By Justin Ma, 7x US Junior National Badminton Champion.
Last updated January 17, 2024
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4 min read
If you’ve been looking for ways to switch up your badminton training, you’re in luck. Whether you want to improve your stability, reflexes, or overall game, there are plenty of affordable (and fun) training tools that can help revamp your routine.
You might have some of these items lying around at home. But for the ones you don’t, you can easily find them online or at your local department store.
Below, discover six unique badminton training tools to try, complete with where to find them and how to use them.
Here are six badminton training tools to help you hone your strength, speed, and technique on the court:
Strong forearms and wrists are key for hitting powerful, controlled shots. And while there are plenty of low-to-no equipment ways to strengthen these muscles, a grip strength trainer can help you take your training to the next level.
These trainers have a widened grip that works your flexors and extensors — two muscle groups that help you prepare, swing, and recover after each shot.
They’re also portable, adjustable, and easy to use, making them perfect for training your arms at home or on the go.
Check the price of AIXPI Grip Strength Trainer on Amazon
One of the most underrated badminton skills is the ability to stay balanced while you lunge, twist, turn, and jump on the court. And if your stability isn’t where you want it to be yet, adding a balance board to your training routine could help.
There are many challenging exercises you can do on these boards. But the idea is that they give you a wobbly, unstable surface to stand on, which helps target your core and stabilizing muscles.
In turn, this can help enhance your:
Check the price of URBNFit Wooden Balance Board Trainer on Amazon
Plain tennis balls can be helpful tools for improving your hand-eye coordination. And as long as you have a wall to practice with, you can use them in specific drills to improve your reflexes for badminton.
But if you want to take things up a notch, you can opt for a hand-eye coordination training ball instead.
Unlike regular tennis balls, these have bumpy, uneven surfaces. This makes them much more unpredictable — and a great tool for putting your coordination and reflexes to the test.
Check the price of the SKLZ Reaction Ball on Amazon
Bringing a few cups or small boxes to the badminton court can be a fun way to practice your shot accuracy. Now, these don’t have to be special — just small (or big) enough to match your skill level while challenging your precision.
Place a few cups or boxes around the court, and stand across the net from them. With a few stacks of shuttles, practice your serve accuracy by aiming for each of the cups.
To switch things up, you could also take turns doing multishuttle drills with a partner to practice your accuracy with different types of shots.
All kinds of athletes can use agility ladders to work on their explosive speed — including badminton players. These simple tools come in handy when you want to add more quickness to your footwork, and there are tons of exercises you can do with them.
Lateral side-steps are one example — but you can also try crossovers, single-leg hops, and even push-up drills to boost your upper body speed.
Check the price of the GHB Agility Ladder on Amazon
Sports watches are a bit pricier than the badminton training tools covered above. But if you want to improve your stamina and track your workouts, they can be an excellent investment in your game.
Tools like these measure your heart rate, steps, and calories burned during a match. Some models even have vibration cues for high-intensity interval training (HIIT), plus the ability to monitor your training zone based on your heart rate.
The newest Apple Watch and Fitbit Charge models are tried and true favorites. But if you need a more affordable option, the Fitbit Inspire 3 has plenty of useful features like sleep tracking, step counting, and auto-exercise detection at a more budget-friendly price.
