Squash matches require extensive cardiovascular endurance and agility, which requires players to undertake a warm-up regimen which helps minimize injury risks while optimizing performance levels. A proper warm-up routine will assist players in protecting themselves against injury risks and maximising performance levels.
This article outlines a detailed routine to help senior squash players prepare for competition. This routine will include aerobic exercises such as jogging and dynamic stretching as well as mobility drills.
Aerobic Exercises
No question exists regarding the value of an effective warm-up routine on performance and injury prevention. By gradually raising body temperature during warm-up sessions, physiological responses take place that improve both cardiovascular and muscular performance, thus improving cardiovascular and muscular function and increasing muscle elasticity and stimulating synovial fluid release for lubricating joints – thus decreasing muscle tears or joint related injuries.
I find it quite astounding when middle aged players walk onto a court and immediately start their match without warming up properly first. Since squash involves lunging and sprinting with constant changes of direction that place strain on muscles such as those in the groin, knee, achilles heel, ankle, lower back as well as lower back muscles it is crucial to warm-up properly and stretch key muscle groups before playing any matches.
As part of an overall exercise routine, low intensity aerobic activities like jogging on the stop, skipping rope, arm circles/shoulder rotations and lateral lunge toe touches are ideal. These exercises will get your heart rate up, increase circulation and prepare muscles for dynamic stretching later on.
Be mindful that as we age, our bodies become less capable of withstanding load and recovering quickly, so senior players especially should adhere to an effective warm-up routine in order to avoid overtraining and prevent injuries from arising.
Implement a proper training schedule by playing on alternate days and resting between sessions while employing recovery techniques such as contrast showers, foam rolling, massage therapy and mindfulness/meditation. Furthermore, including squash specific ghosting drills before every game can significantly help improve swinging movement patterns while freeing up hands.
Dynamic Stretching
An effective warm-up is crucial to prepare the body for physical activity and reduce injury risk, particularly among muscle groups that play a pivotal role in squash. A general warm-up phase that includes short-hold static stretching of all major muscle groups should take five to ten minutes and must be done prior to any other physical activities taking place.
Dynamic warm-up, in which movement is undertaken through its full range, has been shown to be more effective than static stretching at increasing muscle flexibility and activating the nervous system. Furthermore, it improves joint movement and muscle function and is an effective technique for improving balance and control in specific movements – for instance lunge walking. However, care must be taken not to perform too many “ballistic” stretches – moves which involve too fast a pace or have too much bounce – as these may actually have negative consequences on sports performance, particularly before intense sporting activity starts.
One study demonstrated how dynamic pre-squash warming up significantly improved sprint times and overall performance compared to general warm-up with static stretching, in addition to increasing shoulder and leg power. Researchers suggested this may be caused by dynamic stretching increasing muscle tissue temperature which resulted in greater contraction force with a more effective transmission of nerve impulses to muscles.
Ghosting is a straightforward yet effective dynamic warm-up exercise for legs, knees and hips that combines static stretching with dynamic movements to target legs, knees and hips. Simply stand with feet a metre apart before leaning out to one side as though sitting in a chair and touching your toes with one fingertip – this helps with lateral movement necessary for squash as well as stretching out achilles tendon and arch to prevent common injuries like shin splints.
Static Stretching
Anyone who plays sports or trains regularly will have heard it said repeatedly: warming up and stretching are essential components of training/playing effectively, yet many don’t understand why this should be prioritized.
Static stretching refers to any technique wherein one holds a position for 30-60 seconds in order to increase flexibility. When applied to squash, this typically means targeting the main muscle groups involved; shoulders, arms and legs. Include lunge toe touches (feet spaced approximately one metre apart) as well as stretches involving front and back leg stretching for best results; lunge touches will help prepare you for lateral movements required in squash! It is also beneficial to stretch out achilles tendon and arch of foot in order to prevent common leg/foot injuries such as plantar fasciitis or shin splints from occurring.
Once your dynamic stretching is done, take some simple short-court drills onto the court and practice some basic short-court movements. This will help prepare your body for quick bursts of speed necessary for squash while building confidence on court. Consider performing “squash tight to wall” drills or front/back court shuffles – both will aid agility development!
Practice short court hitting with ghosting; using this approach will allow you to refine shot selection and movements for your next match. Incorporating sports psychology techniques into the warm up routine can significantly boost performance on court.
Mobility Drills
Squash can be an extremely demanding sport on the body. Lunging and constant changes of trajectory place immense strain on joints such as the groin, knees and Achilles muscles; failing to warm them up and stretch beforehand increases their susceptibility to injury. By warming up gradually before beginning play, one can increase heart rate while also warming up muscles for the demands of squash, thus decreasing injury risks while simultaneously increasing performance levels.
Once their bodies have warmed up (light sweat/heart rate between 60-70% mhr), players can perform some short court drills that replicate the movements and intensity of squash. These may include front-to-back court shuffles or side to side shuffles to prepare their legs for movement; ghosting with light hitting sessions also helps prepare their shoulders and arms, improving racquet swing mechanics in preparation for matches.
Lunge toe touch exercises are another great warm up exercise for squash players; these simple yet effective mobility drills involve standing with feet relatively far apart and touching each of your toes on either side. They provide great mobility training that focuses on lateral movement – something many players require in order to reach balls in the corners!
As players age, it becomes ever more essential that they keep up their warm-up and recovery practices. Gone are the days of playing five nights per week without taking appropriate recovery measures, and then training on Thursday without issue; without active recovery days such as solo hitting days on Thursday it can become hard to maintain quality squash play. Adding active recovery days or making Thursday your solo hitting day are excellent ways of maintaining high standards in squash play.
Ghosting
Anyone playing Squash at an advanced or competitive level will have heard it often and repeatedly: warming up is essential to getting ready for matches and reducing muscle injuries.
Physical preparation for a squash match entails three main elements that should be undertaken:
First step to warming up is running and sweating out any impurities from your system while increasing heart rate to about 60-70% of maximum.
Once the body is warm, stretching out major muscle groups is important. This can be accomplished using static stretching, dynamic stretching and ghosting drills.
Ghosting is one of the best and most versatile squash-specific drills for developing movement patterns. It can help increase intensity or tempo of movements or be tailored specifically to volleys for developing movement patterns.
An effective way of physically preparing for a squash match is through court sprint workouts. These workouts can be customized according to your own goals, such as rest intervals between sets or distance variations; just make sure not to train at too intense an intensity for too long as this will reduce benefits while increasing risk.
Playing a practice match will serve as the final element of physical preparation, providing an opportunity to put all that has been prepared for into an actual context and see whether any work done on is having any bearing on how well you perform during a real match.