BrJ Sports Med 1997;31:342-345

Physiological analysis to quantify training load inbadminton

P Majumdar, G L Khanna, V Malik, S Sachdeva, Md Arif, M Mandal

Sports Authority ofIndia, Netaji subhasSouthern Centre,BangaloreP MajumdarG L KhannaS SachdevaMd ArifM Mandal

Sports Authority ofIndia, Netaji SubhasNational Institute ofSports, Motibagh,PatialaV Malik

Correspondence to:Dr G L Khanna,Department of Physiology,Sports Authority of India,Netaji subhas SouthernCentre, Mysore Road,Bangalore 560056, India.

Accepted for publication28 July 1997

AbstractObjective-To estimate the training loadof specific on court training regimensbased on the magnitude of variation ofheart rate-lactate response during spe-cific training and to determine the magni-tude of variation of biochemicalparameters (urea, uric acid, and creatinephosphokinase (CPK)) 12 hours after thespecific training programme so as toassess training stress.Methods-The study was conducted on sixnational male badminton players. Maxi-mum oxygen consumption (Vo, ), ventila-tion (VE), heart rate, and respiratoryquotient were measured by a protocol ofgraded treadmill exercise. Twelve trainingsessions and 35 singles matches were ana-lysed. Heart rate and blood lactate weremonitored during technical training rou-tines and match play. Fasting blood sam-ples collected on two occasions-that is,during off season and 12 hours afterspecific training-were analysed forserum urea, uric acid, and CPK.Results-Analysis of the on court trainingregimens showed lactate values of 8-10.5mmol/l in different phases. The percent-age of maximum heart rate ranged from82% to 100%. Urea, uric acid, and CPKactivity showed significant changes from(mean (SD)) 4.93 (0.75) mmo/lI to 5.49(0.84) mmol/l, 0.23 (0.04) to 0.33 (0.06)mmol/l, and 312 (211.8) to 363 (216.4) IU/lrespectively.Conclusion-Maximum lactate reportedin the literature ranges from 3-6 mmoI/l.Comparatively high lactate values andhigh percentage of maximum heart ratefound in on court training show a consid-erable stress on muscular and cardiovas-cular system. The training load needsappropriate monitoring to avoid over-training. Workouts that are too intensivemay interfere with coordination, a factorthat is important in sports requiringhighly technical skill such as badminton.(BrJ7 Sports Med 1997;31:342-345)Keywords: badminton; creatine phosphokinase; lactate;heart rate monitoring

Unlike other sports, the physical and physi-ological profiles of badminton players arescarce in the literature. 1-8 The demand of sportshas been analysed and it has been reported thattraining games in elite badminton performersare predominantly aerobic activity, while a few

sporadic attempts have been made to assess theeffect of a general training programme de-signed for badminton players.7 The consensuson fitness development is that, badmintonplayers should incorporate flexibility, strength,and endurance training in their programmes toreduce fatigue and muscular injuries, whilesimultaneously improving performance. Spe-cific training routines have been developed andmonitored, however, which are sufficientlyintense to cause an increase in blood lactateconcentration.7 This type of training is prob-ably especially beneficial for competition playwhere a greater reliance on anaerobic glycolysismay be expected to sustain work over ralliesand games of longer duration.7 This study wasundertaken to consider the following aims andobjectives. (1) To assess the heart rate and lac-tate responses during actual play to quantifythe energy demand of the game. (2) To exam-ine the physiological responses in an on courttechnical training regimen, to measure thecomparative assessment of training load andphysiological stress of match play. (3) To findout the magnitude of variation of biochemicalparameters (urea, uric acid, creatine phos-phokinase (CPK)) after the specific trainingprogramme compared with off season restingvalues, to assess training stress.

MethodsThis study was conducted on six national malebadminton players attending a training camp atthe Sports Authority of India. Oxygen con-sumption (Vo,), carbon dioxide production(Vco,), ventilation (VE), heart rate were meas-ured during graded treadmill exercise (Jaeger,Germany). The initial speed of the treadmillwas 8 km/h with an inclination of 2% andthereafter the speed was increased by 2 km/hafter every two minutes until a plateau of Vo2was attained or the respiratory quotient (RQ)value exceeded 1.15. The whole experimentwas performed at room temperature varyingfrom 23-250C with the relative humidity vary-ing between 50-60%.9 Regression equation ofVo2-HR was calculated to estimate indirectlythe oxygen consumption from heart rate.'0MONITORING OF A SINGLES GAMEThe heart rate of each player was measuredcontinuously at five second intervals during asingles game in competitive match play by atelemetry (sports tester PE-3000). The datastored in the memory of the watch were thendownloaded to a computer and evaluated usingproprietary software (Polar Electro, Finland).After each game, arterialised capillary blood

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Estimation of training load in badminton

Table 1 Training programmes adoptedfor speed endurance

Duration of Recovery HR inDuration of Intensity HR Number of rest between between rest Rest between Recovery HRTraining activity (s) (beatmin) repetitions in set repetitions (s) (beatmin) sets (min) (beatmin)

Shadow 40-50 153-190 6-8 40-50 150-165 2 105-130Multishuttle 40-50 165-185 3-4 60-120 130-173 5 104-170

Table 2 Descriptive data for subjects (n=6)

Age (y) 24.3 (4.1)Height (cm) 175.4 (5.4)Weight (kg) 64.8 (6.9)Body fat (%) 12.1 (3.4)Y02 max (L/min) 3.57 (0.45)V02 max (ml/kg/min) 55.7 (4.4)Maximum heart rate (beat/min) 183 (6)Data shown as mean (SD).

