Effectiveness of On-Court Resistive Warm-Ups on Change of Direction Speed and Smash Velocity during a Simulated Badminton Match Play in Well-Trained Players.

Man Tong Chua,Abdul Rashid Aziz,Andrew Wei Han Tay,Wan Xiu Goh,Mohammed Ihsan,Danny Lum,Kin Ming Chow

doi:10.3390/jfmk6040081

Abstract

In badminton, power production can be enhanced through the fundamental practice of a dynamic warm-up with resistance conditioning activity to induce a post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) effect. The use of heavy resistance exercise in the form of heavy weights to induce PAPE during competition is not logistically practical in the badminton arena. Thus, there is a need to investigate the use of easily available alternative preconditioning stimuli to induce a similar potentiating effect in badminton-specific performance. This study adopted a repeated-measures design of three warm-up conditions: control (CON), weighted wearable resistance (WWR), and resistance band variable resistance (BVR). Fourteen badminton players from the national training squad (11 males, 3 females, age 18 ± 1 y) completed the experimental sessions in random order. Change of direction speed (CODS) and smash velocity (SV) tests were performed at five timepoints—baseline test after the warm-up and at the end of each of the four exercise blocks of a simulated match play protocol. CODS was significantly faster under the two resistance warm-up conditions (WWR and BVR) compared to the CON condition at baseline (−0.2 s ± 0.39 and −0.2 s ± 0.46, p = 0.001 and 0.03, g = 0.47 and 0.40, respectively), but there were no differences at the other timepoints (all p > 0.05). SV was significantly faster for all the four exercise blocks than at baseline under all three warm-up conditions (p = 0.02), but there were no differences in SV between the three warm-up conditions across all the five measured timepoints (p = 0.15). In conclusion, implementing resistance (~10% body weight) in sport-specific plyometric exercises using WWR or BVR during warm-up routines may induce PAPE effects on the change of direction speed but not smash velocity, in well-trained badminton players, as compared with the same warm-up exercises using bodyweight (i.e., CON condition). The positive effects of CODS were, however, observed only at the start of the match and possibly lasted for up to between 5 and 10 min of match play.

Highlights

Badminton is characterized as a ballistic intermittent sport, with match durations lasting up to 40 min to 1 h, and a temporal structure distinguished by repeated highintensity, short-duration efforts [1]
No significant differences were found between the overall session HR (CON: 139 ± 13 b·min−1, weighted wearable resistance (WWR): 141 ± 11 b·min−1, and band variable resistance (BVR): 138 ± 10 b·min−1) and RPE (CON: 6.0 ± 1.4 au, WWR: 6.0 ± 1.6 au, and BVR: 6.0 ± 1.3 au) between all three warm-up conditions (p = 0.82 and 0.99, η2p = 0.01 and 0.001, respectively)
The smallest worthwhile change (SWC) in change of direction speed (CODS) was observed in WWR (Figure 5a) at baseline (−1.53%), exercise block 1 (−0.35%), exercise block 2 (−0.53%), and exercise block 3 (−0.27%), but not in exercise block 4 (+0.01%)

Summary

Introduction

Badminton is characterized as a ballistic intermittent sport, with match durations lasting up to 40 min to 1 h, and a temporal structure distinguished by repeated highintensity, short-duration efforts [1]. Physical components, including change of direction speed (CODS) and smash velocity (SV), are critical to positive match outcomes. CODS is the ability to rapidly change direction; and in badminton, the player engages in various multidirectional movement patterns in rapid succession to make defensive/counterattacking retrievals or create attacking plays [2,3,4]. The ability to execute a powerful overhead smash is an important determinant of success in both the men’s and women’s games, especially as a finishing shot in majority of rallies [1]. The use of heavy resistance exercise is a popular method to elicit PAPE prior to intermittent sport performance [8]. The application of heavy resistance exercises, especially with the use of weights or gym equipment, is not logistically feasible in badminton competition venues. It is essential to investigate alternative methods that can be implemented in the field, and able to effectively provide preconditioning stimuli to induce a potentiating effect

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