What is squash and why is it good for you? | Quality Squash Stores

Squash is often described as the fastest of all racket sports. Unlike other racket sports, squash is played in a confined space where both players are not separated from each other by a net. The rubber squash ball is hit directly or indirectly against the front wall.

Squash is a sport with a medium to high intensive interval load that requires a lot of aerobic power. At the highest level, games are played in which more than 50% of the rallies take longer than ten seconds. The breaks between rallies are short with an average of eight seconds. The heart rate rises rapidly during the first minutes and then remains stable throughout the rest of the race at 150 to 170 beats per minute. In terms of temperature and metabolism, squash can be compared to intensive endurance and running training.

Squash is a dynamic activity in which two players, hindered by the racket in their hand in the same room, constantly have to adapt a rapidly changing pattern of movement of sprint and twist movements to each other. Squash webshop Quality Squash Stores helps with this.

Load analysis
Squash is a sport with medium to high intensive interval loads.
Not only in terms of heart rate, but also in terms of metabolic response, squash is comparable to running. During squash an increase in blood glucose, catecholamines, free fatty acids, growth hormone and a slight increase in lactate is found.

During a squash match the body temperature rises. In order to regulate body temperature, the heat is dissipated by evaporation on the skin surface, among other things. The resulting loss of moisture has a negative effect on performance. For example, a weight reduction of about 2% (i.e. about 1.4 litres of moisture loss for a person with a body weight of 70 kg) would result in a reduction in performance of about 20%.

Cardiovascular aspects
There are indications that regular physical activity plays a role in preventing cardiovascular disease and reducing the risk of infarction. a number of risk factors are favourably influenced by intensive sports practice, namely blood pressure, body weight, cholesterol levels and stress.

Since at squash heart frequencies are found up to sometimes 90% of the maximum predicted heart rate, and this over long periods of time, squash may not be advisable for people with coronary artery disease. For people who are at risk, it is important to point out the dangers of exhaustive exercise. Sports examination with screening for cardiovascular diseases is therefore recommended for older sportsmen and sportswomen.

People who start intensive sports in middle age without regular sports practice in the past and with a negative history and research into cardiovascular diseases can form a risk group. This is especially true when squash is used to get fit. Squash is an intensive sport and if the athlete has an aggressive active personality there is a chance that he or she will exceed his or her physical limits. In general, a relaxed attitude towards squash above middle age should be advised, avoiding total exhaustion. Regular inspection, warming-up and progressive building up of the condition are important.
There is an element of risk in all sports: this applies to squash as much as to any other sport. Players with at least one risk factor (obesity, smoking, family history with sudden death) should be advised to take preventive measures such as ensuring a general condition, good warm-up and no smoking immediately after a squash match.
A player should be fit to play squash and not squash to get fit.

Injuries in squash
Nature and location of injuries
Various factors can influence the nature and extent of the injuries.

These can be summarized under individually determined factors, training factors and environmental factors. Individually determined factors include gender, age, experience, condition and state of health. Training factors include technique, duration and frequency of play. Environmental factors include equipment, floor and wall surface, conditions, playing style, tactics and opponent behaviour. Injuries can be divided into injuries that occur:

by the racket (opponent’s own racket or racket),
by the ball,
for other reasons.
Contact injuries
In squash, the players are close to each other and do not have their own playing field. For example, the racket may swing out too far or out of control, causing the player to hit himself or the opponent. The most serious injury a ball can cause is eye damage. A squash ball fits perfectly into the eye socket, so that the eyeball can be seriously damaged.

The ball also causes a vacuum effect, causing the ball to leave the eye.