Full transcript
0:00If you're a squash player that's looking
0:01for a gym routine, which won't just make
0:03you play better on court, but also cut
0:05your risk of injury, this video is for
0:06you. By the end, we'll build a full
0:08workout routine together, and all you're
0:09going to need is a pair of dumbbells, a
0:11medicine ball, and a bench to perform
0:12the exercises on. This is the Boston
0:14squash weightlifting guide, take one.
0:16Here's how it's going to work. We're
0:17going to start with a slow motion clip
0:19of Ali Farog playing Paul Cole. We're
0:21going to break down which muscles are
0:22being used for specific movements, and
0:24then we're going to come up with
0:25exercises to target those muscles
0:27specifically. We'll start by looking at
0:28how the upper body is used in squash and
0:30how we can strengthen it. Then we're
0:32going to move on to the core and we're
0:33going to finish with the most important
0:34muscle group, our legs. By the end of
0:36this video, we'll have built a workout
0:38routine with nine different exercises
0:39that you can do in one day at the gym.
0:41Every exercise will fall into one of
0:43three blocks. We have our A block for
0:45strength and power. Our B block is for
0:47support and balance, and our C block is
0:49for injury prevention. As mentioned,
0:51we're starting with the upper body.
0:52Watch what happens every time the
0:53racket's swung in the back swing. The
0:55shoulder blades, the traps, and the
0:57romboids all flex to pull your shoulder
0:58and the racket backwards. Then your lats
1:00and the front of your shoulder contract
1:02to pull your racket through the ball.
1:04After you hit and swing through the
1:05ball, then it's on your rotator cuff and
1:07your back again to slow down the swing
1:09and catch your shoulder before it goes
1:11too far and you get hurt. So, to help
1:12support our upper body exertion, these
1:14are the three exercises I've picked out
1:16for our workout routine. Our first
1:17exercise is the dumbbell zip up. Start
1:20with the dumbbell hanging between your
1:21legs and hinge at the hips. Then snap
1:23your hips forward and zip the dumbbells
1:25straight up close to your body all the
1:27way overhead. The power comes from your
1:29hips just like in your swing. And your
1:30shoulders and upper back have to guide
1:32the weight up and control it. Start with
1:34a very light weight. Keep the weight
1:35close to your body and make sure you
1:37lock your core as you're coming up to
1:38prevent hurting yourself. Do this for
1:40three sets of eight per arm. Our next
1:42upper body workout is the single arm
1:44dumbbell row. One hand and one knee on
1:45the bench. We're going to pull the
1:47dumbbell up towards our hip, being sure
1:49to squeeze our shoulder in the process.
1:51This builds your lats, your rhomboids,
1:53and middle traps, the muscles that pull
1:55your racket back and hold your shoulder
1:57blades steady. For this exercise, do
1:58three sets of 10 per arm. And to finish
2:00off our upper body exercises, we're
2:02going to do side lying external shoulder
2:04rotations to really work on our rotator
2:06cuffs. A lot of you guys watching this
2:07video probably know shoulder pain is one
2:09of the most common injuries in squash,
2:11and this is a great exercise to prevent
2:13it. So, we're going to start by lying on
2:14your side. You're going to bring your
2:15elbow down to your waist and tuck it in
2:17there. You can put a rolled up towel
2:19underneath it for added support. And
2:21then we're going to rotate a very light
2:23dumbbell up towards the ceiling and let
2:25it back down very slowly. Two sets of 15
2:27per arm. And just to echo what I was
2:29saying earlier, this exercise is really
2:30going to strengthen the muscles which
2:32catch your swing on the follow through
2:33so your joints don't absorb any extra
2:35stress and your muscles handle the load.
2:37So that's the upper body done. Now we're
2:39going to start talking about our core.
2:40Let's watch this rally here for a
2:42minute. You'll notice when the players
2:43are swinging at the ball, not all the
2:45power is coming from the arm. It starts
2:46in the legs and a lot of the power
2:48really comes from a rotation in the core
2:50which is passed onto the arm and
2:52ultimately into the ball. To be a bit
2:53more specific, the obliques going down
2:55the side of your body are responsible
2:56for a lot of the rotation we perform as
2:58squash players. And underneath our
3:00obliques, we have the abdomen, which is
3:02a deep muscle that wraps around your
3:03stomach a bit like a belt and provides a
3:05lot of support to your spine in the
3:06back. So, we've covered that the core is
3:08really important for generating power on
3:10the ball. It's also super important for
3:11providing support for your body. So,
3:13when we're watching this clip here, you
3:14can see that when you're stretched out
3:15in a corner, your core is the only thing
3:17that's kind of keeping your back from
3:18twisting or giving out. This is one of
3:20the main reasons people with weak cores
3:21tend to get a lot of lower back pain
3:23after playing squash. Now, let's talk
3:24about some exercises we can actually do
3:26to strengthen the core in a squash
3:28specific way. Our first core exercise is
3:30a sideways medball toss into a wall.
