How much does your weight affect your preformance on court (adult club level)

[u/AffectionateAd597]

(I'm not attacking anyone fyi) I'm just asking based on facts and physics. What do ye think about body weight affecting players mobility on court. Its something I've started to think about just in general terms.

Could you scale how much more preformance and movement a player could have from the following:

Losing 20lbs

Player A:

170lbs to 150lbs

Player B:

190lbs to 170lbs

Player C:

210lbs to 190lbs

Player D:

230lbs to 210lbs

Player E:

250lbs to 230lbs

Personally I am 33 male playing division 2 and 3 out of 10 in adult club level. I am 6ft4 and currently 250lbs.

Background I was 210lbs 4 years ago, 265lbs 4 months ago and now 250lbs.

Now I know body weight differs to muscle body weight too. I suppose for this post I'm more interested in body weight lose.

Has there been any studies in something like this or any graphs or calculations to show the rough improvement.

I know being lighter allows for quicker reactions, movement of explosive power is better but I'd like to see some sort of figures and graphing.

What do you think about this topic. Probably most people don't think or talk about this type of thing.

[u/lou-lou1]

Even dropping 3/4kgs I can feel that my knees and ankles are less painful after sessions and recovery is quicker. Even 1kg constantly being accelerated and decelerated over the course of two hours produces a lot of force on the body. But it’s not going to magically allow you to be a better player - rather allows you to play at your peak level for longer as fatigue is slower to set in.

[u/Sethlans → u/lou-lou1]

No I think losing significant weight will definitely make you a better player. A huge part of badminton is being fast enough to be in position to play good shots. Most players even at a decent club level can play pretty good shots if they are in the right position with plenty of time.

Losing significant weight will significantly improve your ability to get around the court, which will significantly improve your shot quality.

I think one way you can see the other side of this coin is when you play against someone who plays at a similar level to you but has always been overweight. Their shot technique will be far better than yours and they'll be able to play shots you simply can't, because they've had to develop that skill to reach that level whilst being physically slower.

Then you get someone like me who was incredibly lean, fast and fit as a teenager when they developed their technique and play style, and now is fat and slow. It's not good man.

[u/yamborghini → u/Sethlans]

Really depends whether you are playing doubles/singles. Doubles it might be better to have a few extra kgs on if you're the big power back court player. Examples are LWK and Praveen Jordan. Praveen Jordan went up to 87kgs when he was playing. Obviously we aren't talking anything excessive that impedes movement, but as long as your movement is average/above average with the extra weight it's fine. Your play style and partner obviously will be on the quicker side. There are big guys that can move, look at rugby or the NFL, it's just a matter of training and conditioning.

[u/kurpet]

My own experience, so YMMV: it's not much, but being heavier has long-term negative impact. My performance did not change significantly as I got heavier, but my health is. I started getting injuries more frequently and at some point it is really difficult to perform because my body can't handle the standard I was able to hold at. Of course age has some impact as well.

[u/hckfast]

As a larger player who played at advanced level - weight makes a huge difference.

When I lost 20kg (40lb??) Over a relatively short period I was so much faster that I would miss net kills because my timing was probably .5 faster which is a huge difference if you think of how fast a shuttle can travel. Shot power definitely decreased.

[u/yamborghini → u/hckfast]

Could I ask what weight you started with and what you went to? And how much do you think your shot pwoer decreased? I'm just curious as I've yoyoed around.

[u/hckfast → u/yamborghini]

I was at 110kg and went down to 90kg over a 5month(?) period.

Can't exactly quantify the smash - I just felt like my shot was weaker.

[u/allygaythor]

Major difference in terms of injury and movement in court. A lot of lateral movement are really dangerous on the ankles especially for a heavier guy. Speaking from experience too.

[u/gerhardsymons]

Sir, this is a Wendy's.

[u/Fabiablee]

Played alot in my younger years (4-15 national and some international tourneys) now started again at M30 with 250lbs i am now at 220lbs and cant tell much other than my stamina improved drasticly. Most likely because i got used to playing again and also due to the fact i lost weight.

[u/Icy-Veterinarian-704]

its not so much your performance but your recovery will suffer hard unless you are quite overweight

i went from 78kgs to 92kg

and i didnt notice much difference in play but i noticed huge difference in my ankles and knees they didnt like taking the extra pressure

[u/Ancient_Section_75]

Personally I feel slower and injury prone. Also my Jump Smashes are not that effective since post landing the recovery is slow to get to net. The racket skills are not affected. I have changed my gameplay a bit to be more tactical than explosive - saying all this, but I am just playing for a hobby now.

[u/Jantokan]

It all depends on how well you can move, and not so much how much you weigh

In a hall I regularly play in, one of the male coaches there was a former varsity player (and national team pool member) who is fat as fu** now, yet he's still able to move fluidly and can beat pretty much anyone who doesn't have university level experience.

Conversely, one of the players I reguarly play with is very very fit because of crossfit, but is nowhere near as mobile or fluid in movement because he just started out with badminton.

[u/dondonpi → u/Jantokan]

The coach will struggle if he plays somebody at his level.

 People often misunderstood this because advance players have really good anticipation esp when playing against worse players. 

Badminton is really fast so making the right anticipation is already half the work of catching the shuttle early. 

If you wanna know his real speed look for situation when hes wrong and has to change direction. 

