Badminton an Aerobic Sport?

Badminton can certainly be a great cardiovascular exercise. However, while badminton can sometimes be aerobic in nature, I’m sure that this is not always true. Badminton drills can often be performed aerobically. In an actual game, however, it becomes more of an interval activity. During the ON phase of the interval, the shuttle is “in play”. This ON phase is nearly 50% of the total game time (which means that the OFF phase is 50% or slightly more). The ON phase for each rally generally lasts somewhere between a couple of seconds to 80-90 seconds. By contrast, a tennis ball is generally “in play” 10 to 20% of the total game time.

In long distance running & cycling as well as with sustained swimming, the athlete is moving continuously & is truly exercising aerobically. Field players in football and basketball players probably also stay in their aerobic range. On the other hand, because of the start/stop nature of the sport, badminton players probably use both aerobic as well as anaerobic systems to perform their activity.

The bottom line is that a conditioned badminton player should have a good aerobic base. However, interval training (wind sprints, skipping) should also be an integral part of conditioning to develop the anaerobic energy systems of the body.