By Adil Ahmad
A fairly large number of doctors, and people in other high stress professions, play squash in an effort to neutralise their obsession for cooked food. In most cases this proves to be an exercise in trauma and futility. They start out playing squash without really understanding the dynamics of the game. When things don’t work out, because they fail to do the necessary workout, they go back to their original obsession for food with a vengeance! The net result of their brief foray into the world of super-healthy living is an extra 10 kilos around their midriffs!
So let’s get the basics sorted out. Rule One – One doesn’t play squash to get fit. One has to get fit to play squash. Rule Two – One doesn’t get to play like Jahangir or Jansher in a few short weeks. The best one can do in a few short weeks is strain one’s back and/or sprain one’s elbow, or twist one’s ankle. If one aspires for more than that in a few short weeks then one ought to be in politics and not in a squash court!
Squash is a great believer in quid pro quo. Endless hours and hours of self-practice inevitably results in delicate drops, lobs and good lengths, and blistering smashes that die within a few inches of the tin. Then again, squash has been likened to a lady. One treats her nice, she treats one nice. One starts fooling around and she withdraws her favours.
For people learning anew, or restarting after a long break, it’s best to remember that you’re unfit for a game as demanding as squash. So experts recommend a gradual conditioning of the body. The best way to do it is by pounding the track. For the obese squash enthusiasts, let’s start with a walk that gets brisker by the day as consistency and persistence ensures a daily 6 days a week regimen. Trimming the tummy, developing muscle tone and lung capacity are the objectives. Stretching and breathing exercises must precede and succeed the workout to warm up and cool down the body and mind. The mental state is equally important, and the need to psyche up the self from sedentary to active plays a pivotal role in avoiding injury.
Four to six weeks of track work should get the unfit into a state where they can begin contemplating getting into the squash court. Mental strength is a high priority at this stage of the squash enthusiast’s evolution into a player of passable repute. For the first timers the lack of ball control can prove frustrating in the extreme. It’s a soft, swishy rubber ball that doesn’t bounce. At this early stage the back comes in for a fair bit of stick as players bend ever so often to pick up off the floor the ball that refuses to stay in play! So remember to add sit-ups to the workout before and after pounding the track, and push-ups for enhancing the upper body.
Gentle squats open up the knee and relax the lower limb muscularity. Don’t go for sprints just yet. Remember, overweight people don’t want to unduly stress their heart. Where’s the rush?! Just stay off the grub for a bit. Measure your meals, and don’t go for the fast food deals! Stay on the water, both swimming-wise and drinking-wise. Re-hydrating the body is critical, but in a ‘never-ending’ series of sips, with big gulps immediately after a workout to be avoided like the plague! Swimming in a pool is possibly the best way to relax exhausted muscles, with speed laps adding stamina and muscularity.
The list of the ‘to do’ and ‘do not’ is endless, and one can only familiarise oneself with it over a period of time, sometimes through painful experience. The important thing is to ‘just do it’, like Nike would have it. Get started now! Do not procrastinate. Jettison the self-pity welling up inside as you forgo the dessert! Though you do need to replenish some of the calories that you’re burning, and its best to have a dietician and cardiovascular specialist prescribe your levels of input and output and monitor your progress. Happy squashing!