hi guys I am 14 and I have been playing badminton for 4 years. I weight train for my legs. my question is, is it normal to have a calf imbalance. my raquet leg's calf is slightly larger and stronger than other calf. how do I gain strength without gaining size?
I can't say I'm big on juniors weight training at 14. It's normal to develop a bit of an imbalance. You'll gain some size with strength, but it's unlikely to be considerable/cumbersome.
Same as Charlie - are you weight training on your own, or is it part of a program monitored by a professional coach? I've had a slight imbalance myself too - legs and arms. Badminton being an asymmetrical sport, I guess that's expected. Maybe you could do ghosting movements while making sure you do symmetrical movements on both sides to make your other leg do a bit more work? Or simply go running / biking regularly
http://www.badmintoncentral.com/for....com/forums/member.php/124614-sebZeroToHeroes I do squats and jumping excersises by myself. nothing too harmful I hope. and also thx for the info
It is completely normal to have one body part bigger and stronger than the other, regardless of the type of sport you are playing, and also completely normal for people who are not active at all.
Badminton, more than any other sport, can lead to imbalance. Particularly in the leg area with the lead leg doing all the work in lunges for the low shots and pushing off afterwards. Two very notable British players from the past that I remember had a very marked difference in leg size were Mark Constable and Julia Mann. Their lead legs, and particularly their thighs, were considerably larger than their trailing leg. During normal walking this resulted in a slightly imbalanced gait. There were other players but these two really stood out. Weight training should focus on trying to rebalance as this kind of imbalance may lead to back problems in later life. Nothing wrong with weight training at 14 as long as it is well supervised.
One more issue is when to start weight training in badminton. It is ideal to start around the age of 20 because, till that age, bone growth occurs in adults. When weight training is done before that, there is a risk of injury to the growth plate of the bone, which can stunt the growth of that particular bone resulting in deformity. http://www.badminton-information.com/weight_training.html
[MENTION=120240]mikescully[/MENTION] is right, which is why I don't really like juniors weight training. It can be bad for bone health, and can even result in brittle bone issues. By all means do body weight exercises such as lunges, footwork training, or skipping, but I'd stay away from the weights for now.
According to a book that I read, "Strength Training for Young Athletes", it's a misconception. http://www.amazon.com/Strength-Trai...keywords=strength+training+for+young+athletes See, for example, "Misconception about Strength Training" section. Many qualified coaches here use (free) weights with their juniors. If you go to official gyms, there are personal fitness coaches specialized in strength training for young athletes. 20 years old seem pretty late/conservative. I suspect players like WYH, TZY and other started doing strength/weight training much younger than that.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Teenage-Mus...?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1361805073&sr=1-1 Book written by a writer friend who's a qualified fitness instructor and has been working in the field for over 30 years. I also have another friend who is a qualified fitness instructor and cross fit instructor with their own gym and does cross fit lessons for 11 to 16 year olds.
I think OP already explained his exercise which is not really that hardcore for junior. You might want to do the more intensive (i.e. full loaded weights) ones after at least you've grown to full height (at least 18 or 20). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTKSB6w5YBo for comparison my 4 years old son is now 112 cm, while Guiliano Stroe (kid bodybuilder) measured 107 cm when he's 10 y.o., I think he would have grown taller if he hadn't stunted his growth
Disagree on weight training to start at age 20, that is really being conservative (too much). Up to around age 12-13 you can have kids just being active and training just bodyweight, even then being careful especially with plyometrics. From when they hit puberty you can start weight training with no issues as long as they are again being careful on how much resistance they are loading with. By that point their growth plates are still there but much more stabilized and decreased risk of fracture. If anything during that phase appropriate loading will help promote growth, strength and resilience. Physical therapy student
Doing that is fine. Add some sort of footwork that will help you apply the strength to movement much more!