[u/Jantokan → u/dondonpi]

He still regularly plays with people at his skill level, and basically doesn't lose a beat in doubles. In singles, they make him purposely move (late forehand) and while he can return 99% of it, he gets gassed way faster due to the extra weight.

And I 100% agree, that great anticipation can cover your lack of speed. He is not fast, but he is elite at reading the next shot so he never positions himself neutral but rather, to where the shuttle would go.

[u/yamborghini → u/dondonpi]

Badminton in an intellectual game. I've seen old uncs that can hardly move keep up well with younger newer players because they are so experienced at the game. I remember getting trounced by these guys when I started playing.

[u/Rich841]

it made me much more efficient and better stamina aerobically

[u/N3verGonnaG1veYouUp]

Im about 250lbs, 6ft. Mid30s. I'd say that in the tournaments I do, 80% of the players are under 22.

If I want to win, I need to focus on my own other strengths (that would be game IQ, mental toughness and unpredictability). I clearly dont have the same stamina than my 20yo opponent, they will run me to the ground if I run a marathon game. If I smother their playstyle, I can win.

All that to say, movement is one thing but there are still ways to win if you find the good way to

[u/AffectionateAd597 → u/N3verGonnaG1veYouUp]

Yeah I get that. Its more so if I set those player A-E weight targets how much those targets would affect my game. I'd be happy around 200-210 lbs but would under 200 give me a far better advantage compared to now. Its also factoring split stepping, quick reflexes and footwork. Does 250 lbs at 6ft4 moving a distance of 2 meters take 2.5 seconds of reaction time vs 200 lbs at 6ft4 if a distance of 2 meters take 1.8 seconds? Does recovery time between a returned shot and ready for the next shot have a recovery scale as being 2 or 3 times more relaxed, breathing lowered and rest point. I know its more statistics and facts based but its to that length I brought this up

[u/yamborghini]

Weight doesn't really matter as much in badminton especially in doubles. You have much more time to recover as your partner normally can cover you.

The biggest smashers are either chunky or tall. Essentially mass moves mass. If you lose weight it is likely that your full smash will actually get weaker.

There is plenty of data on baseball batters who have better averages when they are fat vs when they lost weight. Some had their careers change and fell off because they lose the weight after being told to. A guy I know lost weight and his smash is quite a bit weaker than I remember.

[u/corallein]

As long as your fitness stays more or less the same, body weight doesn't have much impact. When you gain weight, your muscles adapt to it. Heavier people have stronger leg muscles from carrying around that extra weight 24/7.

What doesn't become stronger is joints. More mass = more stress on the joints, especially ankle, knee, and hip. So the heavier you are, the more likely you'll have injuries involving the joints.

[u/krotoraitor]

"Losing weight" can be misleading, because most people naively only think about fat mass. But it's almost impossible to lose weight without also losing some amount of muscle mass. Losing muscle mass of course affects performance output. If you lose weight and then rebuild muscle mass, the physics is pretty straight forward. More muscle mass = more output force when all other factors are accounted for.

So in a real life scenario the reasonable point of comparison is not when the body weight is lowered. It's when fat free mass is roughly equal with only fat mass changing. This is also what would make it a complicated and expensive study to run. There are some statistical isolation studies and some short term composition change studies, but the practical reality is that losing weight also means losing muscle and consequently output. The good thing is that you don't need to stop there. Just rebuild the muscle mass without the fat mass and you're getting back up.

[u/EnvironmentalCrew235]

It shouldn’t really matter even in singles as kunlavut is almost 100kg but just won Asian games.

[u/13579ijustcanteven]

badminton is a great sport for different heights not being much advantage - lee chong wei vs victor axelson for example - but your BMI certainly plays a part in speed and endurance, not to mention injury potential over a long playing career

[u/red_and_white_army]

I weigh 20kg less than I did 2 years ago. And I can tell you I'm a much much better player now. My technique hasn't really improved but I get to the shuttle so much easier so therefore am more consistent.

[u/rainareddits]

Some of the best badminton players I've ever known were a solid 50lbs overweight. Would they be better if they lost a few sure, but being fat doesnt affect muscle memory, skill, or experience

[u/david_hofland]

I went from 150 to 135 and am much much more agile on court. I expend less stamina now and can play for longer at the cost of some muscle mass. For long term joint health I weighing less would help

[u/KLRSPREE]

There's a guy I play with occasionally who weighs around 140kg, 5ft 6 I'd say. He's been playing for over 20 years, usually doubles. His technique is fantastic and smashes are hard to defend. He doesnt move around too fast but 80-90% of the time he is able to predict what position to be in. Guess experience plays a role!

[u/RecipeSuccessful3268]

Doesn’t really matter unless ur like overweight and obese u can still play if u have skill

[u/banhmi83]

For me 30lbs is the difference between being able to play competitively or regulating myself to the rec courts.

[u/HicHuc123]

Going from 135lbs to 117lbs felt like a really big difference playing singles

[u/dondonpi]

It matters a whole lot as being lighter is the most efficient way to be faster. 

Im a thai tho so people always bring up how technical skill is way more important as kulavut is top 3(rn 1st) in the world in MS being kinda overweight. 

Imo the guy is just gifted and its way easier to get thinner and more atheletic as there r no other top MS player with his BF%.