pulse right after the effort, then again 30 seconds after to see if the cardiac rhythm has dropped...

Julie’s tip:  Endurance is one of the most important quality in a badminton player, but also one of the most difficult ones in the long run. Try to enjoy yourselves and use variation in the exercises.