Squash Stamina:

Squash is a sport requiring stamina. Every squash player realizes 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

realize one thing before starting to train outside the squash court. They

realize 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, cross courts 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.