Strength
Training The
development of leg and arm strength involves two
steps.
1-Increasing the strength of the muscles that are
used during the squash game
2-Increase overall muscle speed and endurance
Breathing
and mental concentration at all times is very
important. Always exhale on exertion and
as you inhale imagine you are bringing in energy.
The first
step can be achieved by using conventional weight
training programs. For squash, the strength
training relates strictly to the upper body since
leg power is developed in the anaerobic on court
program.
Players
should start any strength workout with the
flexibility warm-up. Using light weights such as
dumbbells or ideally pulley weights, you should
do 3 set of weights (20 times, 10 times and 5
times) increasing the weight after every set. The
20-10-5 routine will build up strength and local
muscle endurance with little bulk. For each set
use a weight which makes the last few repetitions
difficult.
The second
step involves introduction of specific drills to
allow the player's strengthened muscles to do
fundamental squash movements at progressively
higher
Freehand
exercise |
Target
muscle group |
Variations |
Push
ups |
Shoulders,
chest, triceps |
Regular
(from toes)
From knees
Up from knees, down from toes
Hands wide
Hands out front
On fingertips
Head stand push up on wall
One hand
Incline |
Sit
ups /Crunches |
Abdomen,
hip flexors |
Hand
and shoulder curl
Bent knee
Legs bent, in air or on bench
Incline curl ups
With twists |
Chin
ups |
Shoulders,
biceps |
Overhand
Underhand
Rope climb (with / without feet) |
|
Weight
routines
Target muscle groups
Chest/ bench press - Pectorals,
triceps, deltoids
Hamstring
curl
- Hamstrings
Half squat / leg press - Quads, gluts,
hamstrings, spinal erectors,
deltoids,
abdominals
Bicep curl
-
Biceps, brachialis
Lateral pulldown
- Lats,
biceps, traps, rhomboids, deltoids
Calf raise
- Soleus, gastrocs
Tricep
press
- Triceps, lats, pectorals
Motivation
Remind
yourself why you play: To have fun, to improve
and progress and to be with others who enjoy the
game
Analyse your mental strengths and the areas in
which you would like to improve. Approach each
practice and match as an opportunity to learn
Effort is
the key to learning and improving. Evaluate your
level of effort and constantly seek to raise to a
level of effort
Develop
goals that you work on daily. Process goals have
to do with HOW you play, rather than the result
or outcome. Emphasising the process will lead to
the strongest performance. The strongest
performance will produce the highest possible
results.
Learn very
simple relaxation exercises to help you calm
yourself when you need to before or during your
match. Such as :
=Taking a series of regular deep breaths and slow
exhaling
=Having a word or phrase that you associate with
feelings of calmness and relaxation
=Alternating squeezing and relaxing your hand as
it grips the racquet
=Focusing your eyes on the centre point of the
strings of your racquet
Think of
concentration as a skill. It is closely connected
with the abiltity to stay relaxed in competition
Analyse
what you say to yourself as you play. Identify
the things that you think or say to yourself that
are not helpful and replace them with words or
phrases that are positive, encouraging and
conductive to strong play. Analyse your posture,
physical appearance, and expression when you
play. Adopt and practice a look of confidence,
strength, energy and toughness.
Develop a
plan that helps you prepare mentally and
emotionally to play. Analyse its effectiveness
each time you play and refine it periodically.
Identify moments of challenge or potential
distraction that may occur during your matches.
Plan your ideal response to these challenges and
practice them daily to prepare for match play
Approach
competition as an opportunity to measure your
play and progress against your own standards.
Keep a performance journal, analysis of the
mental and emotional aspects of your play.
Links to other sites:
Should
kids do weight training? Prevent sports
related injury
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