Warm Up, Play, and Stretch

Top competitors do two things differently than most of us. They warm up before they compete, and they stretch afterwards. Here's why that matters:

A dynamic warmup is essential in order to prepare your body for the rigors of competitive racquet play. Getting your muscles warm is a necessary precursor to using them for quick starts, quick stops, and full speed running. A great way to warm up before competition, therefore, is to dedicate five to ten minutes before your match to making movements and actions that mimic those of actual play. Your warmup movements should gradually increase in intensity, and should exercise all parts of your body. They should not, however, exhaust you before your match, so keep the warmup to about ten minutes' duration.

A great dynamic warmup routine for squash can provide a foundation for racquetball and badminton warmups as well. Just add motions that are specific to those sports, if they vary from the motions required for squash (e.g., add more vertical jumps like those made just before hitting badminton smashes). Doing the warmup will not only help you start playing your best right from the start of your competition, it will decrease your likelihood of injury due to pulled muscles.

For your cool-down, you should always remember to take time to stretch after you play. This is usually a time that your body is quite warm, and stretching should be easy. Stretching all parts of your legs and arms can help reduce later stiffness, and can keep you free from injury. Stretching your calves and hamstrings is a particularly good way to avoid and control plantar fasciatis. Stretching completely, for ten or fifteen minutes after play, can also help you increase, or at least retain, your full range of motion. The next time you get on court, that full range of motion will enable you to reach shots that you wouldn't otherwise even touch.

Now, that's a big return from a small investment of time!