Badminton is quite simply one of the most awesome sports you can play.
I used to play at college and gave up once I started working. Nearly 10 years ago I took it up again casually and about 3 years ago I decided I wanted to take it more seriously.
I now play up to 4 times a week and I can’t think of a more fun way to spend my free time whilst getting fit!
Are you a bit bored? Do you often just end up going home and vegging on the couch after a hard days work? Are you stuck and not sure what to do with life?
Do you wish you had a way to get fit, have fun, vent your frustrations, and make some friends all in one go? If so, here are 10 reasons why I think you should put down that bowl of ready-made noodles and that can of duff beer and find yourself a local badminton club to join! 
1. Fun Fun Fun!
Badminton is organised fun for cool people. In fact we may just have to check out how cool you are before we let you join the club. If you aint cool we’ll put you through a coolness program first and then you might get to play if you pass the stringent tests that we have.
Okay, calm down I’m just kidding, but badminton is seriously great fun. You can play singles if you wish, to increase your fitness, or you can play doubles if you want to have a bit more fun. It’s definitely more fun than Squash and unlike Tennis you can play all year around!
2. Social
If you join a club what you’ll find is that you’ll be off court occasionally. During the times you’re off court you’ll get to mingle, socialise and make loads of new friends. Or, if you’re a crazy ass mofo like me you can get a skipping rope and skip to keep the sweat going!
3. Pace
Badminton is the fastest racquet sport in the world bar none! Experienced players can smash the shuttle at speeds of over 200mph. When you learn to return those kinds of shots you get a serious rush! Just be warned though if a shot like that hits you in the head, you’ll walk around looking like you’re being targeted with a sniper rifle for a while!
4. Reflexes
With great power comes great responsibility and with badminton you will develop lightening quick reflexes. Because of badminton I once caught a mug full of coffee after I pushed it off the table; without spilling a drop!! It was totally surreal. Like that scene from Spiderman. Only I didn’t have Mary-Jane on my lap! 
5. Fitness
If you like to sweat then badminton is for you! Yes you! With badminton you burn off the equivalent of a chocolate bar every 30 minutes or so. I’m not suggesting you eat a chocolate bar every 30 minutes to make sure you don’t waste away though! To see how much exactly you burn check out this table of stats. For someone like me, a 270lb’er who plays for 3 hours at a time, I could eat a horse every hour and still not worry about it going to my thighs or buttocks.
6. Agility
With badminton you have to learn to get from one side of the court to the other extremely quickly and so after a while you develop the agility of a cat. Meow!
7. Competition
You can keep it a strictly social thing but if you like to be compeitive then chances are your club might be part of a league. If so you’ll get to compete against other clubs and kick some ass and do some victory dances that you and your team mates have made up. I recommend the conga or the locomotion!
8. Cost
Badminton isn’t the cheapest sport but it doesn’t really break the bank either. The biggest cost is usually the shuttles. When you join a club the cost of the shuttles may be included and so you may not even notice your wallet get lighter.
9. Spectating
I’m not really one for living life as a spectator but badminton is one sport I could happily watch for hours. There are tournaments all year round, big and small so have a look around and also get yourself down to the All England if you’re in the UK.
10. Skills
Whilst also learning to hit the shuttle at speeds that would even make a red Ferrari blush and resemble a slug, you will also develop the softest touch. You will be able to just drop the shuttle over the net so it trickles over and hits the ground quicker than your opponent can say ‘ZOIKS SCOOBY’! Just check this clip of Peter Gade and his legendary trick shot. So COOL!
If you’re not sold on Badminton yet then I hear knitting is making a comeback!
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{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
Waw… I’m impressed! I had no idea badminton can be such a stimulation and growing experience.
There must be some kind of social stigma about it, cause from what I can tell, it’s usually seen as a feminine and boring kind of sport. You tell a guy who’s into lifting weights to take on badminton and he’ll laugh harder than if you tell him to take on salsa dancing (which is one of my hobbies). The poor sap
Eduard
.-= Ideas With A Kick´s last blog ..Sometimes forgiveness isn’t the answer =-.
Twitter: amitsodha
November 2, 2009 at 11:29 am
You hit the nail on the head Eduard…So many people do see badminton as a feminine sport and it is anything but!
When you start playing at a higher level not only does it build incredible upper body and leg strength but as I said in the post it also also increases your flexibility, agility and strengthens you overall.
It’s great fun and a great fat burning sport to.
I also used to do Salsa dancing but I had to quit because they changed the day of the classes. People can laugh all they want but when I was there, the women were gorgeous and generally the blokes were outnumbered 3-1. Not a bad way to spend an evening!
.-= Amit Sodha´s last blog ..10 Reasons Why You Should Start Playing Badminton =-.
I used to be scared to play badminton in college (as it was considered as sissy sport
) However, when I started to get into it, I realized how much reflexes and agility you need! Now, I don’t mind playing because I learned that you don’t play for others, you play the game because it’s fun. Thanks for sharing this!
.-= Tristan Lee´s last blog ..The Illusion of Success =-.
Badminton is a great game, and superb cardiovascular activity because you’re constantly on the move. it’s right up there with table tennis and squash as a great indoor sport to play.
Twitter: amitsodha
November 4, 2009 at 10:55 am
@Tristan
It’s strange that so many people have that perception. If anyone has not seen them check out some youtube videos of Lin Dan and Taufik. Those guys are almost from another planet at they things they do!
