Badminton ladder drills provide an efficient and enjoyable means of developing reaction time, agility, balance, coordination and other essential badminton skills. Each ladder drill focuses on sharp directional changes for maximum improvement.
Begin this lateral footwork ladder exercise by standing perpendicular to it and stepping your left leg into the first box, quickly followed by your right foot crossing over your left in the next one.
Step Behind Crossovers
Step Behind Crossover (SBC) is an effective movement which enables you to bypass defenders without moving your hands, making this an invaluable skill when changing directions while defending the ball or moving quickly to avoid being tackled.
Stand approximately six to eight inches off of a step in an athletic position, then shift your weight onto your right leg while pushing off with your left foot. Your right foot should trail slightly behind you and eventually cross in front of the body as it travels across the step.
Advanced level students should add a jump into this movement to practice jumping over a rope that crosses their hands overhead, similar to when performing a crossover+read movement wherein one takes back steps before making their decision to continue running behind or run forward towards catching it. This helps improve agility.
In-and-Out Toe Taps
In-and-out toe taps are an easy and effective lower body and core exercise that can quickly increase your heart rate, while simultaneously building flexibility, balance, and endurance. They require minimal equipment so they’re perfect for at-home workouts or HIIT circuits – and you can adjust the pace at which your feet alternate to control its intensity – suitable for all fitness levels. Add this exercise into any lower body workout, cardio routine or combination thereof gradually increasing speed and duration with increased strength and endurance.
Begin by standing in front of a bench, box, or other elevated platform with both feet hip width apart and lifting one right foot to place its ball onto it. Your other foot remains planted on the ground while arms can remain at your sides. When lifting your right foot up and placing its ball onto it, swap feet midair so your lead foot now stands on it instead of staying planted on the floor – then return your leg to its previous spot before repeating with other leg.
Toe taps are a fantastic way to build balance, flexibility and endurance while strengthening hip flexors, calves, quadriceps and hamstrings. Furthermore, they help improve proprioception, which refers to sensing where and how your body moves; toe taps also train lower body muscles more efficiently for reduced back pain and improved posture.
When performing toe taps, it’s essential that your core remains engaged to prevent your body from moving too fast and breaking form, thereby protecting both your lower back and knees from injury. If any discomfort arises while performing these exercises, try slowing your pace or switching exercises; increasing difficulty by rotating around an object while tapping your toes requires greater coordination and stability – this increases difficulty further while adding resistance like holding dumbbells in each hand or wearing ankle weights can strengthen leg muscles further. Plyometric training has proven its ability to strengthen leg muscles to make stronger legs faster and more agile leg muscles than ever before!
Crossover Sideways Run
An essential skill to possess when competing in sports that involve frequent changes of direction is agility in changing directions quickly and seamlessly. One effective ladder exercise to develop this is called crossover sideways run; its goal is to train lateral movement needed to quickly move in and out of each rung quickly and smoothly. When performing this drill, athletes should focus on keeping arms and shoulders still, in an optimal position for an effortless transition into each step.
Step one of this drill begins with a forward hop into one of the squares on a ladder, followed by an immediate step with the opposite foot into that same box and sideways movement across its entirety. For an increased challenge and to foster greater lateral speed development, try doing it using both feet front of each other in combination.
Add hurdles into the mix for an enhanced speed drill; doing this requires jumping over both hurdles with both feet, creating a high hopping motion that works the legs more than simply running through a ladder exercise.
An advanced version of the crossover sideways run is to perform a series of straddle hops on a ladder, beginning with a simple hop into one of the squares along its edge before crossing to your left until level with one rung, before returning over to your right again and repeating as often as necessary for increasing difficulty of the drill.
The Ickey Shuffle, named after former Cincinnati Bengals running back Ickey Woods, combines both the lateral speed of running through a ladder with its rapid transition from hop into sprint. To perform it successfully, start with your feet straddling the outside edge of the ladder and hop onto one of its squares on its middle level before landing and spreading both feet so that they step into each other as you land for an effective sprint down its remaining length that builds both speed and coordination.
Icky Shuffle
Named for its iconic dance move, Icky Shuffle is an excellent way to improve agility while simultaneously honing hip speed and turning skills. When standing perpendicular to a ladder, begin by stepping your left foot into one square before using your right to step down into another box with both feet alternatingly entering each square until both have made several passes in and out each box before repeating this pattern with both feet moving in and out as needed – keeping both feet light!
This drill may be harder to master than other practices and will require practice before you attempt it at full speed. To practice quickly while moving quickly, you can either use an agility ladder or draw it on the ground with sidewalk chalk if available; or use duct tape instead to create your own ladder!
The Single Leg Shuffle is a fast-paced ladder exercise designed to stimulate the nervous system. To begin, work lateraly by touching into and out of each box with your lead foot (depending on which direction your are travelling in). Step in for four counts before stepping out to move outside another square before returning inside again for four counts before repeating on each side of the ladder.
Straddle Hops are another quick lateral movement designed to develop both footwork and explosiveness. Begin in your fighting stance before jumping your front foot onto the first ladder rung straddling it and landing with legs spread wide for another straddling landing on another rung; repeat this pattern while maintaining both your width and depth of your stance throughout.
Add extra difficulty to your ladder sessions by including an explosion sprint at the end. This exercise is an effective way to develop explosive power and endurance and will help you become faster over long distances. To start slowly and gradually build speed until you can complete five repetitions of Icky Shuffle followed by an explosion sprint to your end cone; increase repetitions until endurance has been built up; repeat.