Badminton is a racket sport where the wrist and forearm play a vital role while playing powerful and exquisite shots on the court. Better forearm and wrist strength allow you to place the shuttle faster and more accurately during a match. Wrist and forearm strength also play an important role in grip strength and finger power.
While badminton may have required you to utilize your forearm and wrist differently in the past, you must practice exercises to increase these muscles’ strength as a beginning.
Let me now elaborate on why wrist and forearm strength are essential for playing this racket sport. Your wrist is joined to your forearm and hand via ligaments, tendons, and muscles. As a result, when your wrist muscles are weak, the bone and ligaments are also impacted and may become injured.
Therefore, you must regularly perform forearm exercises, which help you prevent severe injuries like tennis elbow, sprained wrist, or carpal tunnel. Also, to help you, I have compiled four effective exercises for faster and more explosive swings.
So, let’s dive in:
Exercises to increase your arm swing speed
Let’s begin with:
1. Wrist rollers
The wrist roller exercise is a valuable exercise for badminton players to improve wrist and forearm strength, which can enhance their performance on the court. Strong wrists and forearms are essential for generating power, control, and precision in badminton shots like smashes, clears, and drops.
Benefits of performing this exercise
- Improves wrist and forearm strength: The wrist roller exercise primarily targets the muscles in the forearm, including the flexors and extensors. Strengthening these muscles can lead to more powerful wrist actions in badminton shots like smashes and clears, allowing you to hit the shuttlecock with greater force.
- Enhance wrist stability: Strong wrists are essential for maintaining control and accuracy in badminton. This exercise helps stabilize the wrist joint, reducing the risk of injuries and improving your ability to perform precise shots.
- Increase endurance: By performing multiple repetitions of the exercise, you can improve the endurance of your forearm muscles. It helps you maintain consistent shot quality throughout a long badminton match or practice session.
- Better grip strength: A strong grip is crucial in badminton for holding the racket firmly and controlling it during rapid movements. The wrist roller exercise can contribute to improved grip strength, which can lead to more precise shots and better racket control.
- Balanced muscle development: Badminton players often use their forearm muscles unevenly, with some muscles getting more work than others. The wrist roller exercise promotes balanced development of the forearm muscles, reducing the risk of muscle imbalances and overuse injuries.
How to perform this exercise?
- To perform this exercise, you will require a wrist roller (either homemade or you can purchase it from a sports store) and weight plates (either dumbbell plates or weight discs).
- The second step is to set up the wrist roller and choose an appropriate weight according to your comfort. You can start with 2.5 to 5 kg of weight if you are new to this exercise.
- After setting the roller, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold the wrist roller with an overhand grip, palms facing down. Make sure your arms are fully extended.
- Begin rolling the weight plates upwards by winding the rope or strap around the wrist roller. As you move, focus on using your wrist and forearm muscles to lift the weight. Keep your elbows close to your body and your upper arms stationary.
- After reaching the top, slowly unwind the rope or strap to lower the weight back to the starting position. Control the descent to work your muscles throughout the entire range of motion.
- Perform a set of 8–12 repetitions in each direction (upwards and downwards).
To learn more, click on the video below:
2. Dumbell wrist extensions
Dumbbell wrist extensions are a targeted exercise that focuses on the muscles responsible for extending the wrist joint. This exercise primarily focuses on strengthening the wrist extensors, which are the muscles responsible for bending your wrist backward.
The wrist extensors are important for various activities, including sports that involve action like backhand strokes in tennis or maintaining wrist stability in badminton.
Benefits of performing this exercise
- Balance muscle development: Dumbbell wrist extensions can help balance muscle development in the forearm, reducing the risk of muscle imbalances and overuse injuries. Many people tend to focus on the flexor muscles (used for gripping), so training the extensors is crucial for overall forearm health.
- Improves wrist stability: Strong wrist extensors contribute to better wrist stability. It helps to reduce the risk of wrist injuries. It provides greater support during activities where the wrist is under stress, such as when hitting a powerful backhand in badminton or while playing any other powerful shot.
- Provides better control and precision: Improved wrist extensor strength and power can enhance your ability to perform precise movements, whether in sports like badminton, tennis, or golf or in activities that require dexterity and fine motor skills.
- Versatility in training: Dumbbell wrist extensions can be adapted to different fitness levels by adjusting the weight used. Beginners can start with lighter weights and gradually progress to heavier ones as they build strength.
How to perform this exercise?
- Firstly, to perform this exercise, you will require a dumbbell.
- Secondly, you need to sit on a bench or a chair with your forearms resting on your thighs, facing your palms down, and letting your wrist hang down on your knees. You can also perform this exercise by standing, but sitting provides you with more stability and control.
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing down. Choose an appropriate weight to start with; lighter weights are typically better for beginners.
- Allow the dumbbells to roll down to your fingertips, stretching your wrist and forearm. It is the starting position.
- Slowly curl the dumbbells back up toward your wrists by engaging your wrist extensor muscles. Keep your forearm stationary during this movement.
- Hold the contracted position briefly to emphasize the contraction of your wrist extensors.
