Misconceptions in Weight Training for Squash
by Frank Lutes

Squash players practice skills, drill shots, train aerobically, lift weights and do nearly everything to gain that illusive extra advantage over opponents. So why is it that drills, weights, aerobics, and hours of court time don't always translate into victory? The answer could be in the type of training. As players, we might be allowing our misconceptions in training to lead our game astray.

Squash requires fast movement to and from the ball, powerful shots with accuracy, and quick recovery from rallies. It is a sport where two opponents are constantly striving for shot accuracy. The ability of a player to control their own ball placement can make a big difference between winning and losing. In order to hit great shots, players must have a marriage of accuracy, speed and power. Many players practice shots which are great for accuracy but fall short in training for speed and power. The training regimen of squash players must incorporate accuracy, speed and power to become successful.

The prevalent idea for squash strength training is that lifting with light weights and using high reps will help with speed and power. Players think that lifting with heavy weights will bulk them up thus slowing them down on court. It is true that squash is a game of speed and power. However, it is a misconception to think that lifting with light weights will make players faster. Lifting with heavy weights will result in the greatest increase in speed and power.

The reason is as follows:

All of us are composed of two basic muscle fiber types called slow twitch muscle fiber and fast twitch muscle fiber. Squash utilizes both muscle fiber types depending on time and intensity. Slow twitch (Type 1A) muscle fiber is characterized by smaller size, less force capacity and more endurance capacity. Their production is utilized after about 90 seconds of any given activity. Slow twitch muscles are predominately used in such athletic activities as long distance running and cycling.

Fast twitch muscle fibers (Type 2) are characterized by larger size, more force capacity, and less endurance capacity. Fast twitch muscle fibers actually have two subsets called type 2A and type 2B. Type 2A production is utilized between 25 and 89 seconds. Type 2B production is utilized from 0 to 24 seconds. (Please note that range times are approximate and dependent upon intensity.) Fast twitch muscles are predominately used in such power events as sprinting, jumping, throwing and squash.

Intensity (force) plays a factor in recruitment of muscle fiber. Depending on the intensity of an activity different muscle fiber types are recruited. Type 1A muscle fiber is recruited with intensity from 58% to 69%. Type 2A muscle fiber is recruited with intensity from 70% to 84%. Type 2B muscle fiber is recruited with intensity from 85% to 100%. The more we train our Type 2A muscle fiber the better it will be able to sustain intensity for a longer period of time.

As we do any given activity whether lifting a weight, swinging a racquet, or running a 200-meter sprint, the body goes through a process of utilizing these muscle fiber types. In the case of weight lifting, by lifting heavier weight our bodies are required to output more force production. To do this we enlist predominately type 2 muscle fiber. These fast twitch muscle fibers contract at a faster rate than slow twitch muscle fibers resulting in greater speed. We appear to be moving the weight slowly because it is so heavy. This type of training will not slow our game down. Training with heavier weight will result in faster movement on court.

The squash swing is a very fast movement that requires the synergy of all large and small muscle groups. The force that is needed to generate a strong swing would be better served by training with heavier weights and with anaerobic (sprinting) training.

In respect to anaerobic training, the fastest times in the world for the 100 and 200-meter sprint are around 10 and 23 seconds. The average A level squash rally lasts 7 seconds and the average professional rally lasts 15 seconds. By comparing the times of sprinters and squash rallies it can be seen how important fast twitch muscle fiber is to the squash player. Running long distances (aerobic training) serves slow twitch (type 1) muscle fibers. The reason why sprinting is so beneficial to squash is that as we get faster at running our sprint times, (and mimicking the same time used in a squash rally) we are improving how we utilize our fast twitch (type 2A and type 2B) muscle fibers.

Even though squash is a sport that can take up 45 minutes or more of time it is an activity that is composed of many short increments of time with high intensity. We have all been winded after a long point. The reason why so many of us are out of breath is because we haven't trained our muscles correctly to sustain such high intensity. If we trained our muscles anaerobically, we could sustain more speed and power for a longer period of time.

