Quit gym and play badminton instead | benefits of badminton
Badminton is one of the most popular participation sports in the world, just in the second place after football (soccer), according to the BBC Sports Academy.
Millions and millions of people around the world play badminton just for fun or even at a professional level as it has simple rules.
Anyone can play badminton outdoor on the backyard or indoor on special badminton courts. The game does not require a big party to participate (can be played between two people) and is suitable for all ages as a non-contact game.
Badminton game is one type of acrobatic game that means you need to move all parts of your body, run a lot, flex your joints and contract your body muscles, which has a great benefit for health.
In this article, you will know the health benefits of playing badminton and if it is good for losing weight and belly fat or not, through these top 10 health tips. So let’s started.
1. Badminton and Weight loss
There are many sports, which help you to get rid of your belly fat and to reduce your body weight. However, badminton game is considered as the highest sport you can play to burn calories and lose extra weight in a short time.
This sport belongs to acrobatic games, and literally, you will use every single muscle in your body during running in the court to catch the shuttle, flying to shot a badminton smash, lunging to play a drop shot, turning to hit a backhand shot, you will use your shoulder, arm and hand muscles.
In addition, badminton footwork will burn the fat accumulated around the buttocks, thighs and calf muscles.
You can lose a couple of inches from your tummy fat if you play badminton regularly in just 3 months, but do not forget to reduce junk foods as well.
How many calories do you burn playing badminton for 1 hour?
It depends on many factors:
a. Body weight
Your body weight has a major impact on the total calories you will lose while playing a moderate badminton game for an hour, so for example:
- 200-pound person (approx. 91 kg) will burn around 544 calories.
- 300-pound person (approx. 136 kg) will burn around 816 calories.
Please review this article about calories burned in 30 minutes of leisure and routine activities from Harvard Medical School.
b. The game level
If you play just a normal game without much effort, it would not help too much.
However, if you play an intermediate game level with doing a lot of effort such as running in the court, stretching for shots, moving quickly to hit the shuttle, you would lose a significant amount of your weight.
Playing with a good competitor will make you move faster and do more work.
- A 200-pound person (91 kg) is expected to burn 362 calories if he/she plays a normal badminton game.
- The same person is expected to burn approximately 666 calories if the game level was intermediate or professional.
c. The time you play
Playing for a short time will not give you the result you expect. Instead, playing badminton every day for 45-60 for at least 5-6 days a week can reduce about 4-5 kg from your body weight monthly.
d. The numbers of players
Playing a double game will reduce the total distance you will run in the match and the overall movements in the badminton court, which in turn will reduce the number of calories you will lose.
2. Bodybuilding
A good aspect for playing badminton is for bodybuilding as you will use your upper and lower limb muscles, but does badminton will build your muscle?
The answer is Yes and No, how?
Yes as playing badminton will increase your muscle strength, and No because it will not increase the bulk of the muscles, instead it will decrease it by burning surrounding fats.
The net result of both is strong muscles but not bulky as in lifting for example.
The major muscles will be affected by playing badminton on a daily basis are:
Upper limb:
Deltoid muscle, Biceps, triceps, shoulder girdle muscles, forearm muscles and fine muscles of the hand.
As in badminton, you will use a lot of hand movements to hit the shuttle, smash, switch between backhand and forehand.
Lower limb:
Quadriceps, Gastrocnemius, hamstring muscles and Tibialis Anterior. Badminton footwork is important as hand movement because you will use your feet to lunge, run, lean forward and jump to hit the birdie.
Best Badminton equipment for bodybuilding 2019
Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein Powder
Bigger Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Body (Best Book)
Bowflex SelectTech 552 Adjustable Dumbbells (Pair)
Tribe 11 PC Resistance Bands with Handles, door anchor
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3. Heart
Is Badminton good for the heart?
Badminton is considered as a moderate-intensity activity and it is recommended for any healthy adult to practice an aerobic activity for at least 150 minutes per week, so you can play badminton for that reason.
