Exercise Programs for Athletes during Breaks
The Coronavirus pandemic has attacked almost the entire world. All activities were paralyzed. However, despite the current situation, the badminton players must still be able to maintain their condition.
BWF has officially announced that all tournaments held until July are canceled. Automatically, all members must obey. This means many annual events prior to July were canceled, for example, countries in Asia were preparing to compete in the Asian Championships that was initially planned to be held in Manila, Philippines, on April 21-26. However, due to the outbreak, it will no longer be played.
This poses a challenge because this Asian Championship is very important. Events like these become the hunt for the last points for Asian athletes who want to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. "It can't be helped, everyone must accept it. It’s in the middle of the danger of the Coronavirus pandemic,'' said Malaysia Men's Singles Coach Hendrawan.
However, he mentions that he did not want the athletes to be too relaxed. At home or in the residence of the Malaysian athletes, Hendrawan provides training programs.''The program is indeed the same for all athletes. It must be done, '' explained the coach who is from Indonesia. He can also monitor the programs given to Lee Zi Jia and his colleagues. Hendrawan does this by using technology. ''I use an application that can be used for conferences. So, at the same time, they all do the exercises, '' explained the 47-year-old coach.
This is not like in Indonesia, where Men's Doubles Coach Herry Iman Pierngadi did not carry out direct monitoring of his team. He believes Hendra Setiawan and his colleagues are professionals. ''I said to the athletes, they must be able to maintain their conditions while at home. They already understand what they are doing,'' said the coach who successfully led the Indonesian Men's doubles to win the Olympic gold medal and the World Champion.
This method is recognized by three-time World Men's Doubles champion Mohammad Ahsan. He and his colleagues received homework from coach Herry to be able to maintain their condition during the break. After the All England Championships ended on March 15, PBSI (Badminton Association of Indonesia) National Training closed. ''I maintain my condition at home by running and also playing with the shuttlecocks on the wall. I do this every day. '' Ahsan said.
In addition to their own exercise regimes, Indonesian national champions have also received training programs from physical trainers in each sector. Each athlete's program is different from other athletes, depending on the athlete's condition and needs. Physical training programs include endurance, speed, strength, coordination of movements and so on. "Now there is running, bicycle training and bodyweight sessions at the national training program. The training program is the same as a regular technical raining, no more no less, because the athletes should not be too tired," said PBSI Physical Coach Felix Ary Bayu Marta, as quoted from PBSI’s website.
The intensity, he said, is precisely the thing he’s trying to get raised. However, Felix explained, the duration or volume of training is reduced. Felix explained that the national team training program is different every day. For example, on Monday, training centers focus on increasing endurance such as jogging for 45 minutes. Then Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday there are usually basic movement exercises using bodyweight, core, motion coordination and strength training. On Wednesday and Friday, the athletes devour speed and endurance training.
These exercises are certainly adjusted to the athletes. Those who need to increase endurance or speed, usually spend most of their training focused on that, which has all been arranged by the coach. The physical coaches also continue to coordinate with technical coaches to evaluate the athletes' performance while on court.
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