SQUASH MATCH WARM UP

[Updated on 1 August 2022] An athlete or coach will always tell you to warm up before a match. Whether it’s just a simple sparring match or a tournament, it’s always important to get your body and mind to function the way it’s supposed to during the match. A squash warm up should not last longer than an hour with the intention of increasing blood circulation, raising body temperature and increase the heart rate while preparing the muscles to perform sudden movements and explosive tasks.

PHYSICAL MATCH PREPARATION

General body warm up

Light to moderate activities such as running, jumping or squats. This activity gets the muscles lubricated and warm.

• Shoulder Shrug
• High Knees
• Backward Kicks
• Vertical Jumps
• Jumping Jacks
• High Knee Jumps
• Low Squats

Specific muscle stretches

Stretching the muscles prevents injuries from explosive movements. Hold the stretch for at least 10-20 seconds until you feel the muscles activate.

• Ankle Stretch
• Upper body Twist
• Ankle Stretch
• Front Hip Stretch
• Side Hip Stretch

Squash specific warm up

Loading pressure to the muscles involving movements for squash with a slightly higher intensity than previous exercises without overloading.

• Side Strides
• Forward High Knee Strides
• Lunge & Twist
• Leg Swings
• One Arm Swings
• Two Arm Swings
• Feet Shuffle
• Forward Lunges

SKILLS WARM UP

Ghosted Court Movements

Ghosted court movements improves your spatial awareness of the court. With the racquet on hand practice your swing moving back and forth with increasing intensity across the entire court.

• Serve line to serve line
• Center serve box to center
• Side wall to side wall lunge
• Diagonal cross court swings

Racquet Swings

Racquet swings prepares your wrist, arms and torso for the match. This can be done with or without the ball with increasing intensity.

• Forearm Isolation
• Tense Full Swing (controlled)
• Full Swing
• Close to Wall Volley (shoulder height)
• Close to Wall Volley (overhead)

Mental Rehearsal

Mentally perform the exercises as if playing against someone on the actual game. The exercises can be performed more efficiently by predicting court movements against your opponent.

Pre-match preparation