Will Badminton Help Me Lose Weight?

Before I started badminton, I was sitting on my couch, overweight. I thought to myself that I needed to do something to change my situation. One day, I switched on the television and saw people playing badminton and it looked pretty fun! I thought to myself if badminton will help me lose weight since those players I saw on television are all very slim. So, I went on the internet to search for the answer.

Badminton will help you lose weight and a lot of it! In fact, badminton burns a whooping 480 calories every hour played, higher than many sports. This is because it is pretty intense with lots of running and jumping around. You can expect to lose about 1 kg per week on average if you be consistent (3-4 times per week).

6 Reasons Badminton Help You Lose Weight

Playing badminton is one of the best ways of losing weight. It fulfills a lot of criteria that weight loss trainers recommend for weight loss. As I have mentioned, it burns approximately 480 calories every hour played which can help you lose a ton of weight fast.

1. It Is HIIT Training

If you don’t know what HIIT training is, it stands for High-Intensity Interval Training. This type of training is a combination of short bursts of high-intensity exercises followed by low-intensity exercises as rest periods.

Playing badminton is the same, it requires you to move around quickly as you cover the court while having short rests in between rallies, more if you are playing singles. If you watch badminton superstars such as Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei play, their footwork looks smooth and seamless. That is because they are extremely good! In fact, there are a lot of small, explosive movements in a single rally which requires you to stop and start. This is the exact reason why this is a HIIT sport that helps to burn so many calories.

When playing badminton, make sure to be ready to get on the move on and off a shot. You need to constantly be switched on with the right positioning so you can move as quickly as possible when the shot is returned. This will bring your game to the next level and maximize how much calories you burn, making badminton a fantastic sport to help you lose weight!

If you are just starting out in badminton, you will not burn as many calories as higher level players. This is true because as a beginner, you still won’t know how to move properly and position yourself to return the shots. Furthermore, you will also likely not move as fast and as explosive as higher level players.

At a social level player, it is estimated that you could burn about 300 calories per hour, which is still pretty good. That’s a big bowl of white rice that you just burnt. Higher-level players can expect to burn about 480 calories per hour. That’s because their movements are faster and more explosive. Additionally, they also hit the shuttle harder which translates to more calories burnt.

2. Sweat A Ton!

Playing badminton, even as a beginner will make you sweat a lot! This game requires your whole body to move and react to the flow of the game. After playing just 30 minutes, you will definitely have a decent amount of sweat and leave you thirsty.

Drinking water is a must to keep hydrated in all physical activities. Furthermore, drinking more water will give your metabolism a boost, make you feel less hungry, and cleanse your body. All of these will help keep your weight down in the long term.

Additionally, drinking more water will prevent your body from retaining water. Your body does this when it does not get enough water going into, so your body tries to retain as much water as it can. This ultimately means that you can lose a few kilos of water weight just by drinking more water, preventing your body from retaining excessive amounts of water.

A recommendation I would give you is to drink before eating. Ice cold water if possible, as your body absorbs cold water more quickly and it can boost your metabolism further.

When you drink more water, you will naturally cut down on soda or sugary drinks. This will cut down a lot of junk calories that go into your body which makes it harder to burn them off. That being said, soda and sugary drinks will make you feel lazy and lethargic, while water will give make you more energetic and awake.

3. Get Your Heart Pumping Hard (In A Good Way)

If you have watched or played any badminton at all, you would know that it is a highly intense game with lots of fast and explosive movements. This will surely get your heart pumping hard, in a good way. Putting you in a fat-burning zone, according to scientists.

Being in the fat-burning zone, your body will burn most calories at the highest efficiency. If you are interested, here is how to calculate what heart rate you need to be in to get into the fat-burning zone. Here is the formula:

220 – (Your age) then multiple the answer with 0.6 – 0.7

Let’s say a 25 years old man/woman wants to know how fast his/her heart needs to beat to get into the fat-burning zone. Here’s the calculation:

220 – 25 = 195

Then, use 195 x 0.6 = 117 or 195 x 0.7 = 136.5

This means that a 25-year-old person needs to get his/her heart pumping between 117 to 136.5 beats per minute to get into the fat-burning zone.

Chart For Age vs Heart Rate Needed to Enter Fat Burning Zone

AgeHeart Rate (Beats Per Minute) To Get Into Fat Burning Zone
20’s~ 120 – 140
30’s~ 114 – 133
40’s~ 108 – 126
50’s~ 102 – 119
60’s~ 96 – 112
Table showing age vs heart rate to reach fat burning zone

As you can see, the older you get, the lower the heart rate you need to get into the fat-burning zone. A lot of people make the mistake of pushing themselves too hard until their body reaches a point where it becomes less efficient at burning fat. When it gets too intense (heart rate getting too high), ease off a little. This will get you back to burning fat most efficiently. Moreover, you can also last longer in the game which means more calories being burnt. Not to mention, pushing yourself over the limit can be dangerous, potentially picking up injuries.

Besides the benefits of weight loss, badminton will also benefit your heart. It is a muscle just like any other parts of your body which need to be worked out.

4. Burning Calories Even After

When you play badminton with a decent amount of intensity, it will keep your heart rate higher than usual even after an hour you finished your game. We call this feeling the “afterburn” or “excess post-exercise oxygen consumption” if you want to be scientific. Basically, this means that you continue burning calories even after the workout.

According to studies, this effect will last several hours even after a workout. The higher the intensity, the faster your heart beats, the more of this effect you’ll get. There is no set time of how long you need to be playing to get this effect. Even just playing 30 minutes with considerable intensity will give you the benefit of this, you just burn fewer calories.