samples were drawn from a finger tip, betweentwo and three minutes after the cessation of theactivity.' The samples were analysed in a cali-brated automatic lactate analyser (AnaloxInstruments Ltd, UK) for estimating wholeblood lactate. A total of 15 matches were ana-lysed, of which 10 comprised two games, whilethe remaining five matches extended to threegames. In total, 35 games were analysed,involving six players, and Vo, was predictedfrom the regression equation. The heart rateand Vo2 were measured over a range of exerciseintensities using the treadmill, and the HR-Vo2relation established. 12 Telemetred heart ratevalues during actual game were obtained andtheir corresponding Vo2 used to estimate theoxygen uptake during play. The high correla-tion coefficients ordinarily obtained betweenHR-Vo "3 14 support the use of the HR-Vo2relation for estimating game Vo,.MONITORING THE TRAINING PROGRAMMESpecific on court programmes were given toimprove speed endurance. Table 1 gives thedetails of the programmes. On court technicaltraining consisted of five segments in which thedifferent intensity of effort was imposed bymanipulating work-rest ratio. These routineswere three sets of "shadow play" and two setsof "multishuttle" work. Total work over 80minutes was undertaken with a work-restinterval ratio of 1:1 in "shadow play" but in"multishuttle" the duration of activity: rest was40-50 seconds : 60-120 seconds with repeti-tions varying from six to eight in each segment.Table 3 Physiological parameters during match play(men)Mean (work): (rest) (4.6 (1.5)):(9.7 (2.4))Mean V02 (1/min) 2.29 (0.58)Per cent of VO2 max 57.10 (24.50)Average heart rate (beat/min) 157.00 (11.00)Maximum heart rate (beat/min) 183.00 (9.00)Lactate (mmolAl) 4.70 (1.90)Data shown as mean (SD).

Table 4 Specific on court training in badminton (n=6)Sg i Sg2 Sg3 Sg4 SgS

Time (min) 12:0 9:0 12:0 6:0 10:0Lactate (mmoIl/) 8 (3) 9.3 (2.9) 10.5 (3.1) 10.4 (2.5) 8.7 (1.4)Average heart rate (beat/min) 157 (3) 167 (4) 175 (4) 172 (4) 153 (8)Lactate = NS. Average heart rate: ** Sg 1 v Sg 2, ** Sg 1 v Sg 3, ** Sg 1 v Sg 4, ** Sg 2 v Sg 5,** Sg 3 v Sg 5, ** Sg 4 v Sg 5. ** P

Majumdar, Khanna, Malik, Sachdeva, Arif, Mandal

Shadow practice

Sg 2

0 15 30 45Time (min)

Figure I Example of heart rate response in on court technical training.

Multifeed work

Sg3 Sg4

60

Table 5 Changes in biochemical variables in on courttraining

Before AfterHaemoglobin (g%) 15.47 (0.80) 15.75 (0.91) NSUrea (mg%) 29.50 (4.56) 32.90 (5.03) *Uric acid (mg%) 3.90 (0.66) 5.86 (0.96) **CPK (IU/1) 312.00 (211.8) 363.40 (216.2) *** P < 0.05; ** P < 0.01.

Table 5 shows the effect of regular monitor-ing of training on biochemical variables. Itshows that urea has increased significantlyfrom 4.93 (0.75) mmol/l to 5.49 (0.84) mmol/l(p

Estimation of training load in badminton 345

present subject players was 157 (11) beat/min(fig 2), Ritell and Waterloh2' recorded highervalues 175 (6) beat/min, although the playmonitored may have been more intense. Thepresent percentage of maximum heart rate was85%, which is comparable to 80% of highlyskilled players as reported by Docherty.'8 Theaverage heart rate of Indian players duringmatchplay was 85% of maximum. Reilly'0reported that the higher heart rate measured inbadminton may result from the postural de-mands of isometric contraction in the gamealong with short recovery periods, which couldlead to cause non-linearity of HR-Vo2 relation,resulting in higher heart rate.The high intensity work interval in on court

technical training lasted for 40 to 50 seconds, aduration that is useful in overloading the glyco-lytic system. However, high lactate values of 8 to10.5 mmol/l in different segments were noted inon court training. Multifeed shuttle practicewith approximately one minute on: one minuteoff, work: rest ratio produced a blood lactate of4.0- 4.2 mmol/l in two players, while maximalshadow play sessions, (20 seconds on:40 sec-onds off) increased blood lactate to 7.2 mmol/1.7In this study, the higher lactate response (8-10.5mmol/l) in shadow play is probably because ofits lower technical requirement, allowing theplayer to operate at a greater exercise intensitythan is possible for the multifeed work.The demand of the game does not

correspond to the training system as the maxi-mum lactate seen by several authors rangesfrom 3-6 mmol/1.2 3 8 Intense workouts caninterfere with coordination, which is veryimportant in sports requiring high technicalskill such as badminton. Some authors recom-mended that the training intensity may be fixedbelow the lactate concentration of 6 mmol/1,because when coordination is disturbed, train-ing could have negative effects on skills.22 Highlactate concentrations also inhibit fat oxidationwhen glycogen reserves are depleting.23 Theaerobic enzyme activityin the muscle cell isreduced by acidosisthus affecting aerobicendurance.2' 24 The training heart rate atvarious segments corresponds to actual de-mand, but as the duration was longer the pro-duction of lactate at various segment was high.Urea level was increased by 11.5%, this incre-

ment may be caused by the possible involvementof protein, which is directly related to the avail-ability of substrate. There was no significantchanges in packed cell volume values (before45.9 (2.5) and after 47.8 (2.7%)).

Uric acid significantly (P

load in badminton.Physiological analysis to quantify training

P Majumdar, G L Khanna, V Malik, S Sachdeva, M Arif and M Mandal

doi: 10.1136/bjsm.31.4.3421997 31: 342-345 Br J Sports Med

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