Stamina on Court
Squash
is a sport requiring stamina. Every squash player realises this fact
as soon as rallies get a bit longer. Many top players train outside
the court. Some of them run. Others swim. But, did you know that the
top players realise one thing before starting to train outside the
squash court. They realise that there are two types of stamina in
squash.
Cardiovascular fitness is described above. But,
striking the ball with consistency is by far much more crucial. And
the pros know this. What I mean is that your arm needs the strength
and endurance to hit the ball continuously for an hour with good
control. If this is unattainable as of yet, don't waste your time
training outside the court until your arm can endure an hour of hard
hitting. The pros know that without ball control - you're dead on the
tour no matter how fit you are!
Have you noticed how much
work your arm does as compared to your legs? If your arm goes, your
legs can help you retrieve a bit longer before losing. If your legs
go, your arm can still hit winners because you don't need to run for
every single shot. But you do need to hit every single shot with your
arm. So practice hitting the ball as hard as possible without
injuring yourself and see how long you can do it. Keep in mind that
you're not just blindly hitting the ball hard. Try to control a
twenty shot rail drill and then crosscourt to the other side for
another twenty shot rail drill. Keep the ball moving at a high rate.
Hit boasts, crosscourts and rails and go for the nick. Watch the
ball! Have you ever really watched the ball for an hour without
interruption. It's not easy until you try it. Feel the lactic acid
build up in your arm.
Before you know it, you'll sense an
improvement in your endurance and in your ability to concentrate on
watching the ball. Time yourself! Lengthen every practice session by
five minutes until you're able to hit relatively hard for a solid
hour without let up. After you've achieved this, do what the pros do.
Start training outside the court.