I just bought a Fukuda 135g+ trainer racket and had my first go with it. I have used it to practice some basic drives, clears, and net play for something like 30 minutes.
All I can say is that this monster is heavy stuff. I need to yield a lot of strength in order to make a decent swing with it. But when I returning to my ordinary badminton racket, the feeling was really strange. I feel that the ordinary racket was so light and I can play the game quick relaxing.
I think I will continue to use the heavy trainer racket to train up my skill for a couple of weeks every now and then. I will see if it has an effect on my game. Some people not sure practice with a trainer racket is a good or bad thing as they cannot evaluate from their daily training.
Does anyone have any experience in using a heavy racket (say a squash racket) for badminton training? Do you have any idea for a more systematic approach to training using such a racket?
Some People Are Avoiding It
I know that some people who play badminton with me would avoid using it, especially they will not use the trainer racket to practice the net play. As they claimed this is simply because that’s a more “touch” based skill. You need very fine movements, and training with a heavy racket probably won’t help you very much there.
For drives, and overhead strokes it’s probably a great idea, especially for that “snap” at the end of your stroke. We used to use squash rackets as they didn’t have the training rackets yet. Just be careful not to overdo it as it can be pretty hard on your forearm and wrist. I would be willing to bet most of the world’s top badminton players are using something similar to train their wrist.
Therefore, if you think your swing is not powerful enough, I think that’s a piece of good advice where you may try to use the trainer racket for drives and overhead strokes.
Finger Power
I find that it is a very useful way to improve your “finger power” and finger power is probably three-quarters of the “snap”. I also used a squash racket and sometimes just a normal racket with a cover. I wouldn’t be so afraid to try to use the heavy racket to improve your finger power when you lob from the net.
You can try it out and see how it works out and expect that it will take some time before you get used to switching forth and back between your normal racket and the heavy racket. Of course, if you find that it simply doesn’t work for you using the heavy racket to improve your net lobs, then just skip it.
After Using Trainer Racket For Some Time
I have been using a trainer racket for some time now. It does feel strange to go back to your normal racket after using it, but it really does get easier the more you become used to it. One tip I was given was to try using an overgrip to increase the size of the grip to a little bit thicker than what you are used to, it seems to help when you switch back to your normal racket.
If you stick with it, you will really notice an improvement not only in your strength but also in technique: it is hard to generate power with the poor technique with a trainer racket.
Power Ball
Other than the trainer racket, have you guys had any experience with a power ball? I just got one as well and I was wondering if it has the same effect for wrist and finger power. So I just try it out and experience myself.
I figure that I will try anything that might give me that ‘edge’.
There are quite a few vids on YouTube which give some ideas on different routines you can try. It builds up conditioning, but because it is specific to the game, I think the trainer racket has made more of an impact on my game.
Read also: How You Can Choose The Best Badminton Sets
