A squash racket, decent indoor shoes and a comfortable sports outfit land in the bag. The calendar on the smartphone reminds me “practice in half an hour”. – The car door slams, a short ride, the car park, the changing room, greeting with the partner and … Exactly, what are the rules of playing squash, is it worth to start the adventure with this sport and who will like this physical activity? We check!

6 April is International Sports Day. Think back to your school days – did you also have school sports competitions instead of lessons on Sports Day? 🙂

On this occasion, we have prepared an article in which we will discuss:

• squash – rules and basics of the game,
• Where to go for squash (and for how much!),
• how such physical activity can help us,
• what are the contraindications to practising this sport.

Today’s material will be a quick introduction to the basics for those who have not yet had the opportunity to play squash, and perhaps are looking for a discipline suitable for themselves. Here we go!

Rules of squash

What is squash? In the simplest terms, it is a game between two people, consisting of alternate bouncing the ball off the wall. The balls have to be bounced in such a way as to make it as difficult as possible for the opponent to bounce again, while at the same time not disturbing him with your own person. Angels call it a sport not for gentlemen because the one who outsmarts his opponent wins.

There are also several attributes that squash is associated with: the racket, the special lines painted on the front wall and of course the ball. In many cases comparisons are made to tennis because of the racket play, but in reality there are as many similarities as differences. The most important of these is that squash requires additional spatial thinking due to the fact that part of the player’s strategy may be the use of, for example, side or back walls.

Scoring: a set is played to 11 points, with the winner having to show a two-point lead over his opponent at the end. The game is played until 2 or 3 set wins

It is difficult for us to present all the rules of playing squash in a book so that the reader does not get lost in the maze of definitions and relationships. Therefore, first of all we will give this information: squash is a very intuitive sport and quick to master in a natural way. The terms with which it is certainly worth getting acquainted before the first game are “let” and “stroke” – they mean the interruption of a point and the definition of a foul or a repetition.

The most important is the serve, which can be played only once (there are no replays in case of mistake), making sure that at least one foot is in the service area painted on the court. Two lines – the out-of-bounds line at the top and the service line in the middle – mark the area where the ball should go immediately after the service. The player must also be careful not to make a mistake called stroke, i.e. to directly impede the opponent’s access to the ball rebound. After touching the wall, the ball may bounce off the floor only once before it is again greeted with a squash racket – contact with the court twice causes loss of a point.

Where and for how much for squash?

Unfortunately, in order to play in suitable conditions, the proverbial “wall behind the house” is not enough. Of course, squash and professional sport go hand in hand, but, fortunately for amateurs, professional halls are springing up like mushrooms after the rain in other cities and towns. Especially people from larger metropolises should not have any problems with finding the right place. Another advantage of squash is undoubtedly the fact that this sport can be played all year round, regardless of the weather.

The price for such pleasure varies greatly, depending on the club, region of the country and standard. A lot also depends on the hours during which the hall is rented and on discounts – normally pupils and students have it a bit easier in this case. It is better to go to the place around morning and afternoon, if possible, because the most you will have to pay for renting the squash court late in the afternoon.

The average cost per hour of playing squash is from 25 to about 80 zł without discounts. It is worth remembering that there are also other costs which squash can generate – racket, ball, and even a towel can be rented for an additional fee of several PLN.

Impact of physical activity on health

What interests us most is the combination of sports competition with a positive impact on our health. We always recommend that exercise goes hand in hand with proper nutrition. This is true whether you are dieting to lose weight, trying to gain (muscle) mass or generally want to strengthen your condition and improve your well-being.

What else does physical activity give us?

• Better and restful sleep, provided that the exercises are done no later than 2 hours before going to bed (although much also depends on their intensity).
  
  
• It reduces the risk of disease by helping to keep triglyceride levels in check.
  
  
• We get a boost of energy and our mind works more efficiently, which is directly influenced by the oxygenation level of the tissues.
  
  
• Well-being is improved, thanks to an increased release of relevant chemicals in the brain (yes, ENDORPHIN :)).

And what influence does squash have on it? First of all it is worth remembering that it is quite a dynamic sport, requiring considerable involvement of different parts of the muscles. Very often it is supplemented with regular visits to the gym in order to really improve the results on the court – this is undoubtedly another benefit. Such additional motivation often helps to maintain regularity. In addition, we don’t play alone – if we don’t want to, we put our partner to the wind, so in many cases this fact helps to “persevere”. There also appears the aspect of competition, which makes squash a sport providing additional emotions and entertainment.

Why squash and not, for example, running, cycling or Nordic walking? Nobody is talking about the superiority of one over the other! If possible, it is worth diversifying your workouts, be it a visit to the court, swimming pool or just moving around in the fresh air. Squash is a sport that is one alternative in this case – a very interesting one to try! What is more, in squash counts commitment and competitive spirit, and it is thanks to them that you can burn approximately 460-750 kcal per hour (depending on the intensity, for a person weighing 60 kg).

Tennis elbow or briefly about injuries

Although fans of physical activity do not even want to think about it, squash is unfortunately one of those games that promote injuries. First of all it is important to warm up, thoroughly, concerning all parts of the muscles. The beginning should also be treated as a casual game, not for points – also as a warm up – even the professionals do it, warming up the squash ball. It is also good to take care of adapted footwear, because during the hour-long stay in the hall we will make a lot of movements, turns and jumps, during which it is easy to tear a muscle or twist a joint when slipping.

One of the injuries, which is referred to as tennis elbow, is a matter to which particular attention should be paid while practising this sport. Professionally called enthesopathy of wrist extensor muscles, it can be aggravated by harsh training on the court and is particularly dangerous for people who make repetitive movements with a bent hand every day at work. Unfortunately, this also applies to employees who spend a lot of time in front of a computer, so any pain on the inside of the elbow should become an alarm signal.

Is it worth it? It is definitely worth it! Especially when dieting for weight loss, an hour’s training two or three times a week will be ideal. And is squash an attractive physical activity for you? When is the first training? 🙂

If you want to check how many calories you will burn while playing squash, use the Fitatu application. More information about Fitatu can be found at: https://www.fitatu.com