Having looked around the web, I also found that eating before your game is more beneficial. This is so you don’t get stomach issues when the game is going on. You don’t want a full belly right before a game of badminton, especially if you are going to play with decent intensity. Make sure to get a healthy post-game meal with foods that contain good micronutrients combined with lean protein. A great example of a meal would be green vegetables with some rice and chicken breast. Make sure they are not cooked with too much oil. This will help your body recover from the game and get stronger.

5. Muscle Gain

Gaining muscle is probably not the first thing you think of when it comes to badminton. That being said, you will develop some muscle, especially on your legs and shoulders. With the intensity of the game, your body is forced to grow muscle if you want to improve even without any gym work. Having more muscles in your body will increase the number of calories your body burns. The more calories you burn, the harder it is for you to gain weight. For example, let’s say you and Bryan are the same height and weight at 65 kg but, you have more muscle than Bryan. You will, on average, burn more calories than Bryan even though both of you are just sitting on a bench.

Lunging and jumping across the court will make your legs grow fast. These 2 movements require quite some strength and muscle to perform well. On the other hand, your shoulder will also likely develop especially if you are someone that likes smashing. Smashing uses a lot of muscle on the shoulder to deliver a powerful smash. The downside is that one side of your body will likely be more developed compared to another. In badminton, we often use one side of our body to do most, if not, all of the work. Let’s say you are right-handed, your right leg and right shoulder will be way more developed compared to your left. One way to counter this is to add in some gym work where you train both sides of your body.

6. Badminton Is Fun!

Most importantly, it is such a fun sport to play! When trying to lose weight, it is often overlooked at how enjoyable that specific activity is. Many people don’t like going to the gym and workout. They do it anyway because they want to lose weight. The good news is, you can achieve the same goal if you just play badminton rather than going to the gym. For most people, it is way more enjoyable and they actually want to play badminton, not just for weight loss.

When we enjoy something, we tend to do it more often and more consistently because it does not feel like work. This will help you stick to it and do it for the long term. Furthermore, badminton is also very rewarding when you win. Plus, you get to socialize with others, make life bonding friends, and much more.

5 Other Sports Like Badminton

If badminton does not sound like the sport you want to get into, there are alternatives. Most of them are less intense but they still offer a great workout to help you lose weight. Here are 5 other sports like badminton.

1. Speedminton

Speedminton, sometimes called crossminton, is a game very similar to badminton. In fact, it is a combination of badminton, tennis, and squash into one sport. This is a game you play without a net at anywhere and anytime, even if it’s slightly windy.

The court is made of two 5.5 x 5.5 meter squares on the ground with a distance of 12.8 meters in between them. Instead of the shuttle called shuttlecocks, they are called “birdies”. They are shorter, heavier, and narrower compared to shuttlecocks used in badminton. Moreover, their flight is stable even in windy conditions. Not to mention, they are also water-resistant and can glow in the dark if you load them with speed light.

Usually, speedminton is played on the beach, the backyard, the park, or anywhere that has a large flat surface. This game is a lot of fun for people of all ages and can be played in singles or doubles, just like badminton.

2. Jazzminton

Jazzminton is a game that can be played indoors or outdoors. Many people love playing Jazzminton on the beach. Again, the shuttles are called “birdies”. They are made to be working well when it’s windy, allowing you to play anywhere, anytime, just like speedminton.

Furthermore, there are different difficulty levels of birdies that spin differently. Pick the birdie that is suitable for your level and your mood. You can play it slowly and have a nice conversation with your friend or you can also play at an intense level. With any birdie you pick, I’m sure you’ll have a great time playing Jazzminton.

The spin of the birdies make this sport very unique to other racket games but at the same time, combines the best of badminton, table tennis, speedminton, paddleball, and tennis. You can play this game as near as 1.5 meters apart or as far as 9 meters apart. Additionally, you can also play at night with LED birdies.

3. PickleBall

Pickleball is a game played with paddles with a surface smaller and harder than a badminton racket. This is a game with a combination of many characteristics of tennis, ping pong, and badminton.

This time, instead of a birdie, they play with whiffle balls. Pickleball can be played in the water and can travel a good distance when you hit them between each other. Like the first 2, you also don’t need a net to play pickleball but it also plays well on a tennis court.

4. Tennis

Tennis is a well known Olympic sport around the world. It is almost impossible to play if you do not have a proper court. Luckily, tennis is popular enough to have them built in many parks and community centers. Tennis is a sport that involves tennis balls and rackets, I’m sure you’ve seen them before.

Tennis rackets are heavier and bigger than badminton rackets. Hence, you’ll need more arm power compared to badminton.

It is similar to badminton except, the court is bigger, you can let the ball bounce once and also serve above your head. Of all the sports on this list, tennis is the most famous and popular one, arguably, more famous than badminton.

5. Squash

Squash is another great sport that is addictive just like badminton. Badminton and squash work on very similar movements and skills, just on a different court and rules. Squash is played with a stringed racket, similar to tennis rackets but a little smaller and lighter. That being said, badminton rackets are still the lightest among these 3.

Essentially with this game, you play in a box returning balls bouncing off a wall in every direction. It gets you covering the box while smashing and jumping around while avoiding your opponent.

Conclusion

To conclude, badminton will help you lose weight and lose them fast because of the reasons stated above. If you are trying to find an enjoyable sport to play and help you lose weight at the same time, you should really consider badminton. I hope I’ve made you excited to start playing badminton.

If you think badminton is not the sport for you, there’s also a list of 5 sports similar to badminton to choose from. All of them are close to how badminton play but not all of them are as good as badminton in terms of losing weight and burning calories.

If I missed out on any other reasons how badminton will help you lose weight, or you just have any a comment or any questions, feel free to leave it down below.

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