Badminton
5 home exercises for badminton fans by Srikanth Kidambi
The ace Indian badminton player takes us through a training routine – and some variations – that can be performed with minimal equipment.
Srikanth Kidambi is one of India’s best men’s badminton players.
He ascended to the top of the badminton world by winning major trophies because of his dedication to fitness. While injuries and a strenuous tournament calendar have made the professional game difficult, Srikanth is as determined to reclaim his title as the best player in the world.
He is once again relying on his supreme fitness regime to get this done and is following a strict routine at home as well. His trainer sends him a daily fitness programme which he follows strictly at home.
Srikanth enjoys that exercising at home forces him to be creative with his workouts because of the challenge of not having any equipment. But not having equipment also gets him frustrated sometimes if his trainer’s prescribed routine requires some basic equipment that he might not have.
So far, Srikanth has been utilizing bodyweight exercises with the goal of maintaining at least 60% of his fitness for when he is able to step back on the court and resume full training.
Here are five exercises Srikanth Kidambi has been practicing while working out at home.
Srikanth Kidambi
© Ali Bharmal
Variations of push-ups
Starting with the normal push-up – palms and toes in contact with the floor, lower your chest down to the ground and pushing up to full arm extension back again – Srikanth enjoys variations like the diamond push-up, Spiderman push-up, and clap push-up since they increase the intensity of this simple exercise. Srikanth loves that this exercise and its variations work on his arm, shoulders and back since they are most utilized in badminton.
Squats
This is an easy-to-perform exercise that works on your upper legs. You perform this by standing with your feet at hip-width and slowly sit back into a squat till your knees are bent at just about 90 degrees. Then you slowly lift back up to complete the repetition. Srikanth loves adding variations to this exercise to work further on his quadriceps muscles. The frog squat, squat kickback, and squat with side leg lift are great variations to add to this exercise.
Burpees
Perform this exercise by starting in a standing position, lower yourself down to a push-up position, transition into a low squat and complete it with a vertical jump with your arms raised. The fluidity of the movement is important and so is the speed with which you transition through the positions – they build on the intensity of the exercise. Srikanth loves these for the explosive power they help build into his legs.
Box jumps
Another exercise that gives you great explosive power in your legs, the box jump requires some kind of elevation that you could jump up to; a bench, staircase or platform might work but they should be a comfortable height (about two feet) and steady, stable objects. Stand about two feet away from the box with your feet hip-width apart. With one quick motion, jump up onto the box with both feet, and then jump back down to the floor. Once you master this, you could try the single leg box jump.
Srikanth Kidambi performs box jumps
© Ali Bharmal
Crunches
This is a simple exercise to build core strength. With your back flat on the floor, bend your knees and have the soles of your feet in contact with the floor. Using your abs, roll your upper body to bring your chest close to your knees and then lower yourself back down slowly. Srikanth loves these to build up his abs and overall core.