Thanks for the comment!
.-= Amit Sodha´s last blog ..10 Reasons Why You Should Start Playing Badminton =-.
Twitter: amitsodha
November 4, 2009 at 10:56 am
@John
It’s so true John. I think squash has one advantage over badminton in that you can book a court by yourself and practise your strokes anytime. You can’t do that with badminton but I just found that badminton was much more social than squash which is why I decided to continue leave it and go for badminton.
Thanks for the comment!
I agree entirely with your comments. Badminton is a great game when your young and you can play and enjoy it right into your dotage (that’s where I am).
Fun, social (Badminton’s to blame for my marriage!), reflexes etc – your remarks are all spot on.
The one thing I find tough is watching my son play. I don’t know how other countries do it, but in the UK there are tournament circuits for U13s, U15s and U17s – my son plays in the U15s. His last two tournaments he lost in a semi-final and a final and I found it really tough to watch. Another game he won 25-23 and I think I came close to having a heart attack.
It’s anything but a sissy game…
.-= Les H´s last blog .. =-.
Twitter: amitsodha
November 6, 2009 at 10:50 am
Hey Les!
Oh I couldn’t agree more there that watching your favorite players in trouble or even if you have a friend playing or in your case a son can be really painful to watch.
Sorry to hear about badminton being responsible for your marriage!
(LOL)
Thanks for your comments and keep in touch!
Amit
I love badminton. Play it since 12…
.-= steppinout´s last blog ..Direct Access And Manage Your Windows Live SkyDrive Files On Desktop =-.
Twitter: amitsodha
November 9, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Thanks for checking out the site and leaving comments!
Amit, it got even more painful. My son lost in the final of the next tournament. Still, he’s going in the right direction, only needs to go one better.
The level of fitness and the stamina of the boys is fantastic. My lad was on court for 4 hours that day – so were many of the other boys. The girl’s doesn’t seem as tough as they don’t get the same numbers entering and there’s less strength in depth. Which is odd, given some people consider it a girl’s game.
Les H.
.-= Les H´s last blog .. =-.
Twitter: amitsodha
November 11, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Ouch that must’ve been tough to watch!
Yep I’m the same Les, I usually play for around 3 hours at a time and it’s anything but a relaxing sport!
Of course, you would know that the reason why Badminton does not get the place that Cricket or Soccer gets is that it does not attract advertising money.
And thus our schools do not promote it either. There is no organized crime supporting Badminton, and Badminton remains so much poor for it !
Twitter: amitsodha
November 20, 2009 at 11:23 am
Well I wouldn’t say it’s a poor sport. The chinese badminton players are treated like UK or US tennis players. It is popular and prestigious, just not as much in the UK or the West overall.
I loved playing badminton as a kid in Africa. In the US there isn’t much badminton. Badminton (like field hockey) strangely is considered a woman’s sport here.
.-= Kaushik | beyond-karma.com´s last blog ..Radical Transformation =-.
Twitter: amitsodha
January 4, 2010 at 1:25 pm
Hey Kaushik,
I’ve heard that badminton is viewed that way in the US…I may have to take it upon myself to educate them on just how much of a mans sport it is!
LOL
I used to play badminton before and I can relate to this post! I agree that playing badminton can really give your body a total workout. In fact, I remembered playing badminton once in one of our intramural events, and boy did I sweat so much! Haha. Thanks for posting this entry. Your thoughts basically made me want to play badminton again.
.-= New at sara@Yeast Infection Relief’s undefined ..Response cached until Tue 26 @ 5:53 GMT (Refreshes in 23.07 Hours) =-.
i love badminton…..n badminton its sport with high spirit ,skill n strtegi
Ever since I started playing in my early 20s during a family visit to South Asia(Bangladesh), where it’s very popular during winter periods and played out from dusk, out in the open, I fell in love with the sport and never stopped playing ever since. The reason they play from dusk is that that’s when its less windy. It’s amazing how they control the shuttlecock but with hardly any indoor courts, they don’t much choice and others can join in and they don’t have to pay for court hire!
After returning to London, I improved my game and playing regularly for the last 15 years! Badminton is played by more people in the UK than Squash or Tennis. It’s a shame they don’t show the sport on TV much.
One thing that I don’t like about tennis is that you can’t share courts. With badminton, 4 people can share a court however they want. If its 2 pairs, they can practice on each half of the court. If their skill levels are near the same, they can play doubles. If their levels are not the same, they can still play doubles with the better players adjusting their play to accommodate the weaker players and they can still have fun. With tennis, this is rarely possible.
Thank you very much for sharing these “10 Reasons Why You Should Start Playing Badminton”! Indeed, badminton rocks!:)
New at Badminton Rules\’s [type] ..Badminton Service Rules
Why is tennis more popular in the UK than badminton. Cheaper and more fun to play!
Bradford Badminton
hmmm well…. i dunno… still not convinced… imho…
Twitter: amitsodha
November 3, 2011 at 7:51 pm
Jeff, try it, if you like it, do it, if not, do something else!
Awesome. If you’re interested playing badminton, what are some important benefits that you can get.
Twitter: amitsodha
November 3, 2011 at 7:50 pm
Hey there! Loads, fitness, coordination, fun! try it and if you like it keep doing it!