- Lower the dumbbells back down to the starting position to complete one repetition. And perform 3 sets of 10–12 repetitions.
To learn more, click on the video below:
3. Weighted wrist curls
Weighted wrist curls are an isolated exercise that helps to strengthen your wrist and forearms. Wrist curls target the wrist extensor and flexor muscles. Unlike other activities, wrist curls target larger muscle groups, like the biceps. Wrist curls focus on exercising only one muscle group at a time.
Rather than badminton, performing this exercise can help you support heavier lifts in other activities, like bench presses, deadlifts, and pull-ups. A strong grip and stable wrist are essential for maintaining proper form and preventing injuries while performing these compound exercises.
Benefits of performing this exercise
- Enhance your wrist strength: Performing weighted wrist curls is an amazing way to improve your wrist and forearm strength. Also, this exercise helps to increase the muscle thickness and flexion of the joint.
- Improve grip strength: Weighted wrist curls also improve grip strength, as grip strength enhances speed and power, which is needed in throwing activities and other routine activities such as carrying groceries, opening jars, etc.
- Prevent wrist injuries: Performing wrist curls also helps to prevent wrist-related injuries. Suppose you love to play a racket sport. In that case, this is the perfect exercise for you as regular strengthening and stretching exercises help in the prevention of sports-related injuries, e.g., tennis elbow and Golfer’s elbow.
- Boost functional strength: Developing wrist and forearm strength through weighted wrist curls can also translate to improved performance in other activities that require wrist strength and control, such as rock climbing or manual labor.
- Convenient exercise: Weighted wrist curls can be performed with minimal equipment, making them suitable for home workouts or gym sessions. All you need is a dumbbell or a barbell.
How to perform this exercise?
- To perform this exercise, you will need a dumbbell or weighted plates.
- Then, sit on a bench and lean forward.
- Hold the dumbbell with an underhand grip and place your forearm on your knees or the bench.
- Then, using the wrist alone, curl or move the wrist upward, exhaling throughout the moment.
- Then, slowly lower the weight as low as comfortable while inhaling throughout the moment.
- Repeat steps 3–4 for as many repetitions as desired, and then repeat with your opposite arm.
To learn more, click on the video below:
4. Practice with a training racket
A standard racket that is specifically made to aid players of all skill levels in honing their abilities and methods is known as a badminton training racket.
These rackets typically weigh between 140 and 160 grams, as opposed to the 70 to 90 grams of standard rackets. Also, these rackets have a larger sweet spot than standard rackets, which helps players hit the shuttlecock more consistently and easily.
Training rackets are also frequently made with a more flexible shaft, giving players who are still perfecting their swing technique more power and control. Moreover, certain training rackets may have a shorter handle, which aids in improving players’ grip and wrist strength.
Benefits of performing this exercise
- Improves strength and accuracy: The extra weight of the racket can help the players build muscle strength and endurance in their arms, wrists, and shoulders. Also, it allows the players to control their shots and improve their accuracy.
- Balance muscle development: Regular use of a training racket can help balance muscle development in the forearm. In badminton, players often use the wrist flexors (for gripping the racket) more than the wrist extensors. Training rackets engage both sets of muscles, promoting overall forearm strength and reducing the risk of muscle imbalances.
- Enhance your footwork: Rather than improving your wrist muscles and strength training, a racket can also be used to practice footwork drills, which help the players improve their agility and speed on the court.
- Enhance racket control: The slightly heavier feel of a training racket encourages players to use more wrist action when executing shots. This extra wrist movement not only enhances power and precision but also engages the wrist muscles more actively during strokes.
- Boost racket speed and power: Developing stronger wrist muscles allows you to generate more racket speed and power in your shots. It is particularly important for smashes and clears in badminton, where a combination of wrist snap and forearm strength is required to hit the shuttlecock forcefully.
How to perform this exercise?
- To practice with a training racket, firstly, you need to choose a racket that is slightly heavier in comparison to your playing racket and should match your skills and goals.
- Work on fundamental badminton shots such as clears, drops, net shots, and smashes. Pay close attention to your grip, stance, and body positioning.
- While practicing, make sure that the racket is in the right position for each stroke using the cues.
- Concentrate on hitting the shuttlecock cleanly and accurately. Also, focus on your technique rather than speed or power.
- Start with easy shots and gradually increase the complexity. Work on your timing and coordination while incorporating your training racket’s feedback.
- At last, use your training racket to focus on these weaknesses. Whether it’s your backhand, net play, or smashes, target these areas in your practice.
To learn more, click on the video below:
Final Words
A powerful, reliable badminton performance depends on your forearms. You may build harder smashes, increase the speed of your shots, and stay fresh throughout lengthy rallies and matches by adding the workouts we described here to your training regimen.
So the next time you feel like working out, training, or doing any other exercise or warm-up, think about your forearm and wrist.
Also, after doing these workouts for a month or two, you will feel stronger. Increase your sets, reps, or weight as you advance in your wrist and forearm exercises to keep pushing yourself to get stronger.
In case you face any problems or have any questions going on in your mind, then feel free to ask or pin them up in the comment section below.