First of all, sorry if this is posted wrong( i'm new to this forum), or this thread already exist. im thinking about buying Forza Power Trainer (http://www.fz-forza.com/fz-power-trainer-150.html). i would like to use it to train power, and speed(racket speed, not so much movement). i guess i mostly is going to use it for drills or matches against "weaker" opponents. does it make sense to use a heavier racket, compare to normal rackets or racket with "head" cover? and does any one got any experience with Forza Powe Trainer? or maybe with a similar racket?
Make sure you train and strengthen rotator cuff muscles using other exercises. It's very easy to injure yourself with a heavier racquet. Shoulder injury takes a long time to recover from. I would also advise going in stages. Use a 120gram racquet first. You wouldn't do the heaviest weights straight away doing weight training in the gym - you would build up the weights in stages. Same with badminton - build up in stages. I have a 120g racquet. I don't use it for fast acceleration swings. I use it to practice drives and finger technique. I don't even use it that often. Quite glad I didn't get the 140g one.
do you think 130 is too much, for the first heavy training racket as well? (forza got 115, 130 and 150). was looking at 150 gram, because i was under the illusion, that squash rackets got a weight around that. but just looked it up, and it looks like most is around 130 +/-(i know a lot of people used squash rackets, before heavy badminton training racket was around)
I would go for the 115g. It will provide enough, yet able to feel like playing a normal stroke. You can always add some weight to it.
sorry about the slow answer. but i will abesulte take it in to consideration, when i choose what "power trainer" i'm going to buy. can you see any improvement in your game, from using a "heavy training racket"?
For me, no. I get more improvement by improving my footwork, strengthening my legs, improving my rhythm and timing, improving my posture going for shots, improving my racquet ready position. For example, when defending a smash, I found it inconsistent - some returns were good but sometimes forehand side wasn't very satisfactory. I could get to the shuttle but not get a good contact point. My arm movement was slow. I suppose practicing with a heavy racquet is one solution so that I can move my racquet arm faster with a normal racquet. However, I talked it over with my coach. In fact, I had a technical problem with my ready position - my elbow was held too close to my body in the ready position. We worked on changing this (because it had become a habit) and my forehand side defence got faster. If I had practiced with the heavy racquet, perhaps I would still be playing with even more imperfect technique
ohh ty for the feedback(And again sorry for a slow answer) ATM i mostly look for a power trainer to complement my 4 court lessons a week.(all 4 is there a Coach present, so normally bad habits get pointed out and correct as they appear)