The Centre of Excellence (COE) players have their daily routine and training at Stenhus Gymnasium, in Holbæk Denmark. In the same buildings, a science testing centre, called ‘Stenhus Test & Videnscenter’, is also located, and, last week, the joined forces to do badminton specific tests.
In correlation to the ph.d. studies by Christian Møller Madsen about specific on-court badminton exercises, University of Aalborg visited Stenhus Gymnasium to do tests on the COE players. Aalborg University took part in the testing with two professors and ten students.
- In badminton we have always been taught to have a low center of gravity, which is probably an advantage. But the question is how low? Who is the fastest on court and how low do they move and is there a connection between the two? Madsen explains to Badminton Europe.
- We can have a feeling that there is a right way to do things in badminton, but it is much better to get it confirmed or affirmed. So, this is all about gathering knowledge to base the discussions on. We need to get more knowledge on the physical and technical training in terms of movement on court.
Center of gravity
The focus of the tests was the center of gravity for badminton players and whether the height of that influences the speed. First, the players did maximum weight tests for squat, bench press and push-ups, and were weighted and measured. This was followed by speed and endurance tests on court.
Censors with reflexes was placed on the players’ bones and ligaments which was recorded by several infra-red cameras while the players moved on court. The cameras could then catch the reflexes and show the way the body moves on court, on a computer screen.
The players also had the chance to test a brand-new product called ‘Spraino’, which is supposed to save 90 per cent of ankle sprain injuries. Spraino is a specially designed piece of teflon that is applied to the outside of the sports shoe to reduce the friction between shoes and floors. The players performed speed tests with and without the Spraino on their shoes, and the result was that they did not affect the speed at all.
Starting point
They compiled a lot of data from all the tests, which Aalborg University has taken back with them to process, and Madsen hopes to receive the final results within the month. But now he and the COE coaches can already start to make individual plans for the players as the tests have provided them with their individual physical profile.
- The players already have something useful from these tests due to the fact that we also tested their endurance and their maximum heart rate. Which means that we now have some kind of starting point.
- This means that from now on and going forward we can begin to make individual training programs for them. Both for physical training but also longer lasting training schedules and programs, all from the tests that we have made.
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