By Tim Bacon, M.A., B.P.H.E. - Smith College 

Why practice hard week after week only to lose it all by being a couch potato during a vacation or break from your studies?

By Carl Petersen BPE, BSc (PT) & Nina Nittinger Dipl.KFFR/Sports Mgt.

  Structured Squash Practice 
  Structured Physical Training
  Structured Mental Training
  Structured Assessments

Playing is after all what it is about - but have you ever thought about which opponents you should play and when?

There should be two phases to your on court drilling, the “Training Phase” and the “Competitive Phase”. 

The training phase refers to when you do not have an imminent competition and involves concentrated work on technique whilst the competitive phase kicks in around 4-8 weeks before competition and works on your tactical game.  Looking at your yearly calendar it may be that some competitions will fall into a training phase, this is absolutely fine. You are aspiring to peak for your major goals and it is good practice to “train through” competitions, after all it is the long-term goal that you are looking at.

How do the different phases look?

By Derek M. Hansen, CSCS

While each athlete has his or her own individual training needs, there are some key areas where all athletes can make improvements to achieve their athletic potential. Identified below are three key areas where significant gains can be made.

By Tim Bacon, M.A., B.P.H.E. - Smith College

Most of the college team sport athletes I have observed use two main methods to stay in shape when their season is over: a 30 to 60-minute aerobic workout, usually running or biking; and strength training in the weight room, usually for a similar amount of time.  This type of off-season training program will allow them to maintain some conditioning and perform well on standard aerobic and strength tests such as the 1.5 mile run, squat and bench press. 

By Shona Kerr
Head Squash Coach, Wesleyan University

This article is aimed to give the novice through to the accomplished player the tools to plan out their squash season effectively with regard to on court training.  Addressed here are guidelines to improving and peaking technically and tactically. Whilst acknowledging that the physical and mental components are also essential these are not going to be addressed.

By Carl Petersen BPE, BSc (PT) & Nina Nittinger Dipl.KFFR/Sports Mgt.

Today’s players have to be in great shape to be competitive on a consistent basis. The competition schedule, environmental factors and associated travel can be grueling. The physical and mental demands of the sport all take their toll on even the finest tuned athletes. Developing proper training habits early and sticking to them will pay off in the long run. Players must strive to develop a training and playing attitude that help them improve not only as a player but as a person.

Proper hydration helps keep our kidneys in good order as it plays a filtration role. It’s also essential in the prevention of kidney stone diseases. Every day, 8 litres of water is secreted and reabsorbed into the intestine.

Adequate hydration or water intake is also necessary for physical exercise, as studies show that a 2% body weight water loss is equivalent to a 20% decrease in physical performance.

By Natasha Palacios
Registered Dietitian

There are no shortage of diets and other "strategies" people try in trying to lose weight.  Buy what really happens ...

I encourage you to pick up a pen and a piece of paper and jot down the goals you want to reach. Look at each goal and evaluate it. Make any changes necessary to ensure it meets the criteria for a SMART goals:

   S= Specific
   M = Measurable
   A = Attainable
   R = Realistic
   T = Timely

By Carl Petersen BPE, BSc (PT)

As the winter weather approaches we might be thinking "What I can do during this down time to improve my sports performance?" My suggestion is "take time to improve your global flexibility or mobility." The words "flexibility" or "mobility" will both be used in this article and can be defined as the broad range of movement (ROM) in a joint or series of joints. It is of significant importance to all types of training. Developing an appreciation of the flexibility needs will help to prevent injuries and to improve performance. Unfortunately, this type of training is often neglected with our hectic schedules.