To give another example, the average football play lasts seven seconds. I think that many people would agree that football players lift with heavy weights. They do this because their sport requires a great amount of intensity in a short amount of time. This is just like squash.

Squash is a complex sport that utilizes multiple muscle fiber types and both strength and cardio training regimens should be designed accordingly. We must not allow misconceptions in training to undermine our game. When we understand how to properly train for squash, we can then take our first steps toward incorporating accuracy, speed, and power into our game thus ultimately achieving that all-illusive victory.

Know Any Squash-Playing Orthopaedists? 

We've recently initiated a correspondence with a local player, Larry McCray of Regency, about the need to add to our website some medical advice relating to squash injuries, or at least establish some links to other sites addressing squash-specific sports medicine. Does anyone know any local players in the medical profession who might be able to help out with this? The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons does have a site that provides plenty of general research opportunities, but so far as we can determine, nothing specific to squash.

If you'd like to add to this discussion, send us an e-mail. Here is Larry's initial inquiry, and some subsequent notes:

I was searching through your site and came across [this] discussion on squash elbow. I'm at the point where I can't play more than 3 games w/o losing my strength and feeling like my elbow and upper arm weigh 15 pounds. Naturally, I prefer not to give up my weekly game and would appreciate [it] if you could send me more info if/when it is posted
David Friedland

Some player questions -- do you have others?
[1] How do the constriction bands really help? Are they indicated for both ME and LE?
[2] Are they mainly preventative or mainly therapeutic?
[3] Are they to be worn in play or off play or both? Why?
[4] What bad stroke-habits cause ME/LE? Do they come from forehand or backhand or both? Or is length of play-time the main cause? Is player age a factor? What are the pre-trauma indicators? [Doctors must know all these things, given the prevalence of tendonitis, no?]
[5] Why shouldn't a player ignore slight ME/LE twinges and play thorough the pain?
[6] What warmup exercises may prevent ME/LE?
[7] How would improper grip size contribute? Are you sure about that?
[8] Does topical massage help or not?
[9] When pain subsides, should curl and other restorative exercises be sustained? At what level?
These questions arise after reviewing 8 or 10 online discussions of ME, most of them incomplete and a few of them contradictory.
- Larry

One thing I have noticed is that the proportion of players using these devices [constriction bands] declines as you look at higher leagues, which may be a confirmation of the connection between stroke mechanics and ME/LE.
- Bill

OK. For health, why not dream a little? Surely a number of docs play locally [I know two]. Could any of them be persuaded to write something that answers squashers' questions about ailments? I just did a search on WebMD and find the usual stuff, which just doesn't help a player. I have the impression that 32% [your estimate will be more precise than mine] of squash players use constriction bands on their forearms, presumably used against ME [golfer's elbow] and LE [tennis elbow]. It'd be good to have reliable info on what works and what doesn't for these annoyances -- and whether it's OK to just play thru one's pain.
- Larry M.

Larry, adding an injury links list would make a lot of sense. I'll do some research on that. If I come across anything on ME, I'll let you know. Meanwhile, if you find any good injury/sports-medicine sites for us to link to, please let me know.
- Bill Fenton

I have just been conducting a web search for information on medial epicondylitis [golfer's elbow]. There's lots of stuff, much of it coherent, but there's nothing that connects it to squash [about the closest is at: http://www.nismat.org/ptcor/tennis_elbow/]. In particular: A few sources say something like "Indication: fix your stroke," but with no hint about what in a bad stroke causes ME, or how to fix a stroke to prevent recurrence.So I drifted over to squashwars, was reminded what a nice site it is, and looked for any injury info, or links, but didn't see any. Do you happen to have an idea where squash-specific injury and injury-prevention info might lie? Would adding a links list make sense for our terrific site?
- Larry McCray, Regency Sport & Health