I just wanted to add a few points on this topic because I had a conversation with my Kinesiologist about this and I also read a few articles on similar subjects during the summer.

1) Most studies agree that using an overload of more than 10% for a sport-specific movement is detrimental to the technique of the movement. The highest overload I have seen in studies is usually about 30%. With those rackets, the overload is more than 40% (for the 140g racket) and more than 60% (for the 160g racket) so most likely, using these often will likely be detrimental to the player's technique.

2) As mentioned in Paul's review, you get tired quite quickly when using those rackets. The problem is that after you stop using the racket and start playing with your regular racket, your arm is already tired and you are still early in your training session, which means that most of the technical work you do after using the heavy racket won't be too productive. The same principle applies for someone who does heavy weight training just before playing badminton.

3) A relatively recent study showed that 52% of professional badminton players suffered from shoulder pain (on their dominant side), that the majority of badminton injuries (in general) are described as “overuse” injuries and that a good percentage of these overuse injuries occur at the upper body (19-32%). Overloading the muscles, tendons and bones that are already used excessively during competitive badminton training might further increase inflammation and muscle imbalances in those areas, especially when using such rackets for explosive overhead movements. An example of muscle imbalances in badminton is INTERNAL vs EXTERNAL rotations. We typically play a lot  more overhead forehand actions (internal rotation) compared to overhead backhand actions (external rotation), which means that the muscles responsible for internal shoulder rotation are very strong compared to those responsible for external rotation. Such imbalances can lead to overuse and injury because the shoulders can produce a strong/fast movement, but have problems slowing it down. This eventually causes inflammation and lead to injuries.

4) In order to overload technical paterns (like defence for example),
why not ask the feeder to smash/rush/kill from closer to the net in
order to give less time for the defender to react? This overload the
technical patterns AND the reaction time of the player: holding a
heavier racket does not give less time to react, it just makes the
racket harder to move, but having less time to see the shuttle because
it is struck from closer to the net gives less time to react and trains
reaction time as well as technical paterns associated with defence.

5)
As mentioned by other posters, using this racket when one has poor
technique is obviously a bad idea. Also, like Paul mentioned, the
principle of warmup, training, cool down and rest are very important in
badminton. But the serious competitive player (the target population for
those rackets) trains on court between 3 and 6 days per week, with 1 or
2 sessions each day, which means that the recuperation period allowed
for a very competitive player can be as low as 1 day per week. I do not
think that this is enough for proper recovery if a heavy racket is being
used often during on court training.
 

6) Using those rackets in a light, dynamic warmup can have a potentiation effect (as mentioned by others: your regular racket will feel lighter and you will hit harder after the warmup), which is a very good thing. According to my kinesiologist, the effect should be about 5% and last for a few minutes (it's not huge, but it can give players an interesting edge at the beginning of the match).

I'm not saying this is a bad training tool, but I just want to make sure that players understand the facts around this type of training because I know that most peoples here are desperately looking for an extra edge and are willing to spend good amounts of money for that edge. I just want to make sure people don't buy such rackets looking only at the positive points and the “hype” behind all this. It could still be a good tool used in good hands, but maybe not as good as a high quality off court weight training program, which would still overload key muscles used in badminton while correcting muscle imbalances and preventing injuries.

The 2 studies I referred to:

Shoulder pain- a common problem in world-class badminton players (2005) Fahlström et Al.

Velocity specificity, combination training and sport specific tasks (2001) Cronin et Al.

Hope it helps,

Mathieu

Mathieu – Very interesting post, thank you for sharing that. Some interesting facts in there and worth reading through.

gingerphil79 – Whilst I am not going to say that you are wrong and that I am right, especially when I don't know much in this area, but I think you should be very careful. Especially after the information shared by Mathieu. Whilst you may think you are playing OK now, you have to remember that if your body is injured, then in would compensate itself so that you are using the injured part less and doing so without you realising. For example, if you had an injury that stopped you from doing your smashes, you would start doing smashes differently and not in the same way as you did before (as this hurt the injury). You wouldn't realise this and even once the injury has cleared, you would carry on doing the same method.

My point being, is that you may adjust your shots whilst using the training racket and use the same methods when using your normal racket, without you realising.

Also, whilst it may feel OK and not tire you out now, from what Mathieu was saying, it is over a period of time. The overload is too high than it should be and over time COULD cause you an injury. You would be damaging yourself over a period of time rather than in one night. If you got injuried from it, it probably wouldn't be from the time you used it but the period of time you used it for.

Basically, what I am saying is, I would be very very careful with this racket. And unless you are a professional, you are unlikely to get any “real” benefits. I have to agree that if you use the training racket for warming up and then revert back to your normal racket, that it will only feel lighter and better for a certain amount of time (5% and a few minutes so I have been told ), not the whole time you are playing. So in my mind it is a bit of a false thing.

