What is a sufficient warm-up for a squash match? And a sufficient cooldown?

Thanks,

Meredith

You'll be sorry you asked that question, Meredith. I used to play squash four times a week, and my warm-up got longer and longer as I got better and wanted to play harder.

Squash is an aerobic sport with lots of anaerobic spurts, violent starts and stops, and changes of direction. There are often collisions between players. You can't begin a match slowly, like you can begin a bike ride with easy pedaling.

The first order of the day is warming up the cardiovascular system. My club had a warm-up area with two stationary bikes. I would ride for 10 to 20 minutes, staying in the lower end of my training range (about 70 percent of the maximum heart rate). A stepper, treadmill or rowing machine would work just as well. If there is no apparatus available, skip rope for 10 minutes. I keep a jump rope in my racquet bag at all times. This part of your warm- up should elevate your heart rate and bring blood into your leg muscles, which will be doing most of the work.

Next, I would do several sets of crunches (check the Fit by Friday more topics under "abs" for some ideas). Various crunches helped warm up my torso for all the twists and turns I would put my body through during a match.

After the crunches, I did a couple of sets of push-ups. The push-ups helped warm up my shoulder and chest muscles, as well as loosen up my elbows and wrists. You use all the same muscles on the court when you stick your arm out to fend off the wall or gently help your opponent out of the way so that you have room to swing your racquet.

By this time I was nice and sweaty, and about a half-hour would have passed. So I'd change my shirt, put on a sweatshirt or warm-up jacket to keep the heat in, and begin STRETCHING. You really must stretch your whole body before playing squash. Special emphasis should be placed on the quads, hamstrings, groin muscles, calves and lower back, as well as the muscle of your shoulder girdle. Don't forget to loosen up your wrists, forearms and ankles too. A good racquet- sports stretch routine can be found in "Sport Stretch" by Michael Alter (Human Kinetics, www.humankinetics.com; 800- 747-4457).

A thorough warm-up for a squash match can take you anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour to complete -- remember, we haven't even gotten on the court yet to practice our strokes. In fact, my favorite warm-up was just a light, full-body workout followed by a good stretching session, and then the match. (I was self- employed at the time, meaning I had no life and could warm up and work out to my heart's content!) For a cooldown after all that activity, Meredith, just get another dry shirt and stretch.

Post your questions and comments on the Fit by Friday message board!