Saina Nehwal's daily training schedule

Saina Nehwal's daily training schedule

It is well known that Badminton is a very physically demanding game that requires a great deal of strength and fitness to compete at the top international levels.

Earlier this year, Saina Nehwal had gave an interview to 'timeswellness' in which she had talked about how she keeps fit. She had shared some information about her rigorous training regimen, her diet for strength and endurance, and also about how physical fitness should also be accompanied by mental strength and well-being.

If I remember correctly, her daily fitness schedule that she had mentioned in that interview was something like this:

A typical day in the life of Saina Nehwal when she is training for forthcoming tournaments:

• Get up at 6:00 AM
• Have a good breakfast. (her main meal)
• Go to Gopichand Academy (just 2 kms away from her house)
• Practice badminton skills from 7-11 AM
• Come back home for Lunch.
• Take a short nap.
• Return back to academy at 3:30 PM (On the way have a cup of tea)
• Practice for 3 hours till 7 PM.
• Have a glass of juice after practice.
• Followed by Dinner
• Then Relax by listening to Hindi film music or watching TV (likes to watch others play)
• Practice Yog Nidra (form of yoga meditation)

Saina also has a personal gym at home, it is said, that has all the basic fitness equipment and that she spends quite some time on Yoga (Yog Nidra) for relaxation in both the morning and the evening.

Fitness is the key to success at Top Level

If you look at the best badminton players in the world today, every one of them has well-developed strong legs. Their overall body structure, strength and fitness looks similar to the kind that hockey and football (soccer) players have. Strong muscular legs and high endurance.

Badminton players usually focus on fitness exercises such as running, sprint running, hopping/ jumping/ skipping and a reasonable bit of weight training for improving their fitness. Having strong legs is one of the most important parts of physical fitness in badminton which involves a lot of running, hopping and jumping for the full duration of a badminton match which lasts for about 60 minutes.

Saina's badminton success, her new blonde look, her brand endorsements all attract media attention, however not much is usually reported about the kind of unflinching dedication and commitment that she has had towards her rigorous training schedule for many years.

It is this dedication that has made Saina Nehwal the kind of player that she is.