I have to be fair and say that I haven't used my training racket in an age and if I do use it, it is more to warm up the wrist and doing figure of eights with it rather than using it on court. I brought it to find out what it was like, I wouldn't sell it but I don't know how much use I would get out of it.

Keep us posted on how you do Phil, after all, it may suit you and help you a lot. I'm not trying to have a go, but just highlight the warnings and say that I think I have to agree. Injury is a nasty thing and watching badminton from the sidelines wouldn't be fun!

Well quite, the difference between badminton to tennis or squash is in the technique. Whilst I can see where you are coming from, in badminton you flick with your wrist more and do not use so much swing from your arm. I always feel that with tennis you are “hitting” more than in badminton. In badminton you are control hitting with power. Sounds daft I know, but I know what I mean!

The only reason I wrote my previous post was because I was worried (basically I put myself in your shoes) that you were trying to defend yourself (maybe from yourseslf than others) in buying the racket. In a sense, you are trying to justifiy spending the money on the racket and therefore will use it as much as possible to get your money's worth. However, down the line, you may think that it may have not been worth it, or worse still, cause yourself an injury in the process. This is how I look at your post and how I would be feeling in your shoes (but then I'm weird anyway so I'm sure you won't feel the same way). So my advice is to re-read Mathieu's post and bear it in mind.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love it if you prove me wrong (although I'm not saying don't use it). And thanks for bringing this subject up. I am sure there will be plenty of others that may comment on this subject or will be interested in reading our views.

Out of interest, what tension can your training racket take? And what tension do you currently have?

I have to agree with Peter Warman: Tennis players play Tennis with their Tennis rackets, it has nothing to do with badminton. The amount of OVERHEAD shots is quite lower (serve and volley only if I am not mistaken) the forehand to backhand ratio is much more even (they play more backhands than we do in badminton) and the hitting technique is alot different, I don't think we can really compare. But still do get injured quite a bit (Tennis elbow etc) but I don't think we need to analyse the tennis injuries as it's not relevant to this thread.

As for Paul's comment, the principle of overload is not what causes injury, it's the OVERUSE that causes it. Like I said also, the principle of “very specific overload” like weight vests and training rackets is quite different from overloading muscles with weight training. First of all, if you want this “very specific overload” to work, studies show that it must be with a small percentage of increase in weight to keep perfect technique, which is not the case with those training rackets. Could I use 50 extra pounds on my weight vest and do some footwork drills on a badminton court and call it overload? Technically, it's overload but will it benefit my game? Most likely not.

With weight lifting, the context is completely different: If a badminton player uses too much weight on a Squat for example, and his form is not as perfect as it should be, it won't have the same detrimental effect on his performance on court as messing up his technique with a racket that is too heavy for him would do.

Like I mentioned in my other post, the advantage of a good weight lifting program is that it helps correct muscle imbalances (between left and right arm and also within each arm between a muscle and it's antagonist, same thing for the legs), which is something that a training racket cannot do. In fact the training racket can only make the muscle imbalances worse, just like playing badminton with a regular racket would favor those muscle imbalances… playing with a heavy racket will still favor the imbalances, but to a greater extent. The principle of overload is used in a much more controlled context with weight training, especially when supervised by qualified professionals. Like Paul said, it's all about the context in which the racket is being used (I talked about the potentiation effect in my previous post, which is one of the main benefits of the racket). My big fear is that players buy the racket and use it in the wrong context by thinking it will improve their smashes if they use it 1hr per day etc, which already seems to be the case from what I am reading here.

As for the endorsement by Nathan Robertson, its nothing against him but I have seen many “gadgets” in basketball, football etc that were endorsed by top players, but science proved that those gadgets were worthless after a few years. The endorsement is a marketing concept, it does not replace scientific facts in my opinion. As for the Chinese and Asians, I understand the point, but once again it does not prove that this method is efficient: Some top level endurance athletes have used “low oxygen tents” for a long time before those were proven to have very few benefits and alot of adverse effects. The same concept could apply to training rackets in badminton (although the potentiation effect mentioned above is most likely real even if it's overestimated).

As for the shoulder problems in badminton, yes obviously those were caused while using regular rackets (no studies were done on training rackets so far) but I think its fair and logical to say that the overuse problem that badminton players have with their shoulders would be increased by frequently using a heavier racket. I think that most people want to reduce their risk of injury so that they can train on courts more often.

I never said that everyone using those rackets would get injured, but I said that such rackets will most likely encourage muscle imbalances and that those imbalances combined with overuse are usually the cause of injuries among badminton players. Once again I think that a good supervised weight training program will give a better edge to the players with less downsides.

