Fancy a workout? (Squash - General)

Member Name: Mildew82

Product:	Squash - General
Date:	24/09/09 (76 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Extremely energetic, fun and excellent form of excercise

Disadvantages: A few risks of injury if appropriate care is not taken

As an avid fan of racquet sports and exercising just enough to stave off death for that little bit longer I am always on the lookout for ones I can actually play without wanting to set fire to my equipment. My general skill levels dictate that tennis, table tennis, real tennis, racquetball, speedball, lacrosse ... in fact any game that isn't badminton ... are seemingly not for me. But then I was introduced to squash and I can quite honestly say that this is one of the most enjoyable if somewhat exhausting games you can play.


~~~~~~~~~
The Rules
~~~~~~~~~

All you need is a court, an opponent, a racquet, a ball and a vague understanding of the rules and you're good to go.


The Equipment
_____________

Since the mid-1980s squash racquets are now made of such metals as graphite, titanium, boron or Kevlar with synthetic strings. The dimension of a racquet is required to be a maximum of 686mm long, 215mm wide with a string area of no more than 500 square centimetres and is allowed to weigh a maximum of 255 grams. It weighs a little less than your average tennis racquet and also looks a little like a tennis racquet that got run over.

Squash balls are quite small in size with a diameter of between 39.5mm and 40.55mm and are made of a complex rubber compound which forms a hollow sphere. Choice of ball is crucial for your skill level as different balls are made of varying rubber compositions which allows for different airspeeds and bounce heights:


Colour-----------------Speed--------------------B ounce

Double Yellow---------Extra Super Slow------ Very Low
Yellow------------------Super Slow--------------Low
Green or White--------Slow---------------------Average
Red---------------------Medium------------------H igh
Blue--------------------Fast--------------------- -Very High


The double yellow dot ball is used for competitions as it is the hardest to retrieve, and in fact there is an orange dot ball which is used for high altitude locations. This ball is needed to counteract the slightly higher bounce found with the double yellow balls in the lower atmospheric pressure of such locations.

At the other end of the spectrum is the blue ball which comes back to you much quicker so you won't have to move as far to get to it and bounces higher to give you more time to hit the shot. Go on - have a guess which one I use. I'll give you a clue - it rhymes with blue.


The Court
________

The court is made up of four walls, so you are actually trapped in a room when you are playing. There are two lines on the floor that create three main boxes on the court. There is one line that divides the court between the front and the back and a second from that dividing line to the back of the court that separates the left and the right half of the court. Within each of these two back boxes are smaller service boxes. These lines on the floor only count during a serve and then become irrelevant.

Now on to the walls....

The front wall has three parallel horizontal lines running across it. There are top and bottom lines and in normal play the ball must hit the wall in between these lines. The bottom line marks the top of what is known as the "tin" which is a half-metre area made of, unsurprisingly, metal which, if the ball hits, is out. The middle line is the service line and during a serve the ball must hit the wall above this line but below the top line.

The top line (out line) is then extended onto each of the side walls in a descending fashion where they hit the back wall, which has no lines on it. So if a ball hits any wall above this outline it will be out.

Play
____

Traditionally players will toss a racquet to see who serves first. The player that wins the toss can then start from either the left or the right box. For a legal serve, the player must have all or just part of their foot inside the smaller service box, but that foot must not touch the line (but it can be above the line). During the serve the ball must hit the front wall below the top out line and above the middle service line and must land in the opposite back quarter of the court.

After the serve is complete each player takes it in turn to hit the front wall which can be achieved directly or by striking a side or back wall (I have never successfully reached the front wall by hitting the ball against the back wall - it defies physics) first as long as the ball hits the wall below the out line.

The first player to get to 9 points wins a game, but in the situation of 8-8 if the receiver calls "set two" then the game can be extended to 10 points to win. A player can only win a point on their serve and for a player to either be awarded a point or to retake the serve one of these following situations must arise:

* The ball bounces twice before the receiver can get to it
* The ball hits any of the walls above the out line or on the tin on the front wall
* The receiver fails to hit the front wall
* The ball bounces before hitting the front wall
* The receiver is obstructed by their opponent

Some forms of obstruction will lead to the point being replayed, or if the severity of the obstructer's obstruction is deemed too naughty then the point will be awarded to the obstructed victim.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Experience
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Even though I'm really not good at squash I absolutely love playing it. My normal playing partner is male and even though he is better than me I can compete on most points so there is not too much of a noticeable gender divide.

The thing that I really enjoy about it is the ridiculous number of possibilities for each shot. By being able to bounce the ball off any wall you constantly leave your opponent guessing which way you're going (though unfortunately most of my balls end up going straight due to my lack of navigational skills) and you can really confuse them with some ridiculous angles. So you can go out all attack and hit the ball as hard as you can - good if you've had a bad day at work and want to vent some frustration - or lure your opponent to the front of the court with some gentler drop shots before going for the kill.

One advantage is if you completely miss a shot and it bounces off the back wall you will have another opportunity to hit that ball as long as it has only bounced once - something I always forget to look out for as I'm too busy internally cursing at myself (and sometimes externally) for missing the first one. But on the odd occasion I remember it is very satisfying to get the ball back in play despite the fact I will inevitably go on to lose the point later on.

The Risks
________

Be warned this is a very dangerous game and play at your own peril!

I exaggerate slightly - but as in any sport there is risk of injury - notably tripping over or stopping abruptly and twisting an ankle, or running into walls - something I have much experience with and my wrist does not thank me for it. I have also seen a friend get smacked straight in the face by their opponent's racket which was not good to put it mildly. But as long as you have sensible footwear on and an emotionally stable opponent you will be fine.

There is an extreme amount of short-burst running in this game as a lot of court coverage and directional changes is required which is really exhausting and sweat inducing (it is advisable to bring a towel and lots of rehydrating liquids aka water) but you really feel like you've had a good workout especially if you make it to the end still conscious.

Apparently, in one hour of squash a player will get an excellent cardiovascular workout and can burn off between 600 - 1000 calories which if my facts are correct is over 70% than ordinary tennis or racquetball. But due to the strenuous nature of the game, older players with a heart condition are not advised to play due to a risk of cardiac arrhythmia.


~~~~~~~
Pricing
~~~~~~~

As with all sports centres their pricing structure will be unique but for my local centre the price is as follows:

Squash (40 min court)

Adult
____

Member Peak: £6.90
Non-member Peak: £10.30
Member Off Peak: £5.70
Non-member Off Peak: £9.10

Under 16
_______

Member Off Peak: £4.40
Non-member Off Peak: £6.70

Senior
_____

Member Off Peak: £4.40
Non-member Off Peak: £6.70


~~~~~~~~~~~
Conclusion
~~~~~~~~~~~

Split between two players a court is a relatively cheap way to get an excellent cardiovascular workout whilst having the fun of a competitive sport. Men and women can play together with no gender having a real advantage and for 40mins you can run around a room trying to whack a ball around without badly injuring yourself.

Not only is it a fantastic and thoroughly entertaining form of exercise, but it is also great therapy. If you've had a horrible day and want to vent then squash is your answer - just imagine that tiny rubber ball is your employer's head and you'll be sound as a pound.

Try it - what's the worst that can happen?

Summary: A fantastic way to get a cardiovascular workout or to vent stress