3:32Hand side onto a wall, rotate from your
3:35hips, and throw the ball into the wall
3:36as hard as you can. Catch it, reset, and
3:39go again. This is a great exercise
3:41because it trains the exact sequence
3:42that we use when we're swinging on a
3:44squash ball. We're going to do this one
3:45for three sets of five per side. Our
3:47next core exercise is going to be a dead
3:49bug. Lie on your back with your arms
3:51straight up and your knees bent at 90°.
3:53Press your low back into the floor and
3:55then slowly lower the opposite arm and
3:56leg without letting your back arc. This
3:58trains your deep core to keep your spine
4:00steady while your arms and legs are
4:01moving in alternating directions, which
4:03is exactly what happens every time you
4:05move for a squash ball. Three sets of 10
4:07per side. And to finish our core
4:08exercises, we're going to be doing a
4:10slightly modified plank, and that's a
4:12plank with arm extensions. We're going
4:13to start by getting into a strong plank.
4:15Then you're going to reach one arm out
4:16in front of you, bring it back, reach to
4:18the side, bring it back, and then reach
4:20towards your toes, and repeat that
4:22process. This is important because your
4:24core has to stop you from rotating while
4:26you're intentionally putting your body
4:27out of balance, which is a really common
4:29thing that happens if you're on a squash
4:30court. This is also a golden exercise if
4:33you struggle with back pain on court. Do
4:34this for two sets of eight arm
4:36extensions on each side. All right, so
4:37that's core done. That's upper body
4:39done. Now we're finally on to the lower
4:40body, which is the most important part
4:42of this video. The first thing we'll
4:43look at is the split step. So every time
4:45one player hits and the other player has
4:47to now go get it, they do a very quick
4:49hop and land on the balls of their feet.
4:51The reason they do this is to load up
4:52their calves and glutes like springs. So
4:54then they can explode out towards the
4:56ball. The next movement we're going to
4:57talk about is the lunge, which I think
4:58you can objectively say is the most
5:00important movement in squash. whenever
5:02you're going to the ball, even if it's
5:04close to you, you should always give
5:05yourself space to make sure you can find
5:07yourself in that lunge position. So,
5:09when you're performing a lunge, the
5:10quads, which is just the front of your
5:11thigh, controls how deep you sink into
5:13the movement. And your adductors on the
5:15inside of your thigh is what keeps you
5:16in balance when you shift into that
5:18position. And the last movement we're
5:20going to touch on is the recovery out of
5:21a lunge. Your glutes, your hamstrings,
5:23and your lower back, which are all a
5:25part of your posterior chain. Those
5:26muscle groups support and catch your
5:28movement as you lunge into the ball.
5:30It's also what powers you as you pull
5:31your body back out. With that in mind,
5:33it's time to start talking about the
5:34exercises we can do to support our lower
5:36body in squash. Our first lower body
5:38exercise is going to be the Bulgarian
5:40split squat. Back foot up on the bench,
5:42a dumbbell in each hand, and we're going
5:44to lower ourselves straight down. A good
5:46way to think about this is just
5:47performing a squash lunge with extra
5:49weight added onto your body. It builds
5:50the quads and the glutes on your front
5:52leg. It stretches the hip flexor on your
5:54back leg, and it also strengthens the
5:55patellar tendon. Our next lower body
5:57exercise is a single leg deadlift.
5:59Holding a dumbbell, hinge forward on
6:01just one leg, just like reaching for a
6:02low ball, making sure to keep your back
6:04straight. Once you get low enough to a
6:06point where you can feel your muscles
6:07working, drive back up to a standing
6:09position. So, your hamstrings and glutes
6:11are really what controls this movement,
6:12but we're also working the little
6:13muscles in your ankle and foot, which
6:15help you balance throughout this
6:16movement. And to finish off our lower
6:18body exercises, we're going to be doing
6:20a slow single leg calf raise. We're
6:22going to start by standing up on one
6:24leg. You can put a dumbbell in your hand
6:25if you feel like you need more weight.
6:27Rise up for three seconds and lower for
6:29three. Spend three seconds rising up and
6:31then three seconds coming back down.
6:33That slow tempo is going to build a ton
6:35of strength in your calve and your
6:37Achilles tendon. And Achilles injuries
6:38are one of the most devastating and
6:40common for squash players, especially if
6:42you're getting older. So, this is a very
6:44important exercise not to skip. And
6:45we're going to be doing this one for two
6:47sets of 12 per leg. Now that we've gone
6:49through all the exercises, we can build
6:50our full workout routine, which should
6:52only take about 40 minutes to an hour if
6:54you're doing it correctly. First go
6:55through all of A block, then you do B
6:58block, and then C block. If you thought
7:00this video was useful, subscribe to our
7:01channel so we can keep doing work like
7:03this. Thank you guys so much.