As for the analogy with marathon runners, I think that those type of athletes are obviously working very hard to avoid overuse in their training protocol and they don't run 3-4 marathons per week as their typical training, they usually run shorter distances in order to improve while reducing chance for injury. The actual marathon is the competition, not the training. Most likely if you ask a marathon runner to run his marathon or even train with an additional 40-60% of their weight on them because its a type of overloading, they won't agree to do it. As for the weight training gyms, like I said previously the context is completely different, any trainer of physical therapist will tell you that.

Once again, that's just my opinion and my biggest fear is that those rackets are not being used correctly. I know that you are a highly qualified coach, Paul, but I don't think every forum member here who will buy the rackets have the same qualification/knowledge as you do and your notion of “common sense” might not be obvious for everyone, especially less experienced players. I think that the best way for you to deal with the situation would be to publish an article about how to correctly use the racket (prescribing sets, reps and rest like you mentioned in your post).

Mathieu

Matt, I think you have a few good points here, but I also think you misunderstood a few of my statements.

First of all, my posts reflect my general opinion about the training rackets, not about their use by any particular player or forum member (I have no clue what Gingerphil does in his training and my warning was not particularly aimed at him).

I suggested that the target population for those rackets is the competitive players playing from 3-6 times a week (not just 5), once or twice per day. The reason I wrote this is because Paul wrote in his review: “If you’re a serious student of badminton and looking to reach the top then you MUST have one of these racquets in your bag.” Honestly, I do no think you can hope to reach the top if you play less than 3 times per week. I also think that this statement (“a must have”) is very exaggerated. Like you say Matt, it's exactly my point: if you play 4-6 times per week, its a poor idea to overload the muscles even more. But if you play 1-3 times per week, I don't think the training rackets will give you such a big edge compared to adding another badminton training session to your schedule or doing more technical drills etc. If you buy these rackets it's because you are looking for an edge. If you play less than 3 times per week you probably already know that its going to take alot more than a training racket to give you an edge over players who play up to 6 times per week. I understand the grey area you mentioned though about the players who try to be competitive while playing 2-3 times per week and yes, it could be more appropriate for them. You mention it's “most players” that play fewer times per week and I agree, but once again my statements were referring to the part of the review saying that its a “must have for players looking to reach the top”. I guess “reaching the top” can be interpreted in a few ways but I interpret it as being competitive at provincial, national or international level, which means playing 3-6 times per week in my opinion.

Concerning the English, Chinese and Danish etc, I know they used it for a long time (but if you read my example about endurance athletes using low oxygen tents for a long time, you'll know that it does not mean that because good players are using a certain method it necessarily means that this method is good) especially for shadowing: I mentioned in my posts that shadowing with those rackets would be a good way to do a dynamic warm up, but I have personally never seen any top players actually play with those heavy rackets. Regarding the research, there is actually no research done on that subject in english or french (I cannot read mandarin or Danish so I can't tell). My arguments were based on research done with similar overloading patterns (weight vests etc) in similar context and considering the prevalence of upper body injuries in badminton. If you have found any research on this specific device, please let me know and I will be glad to read it.

With regards to you point about the technique, I have a few doubts. Let me explain: I think the technical adaptations with heavy rackets in defence can go one way or another. Someone who already uses a big swing defensively while still struggling to reach the back of the court when returning smashes could be encouraged to use an ever bigger (tennis like) swing when using a heavier racket because he would not be able to generate enough power with his fingers and forearm with a racket that is 60% heavier than his regular racket. He could be encouraged to use his shoulders etc to generate the extra power needed. But I also agree it could have positive effects, but I think those positive effects can be obtained from other drills. Your example about your friend in the national squad is good, but I think the national coaches used the squash rackets more for the potentiation effect since they used their real rackets right after the drills.

I think your point regarding the drill I suggested is a fair one (obviously when any technical drill is used it should be done with the help of a coach, video camera or external viewer etc), but the same principle applies to the heavy racket in my opinion, it could still worsen the technique when used in the same “defensive” context. The big advantage of my drill is that the movement is exactly the same, you just learn to do it quicker and with better timing: you need to eliminate the big swings because you don't have time to do them. If you have a poor technique with no coach to correct it, you will still keep that poor technique, but once again I think a player using a training racket to improve his technique would encounter the same problem.

Your conclusions are quite logical to me: if you really want to use this racket, Avoid prolonged use, do off court training to prevent injuries. I would also add: Use it in your dynamic warm up to get the potentiation effect and MONITOR YOUR TECHNIQUE with a coach or video analysis, because like I mentioned (and it's one of the main reason I am not a fan of this device), adding weights of more than 10-20% have shown to be detrimental to the technique of the sport's movement in many studies done on different sports and although there is no evidence that this applies to badminton as well, I tend to think that 40-60% added weight will likely affect technique and timing of the players (especially for overhead shots).

I just hope that nobody takes my comments to personnaly, I don't mean to be harsh or anything, I am just skeptical.

Mathieu