Squash carries such a wide range of fitness requirements and the best prepared players will have a varied training program. The proportion of the different sessions will change throughout the year. To develop aerobic endurance it is best to do some steady state running. Cycling and swimming will help to condition the heart and lungs, but remember that you play squash on your feet! For base endurance you can do a long slow cycle or run of up to an hour one day, and then on another day try a 35 minute faster effort. If you do not do much cycling or running normally, be sure to build up gradually.
Court sprints are a useful way to boost anaerobic endurance. They involve running a series of lengths of the court at a fast pace and then resting briefly before repeating. This sort of work does not have to be done on a court; short sprints can be conducted on the athletics track with sprints over 30 to 60 meters.
For specific speed work on court, ghosting is a useful routine whereby you run at random (get a partner to call) to different parts of the court. The key here is to keep the efforts short and the recovery sufficient to maintain good quality.
Work in the gym, lifting weights or circuit training, is an excellent way to develop strength and should be fitted into the schedule. In the meantime, do not forget stretching before and after all sessions, to prepare for and recover from exercise, although dedicated flexibility sessions are useful if time allows.
Mental TrainingReading lots of squash books helps with your mental training.
here. Remember all of your wins against your opponent. Coach must be positive. Hit
the ball higher not don’t hit the tin. Relax. Positive thinking. Activation.
Visualization. Concentration.
Match PreparationMatch Preparation 24 hours– workout, rest, recovery, massage, assessment,
distractions, stress, visualizations, water, food, minerals, loading, equipment,
transport, information and match time.
Match Preparation 12 hours– sleep, recovery, stretching, massage, opponent,
distractions, game plan, stress, water, food, minerals, equipment, transport,
information and match time.
Match Preparation 3 hours– rest, recovery, stretching, knock-up, opponent,
distractions, game plan, stress, water, food, minerals, equipment, transport,
information and match time.
Match Preparation 1 hours– off-court, warm-up, stretching, on court alone, opponent,
distractions, game plan, stress, water, food, minerals, equipment, transport,
information and match time.
Match Preparation– warm-up, strengths and weaknesses, fine tuning, opponent, focus
attention, game plan, water and just focus your attention on the game ahead.
