Any Badminton training program should concentrate on both the physical and mental aspects of badminton.

The physical training part in badminton training program is very important for the following reasons:

1. Of all the racket sports, badminton is the fastest.

2. Being a fast paced sport, it involves fleet of foot, lightening reflexes, tremendous body balance, excellent reach, quick recovery time and boundless stamina to excel, all of which are attainable only with proper badminton physical training programme.

3. There are no rest intervals between prolonged rallies. So, a player needs to be in supreme fitness to withstand the physical strain, otherwise he is liable to loose long rallies due to fatigue.

The mental component of badminton training program is also equally important because basically you are what you think. In general, having a liking for the game, thinking positively, ability to assess your opponent and playing for pure enjoyment enhances your performance rather than playing for the sake of playing. Also, playing the game with a fit body enhances your self-confidence.

Physical training programme should include the following:

1. Aerobic training

2. Plyometric exercises

3. Retrieving the shuttle

4. Sprinting for the birdie

5. Ball throw involving the partner

6. Directional

7. Strength training

As we all know, aerobic training can take the form of brisk walking, jogging, swimming, skipping and full body workout without weights.

Plyometric exercises are done to improve the sprinting ability and enhance your jumping skills. They can be done to improve the lower body, abdomen and upper body strength. Plyometric exercises involve explosive 100% movements and should be done after adequate warm ups and recovery intervals to avoid injuries. Beginners should practice once weekly and then can go on to twice-weekly practice. But on no account they should be performed more than twice weekly, with at least 2 days interval between training sessions.

Retrieving the shuttle involves placing many shuttles in all portions of the court and then sprinting all over the court to retrieve them, placing all of them in one selected place. The timing should be noted each time to assess your reaction speed.

Ball throw involving the partner is practiced with you standing facing the stands in the baseline and requesting your partner to throw the shuttle to your side of the court. Once they throw the shuttle, you turn towards the court and try to meet the shuttle with your racket.

Directional involves running in any direction as instructed by your partner within the court. The directions may be left, right, front or back.

Strength training, as the name implies, uses weight to train, tone and increase the power of muscles throughout your body. You can use your own body as weight or use dumb bell and bar bells to do them.