Weekly exercise series: Badminton
Badminton offers a full body workout, a way to maintain focus, and a social experience.
Badminton is a game-changer when you want to switch up your gym routine. Why train your calves when you can smack a birdie around with a pal?
Badminton is a full-body workout, allowing you to burn about 450 calories an hour. The different movements involved in the game supply a powerful cardio workout that also happens to target calves, quads, core, and even hamstrings.
With all this end-of-semester stress, who wouldn’t want to get out and smack something as hard as possible with a racket? All exercise, but badminton specifically, is a known endorphins booster, which will leave you feeling happier, but also help you let go of those stress hormones.
With the ongoing pandemic, it’s hard to get out and meet new people, but UTM’s Recreation, Athletic & Wellness Centre (RAWC) is hosting drop-in badminton every Wednesday morning in Gym C until the end of the semester. Students can sign up for 45-minute-long time slots. Badminton is a social sport, with two to four players, so you physically can’t play without someone else (unless you really like running suicides under the net).
Finals are just around the corner, and many students feel like they’re running on only one brain cell. Badminton has proved to help mental agility by having the player focus on the birdie, increasing concentration levels and mental activeness. By planning where you are moving to next, or what type of hit you should use, badminton will help you focus for long periods of time (which may come in handy when studying later).
Anastasia Wu and Aurelie Chung frequently partake in the drop-in badminton. Wu is a double major in English and French, while Chung is an English specialist. Both are in their third year.
“It’s a relaxing way to get physical activity in throughout the day, especially in the morning,” Wu said. “A good way to start off the day, and I just find it fun.” Wu and Chung come together to play singles since the RAWC does not allow doubles to comply with social distancing regulations.
Online registration for drop-in badminton opens two days before the event. Your T-Card and a green UCheck are required for entry to the gym. The RAWC encourages participants to come dressed ready for their respective sport to limit contact in dressing rooms.
Staff Writer (Volume 48) — Lexey is in her third year as an English Specialisation and Professional Writing minor. She previously was Editor-In-Chief of Laurentian’s student newspaper The Lambda and is currently the UTM Bureau Chief for The Varsity after transferring. When she’s not writing articles, she’s most likely studying in a cafe or hitting the slopes. You can connect with Lexey on Instagram and Twitter.