I’m using up the second special day of the GGAB Fitness Training Regime today! So instead of doing an endurance day, which is what usually would have happened, I went to my club to train and play some badminton again.
Before we get into the rest of today’s post, go check out the Badminton Training Regime #2 – GGAB Fitness Training post if you haven’t already so that you can be briefed on what is happening in today’s training.
This is what happened today.
The Exercises
- Rally with a partner and then quick jog around the courts for warm-up
- 5 sets of 20 pointing footwork
- Consistency drill. (B hits the shuttle back to the front right side of A while A can hit anywhere, but if A plays a straight net shot, B will lift/push the shuttle, and then B has to hit everything to the back unless A smashes, which B blocks and restart at the front). Do this for 7 minutes and then A and B switch and then switch sides after one.
- 2 on 1 defense drill for 5 minutes. 2 people play front and back and attack while 1 person plays defense.
- Badminton matches against other players
- Stretch
Compared to the last special day, today was much more manageable. It would be even more comfortable than our daily GGAB Fitness Training activities if it weren’t for the badminton matches.
The main difference between this time and the last special day was that the fitness and footwork training was significantly less intense. On day 20 of the GGAB Fitness Training Regime, we actually had court running as well as speed footwork that was timed and added up to 25 sets.
Those drills burned from before, not just because of the quantity and speed, but because the coaches and other players are pushing you to keep the pace.
Today, it was a completely different story.
The only footwork training for today was 5 sets of 20 pointing footwork. That’s half of what my brother and I had been doing lately in the GGAB Fitness Training Regime.
The drills weren’t particularly difficult either. I am finally feeling the results of all my footwork training. I have been moving a lot more efficiently than before, so it isn’t as challenging to get to certain places as it was previously and long rallies haven’t been as tiring as they used to be.
Don’t get me wrong though, long rallies are still grueling, and my matches were full of them.
That’s why the club training, even with low-intensity footwork training and drills, it still puts a more considerable toll on our bodies than the GGAB Fitness Training Regime.
The intensity of the badminton matches you play in the club is highly dependent on who you are playing against. The two people I played against were reasonably decent, and it did take a bit of effort to take them down.
One of the things I have been working on is building a strong mind and patience when I play. I’ve been adjusting my playstyle and mindset so I can play longer rallies and force inconsistencies out of my opponent.
So instead of attacking at every chance I got, I started slowing down the game by playing more clears and net shots in the way that Lin Dan plays to give myself better opportunities to end my rallies.
I’ve also been playing more like Chen Long and Kento Momota, and it’s been working very well. I’ve been focusing on just getting the shuttle back to the other side and giving my opponent a hard time instead of focusing on finishing the rally which has helped me remain calmer while I play while frustrating my opponents and causing them to make more mistakes.
I would definitely recommend you try to play longer rallies because the higher level you get, the more it will be about how long you can last on the court.
Diet and Sleep
Diet and sleep have remained basically the same. Although today I did wake up at 9 AM, I still had three meals.
Albeit, the three meals were adjusted in terms of time, though. I ended up having breakfast close to noon, lunch at 3, and dinner at 9 because our badminton training was from 5 to 8 PM.
Breakfast was of toast and peanut butter, lunch was rice with short ribs, duck eggs, and cabbage, and dinner was chow mein and baozi. The meals were all filling, and we had no problem sustaining throughout the entire day.
I didn’t make any use of the power napping strategy I had talked about throughout this training regime, but I did work on meditation a bit more. Both before sleeping and after waking up.
I learned that there were two main types of meditation. Concentrated meditation and mindless meditation. The first is where you focus on one thing specifically to increase concentration and focus while the other one is where you let your mind wander around random thoughts so you can let go of the bad things in life and feel happier.
I’ve been using the concentration meditation tactic when I wake up so I can theoretically get better focus during the day, and then at night, I’ve been using mindless meditation to help me relieve stress and fall asleep easier.
So far, meditation before sleeping has been working out pretty well, and it’s helping me fall asleep easier. As for meditation in the morning, I’m not seeing any results yet. It likely has to do with how I meditate, but I will continue to experiment and work on these things.
If you have read day 25 of the GGAB Fitness Training Regime, you will also know that I’ve been trying to implement 5 things into my daily habit to try to increase productivity.
One of them was to stop looking at my phone before I sleep. I was actually able to accomplish this, and it has helped me feel and look a little more refreshed. Definitely aiming to keep this in my daily habits.
Thoughts and Feelings
My badminton skills have been going up quite fast through the combination of going back to training at my club and the GGAB Fitness Training Regime.
There are two main things I would like to accredit my progress to; footwork and mindset training.
When you have an iron will to improve your badminton game, you start thinking about all the little 
details in your training. Every time I do my footwork drills, it’s no longer an “I just have to go fast” mentality, but now, I’m thinking about how I’m moving and how I can improve.
By focusing on making my steps lighter and improving my split step, I’ve been able to play badminton a lot better.
And with every time I go back to the club, I reach new milestones. For example, on Thursday, day 24 of the GGAB Fitness Training Regime, I actually played this one player which I beat in the first game 21-14 but lost the second one 25-23.
After reflecting on the loss and how I was playing, I found that it was almost like I lost to myself. I kept losing focus throughout both games and struggled to push myself to return shuttles that I should be able to return.
Today, however, I played the exact same person and beat him in two straight games, 21-16, 21-10. While the person I played against could have played worse, it is more about how well I played.
In fact, I would probably consider how I played to have hurt his game by returning just about everything he threw at me, which frustrated him to become more careless with his shots.
Footwork played a significant role in this win as well as my other successes in the day. I imagined how a pro badminton player like Kento Momota plays, so I started to think with more patience and have more confidence in how I moved.
As you can tell by reading this, mindset was the other huge factor affecting my skill. I prevented myself from becoming impatient and turned the games into a consistency and stamina match.
Think about giving your opponent a hard time instead of trying to win it all. It might just help you win a lot more games and improve more.
Progress
Now for the pictures and stats:
Person 1:
Weight: 146 lbs
Person 2:
Weight: 121 lbs
Conclusion
With all these tournaments coming up, I have to train much harder. Doing this training regime has helped me reach a decent position to perform in the tournaments, but it will be nowhere near enough to win it all.
I’m still not considered one of the best players in the club, but I’m slowly creeping up there. All it will take is some more hard work, smart work, and the steel mentality.
I will let you know how the tournaments go for me and continue to provide more badminton tips in the future!
If you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to leave them down below and I will probably respond within 24 hours. As always, good luck in your games and have a great day!
Hi,my left hand have being annoy for me,when Im playing during the match my left hand will hold up instead of relaxing .Where should i put my left arm when playing and how to adapt to it
Hi Kenny, generally our non-dominant hand (your left hand in this case) is used for balance. For example, when you’re moving back for the overhead swings, people will normally put their left hand up in the air. Many people will also extend their left arm backward when lunging forward for shots around the net, but it isn’t absolutely necessary.
When I’m not at the front or the back of the court, I personally hold up my left hand loosely. Some professional players like Lin Dan will relax both their arms completely when not in use. So, in the end, it’s really up to you and whatever is comfortable. The only wrong thing you can do is stiff up your left hand while holding it up.
Hope that helps!