Bhapa Pitha, Comforters and Badminton, the three essentials of our winter rituals. Over the years, badminton has been deeply rooted in our culture and winter just feels incomplete without it. Our inner athletes simply rush out to become the kings and queens of the courts. And while a little competition never hurt anyone, we tend to forget that most of us have fairly low levels of fitness throughout the rest of the year. This is why stretching before the big game (let’s face it, every game is a big game) is of paramount importance. These are the five best exercise to perform to loosen up your muscles and avoid nasty and unwanted injuries.
Forward Lunges
Lunges are extremely easy to execute and provide a good workout for your core. Start by simply placing one leg in front of the other and bending the front leg so most of your weight falls on it. Make sure to keep your back straight and stretch out your chest as much as possible. Repeat for both legs. Including lunges in your warm up routine will greatly improve your mobility. So not only will you avoid injuries, but you will look graceful while doing so.
Rotating Cuff Stretch
Arguably the most important exercise on this list, the rotating cuff stretch is a godsend for our shoulders. We Bangladeshis tend to show off during badminton with the smash aka “the chaap” being a staple of our game. As spectacular as it looks, one wrong move can severely damage our shoulders. All you need to do for this is place one arm behind your back and grab its elbow with your other hand. Repeat this motion 10 times for both hands.
Toe Touches
Sticking to our legs, toe touches are a great way of stretching our hamstrings which suffer from a lot of impacts during and intense game of badminton. Before you leave your house for the court, just lay on the ground, lift your legs, lean forward while keeping your back straight and try to reach for your toes. This routine will give your hamstrings some much needed warm up.
Wrist Rolls
Our wrists obviously play a crucial role during badminton as we rely on various wrist maneuvers to best our opponents. All you need to do in order to perform this exercise is close your fists and gently make circles with it using your wrists. Make sure that you perform them both clockwise and counterclockwise.
Alphabetical Ankle
Our ankles require a lot of warming up before any sport. Let alone badminton which rely heavily on jumping and fancy footworks. This exercise is exactly what the name implies. Lift your leg up until your knees are parallel to your hips and then trace all of the alphabets using your ankle. This will cause your ankle to stretch in various direction and improve mobility while decreasing the odds of spraining it.