It will increase heart muscle strength and contractility and prevent cardiovascular diseases by decreasing low-density lipoproteins (LDL), which is a bad type of cholesterol, which precipitates on the wall of blood vessels and leads to blood vessels occlusion that may cause chronic heart disease (CHD), stroke, Myocardial infarction or even cardiac arrest.
4. Physical fitness
Why is badminton a good game to help maintain and improve physical fitness?
Badminton is considered as the fastest racket sport in the world with badminton serve speed may reach 300km/hr.
In a professional level of a single badminton rally game, each player can run a distance equivalent to 1mile (1.6km), which will increase his/her physical fitness and keep him in shape.
It will affect the player’s productivity at work, concentration, general health.
5. Maintain your shape
Like all sports, badminton will keep you in shape with nice musculature and strong muscles. With different badminton techniques, you will lose fat from many sites of your body as the waist, calves, hamstrings, and butts.
6. Psychological aspects of badminton
Badminton is an interactive game that should be played at least between two players, so interactions through the match with the opponent is good for mental health and indeed can relieve tension, stress, and anxiety and can prevent depression as well by enhancing individual self-esteem.
In addition, due to physical work while playing badminton, some brain neurotransmitters as endorphins are released in the blood improving the mood and sleep rhythm.
7. Body mobility and flexibility
With different directions of shots in the game, you will bend all joints in a natural healthy way, your shoulder joint, hip joints neck and back as well. This will decrease muscle stiffness, joint pain and can prevent arthritis by increasing lubricants inside joints capsules.
Can we increase our height by playing badminton?
It is a controversial issue since the fact that some certain exercises and sports, particularly Badminton, can enhance the bone growth and in turn, increase one’s height, but this happens mostly during adolescence years, which ends in girls roughly at 16 and for boys at 18 years.
Others argue that the height is an absolute genetic matter and sports have no role on it.
This is a false belief, as playing sports will result in a series of contractions and relaxations in body muscles, which will make it grow taller and stronger.
In addition, this continuous movement on the muscular level will enhance the release of a plenty amount of growth hormone, that will increase the height of bones and muscles.
8. Get rid of your body toxins
Playing badminton will help your body to produce a sufficient amount of sweat, which will take a lot of endotoxins out from our bodies.
It will improve metabolism, so body cells will do its work and wash out all toxins from our bodies and you will be more alert, conscious and concentrated.
9. Badminton & social life
As mentioned before, badminton is an outdoor/indoor activity which requires at least 2 players, so when starting to play badminton, you need a partner and need to go out, which will have a positive impact on your social life as you can make new friends, share with them your experience and be a part of their community.
It is a great way to meet people and make friends. You also could start to play with your family members in your back garden using this affordable set.
The social aspect of the game is huge; it is a great way to lift your mode and easy to play with its simple rules.
You can play at any time of year and as a non-contact sport, it is suitable for people of all ages, no matter how fit they are because they can manage the speed of the game making it slow or fast.
According to the BBC Sports Academy, badminton is the world’s second most popular participation sport being played by millions of people around the world.
10. Badminton and chronic diseases
Diabetes Mellitus:
Playing badminton will help in regulation of production of insulin from pancreas as well as the glycolysis process, which means degradation of sugars from the liver, and turn to glucose in the blood.
Hypertension:
Particularly people with prehypertension where the blood pressure ranges from 120/80 to 139/89 mmHg, as practicing sports like badminton game will prevent the occurrence of the disease.
11. Skeleton & Bone density
Badminton will enhance accumulation of bone builder cells (osteoblasts) which will add calcium to your bones and make it stronger. It also will reduce osteoclasts, which is responsible for bone erosion that may result in osteoporosis.
After all these health benefits of playing badminton, you should never miss this nice easy game. Install a badminton set in your back yard and start to enjoy.
However, be careful while doing Badminton exercises as you may injure yourself by wrong movements, which might lead to series complications.