Squash Streching Tips and Stretches
Concerning stretching there is a big discrepance in the world of
coaches everywhere around the globe, i think. especially the ones being
close to the scientific part don't recommend excessive stretching
anymore.
the reason: new results say that the main effect of sore muscles is the
rupture of microfilaments due to an overload. so right after the
exercise
the damage is already done and stretching won't help. even worse, they
claim
it can damage the tired muscles even more. concerning stretching before
and
after the say that this losens the natural muscle tension and is a
reason
for many injuries, especially those concerning the ligaments. in
addition it
doesn't rise the muscles acceptance during high load. their advice: do
a
good warm up before the unit/competition and of course, train the
muscles
well before you get on court for a hard tournament.
i have to say, i don't really know who is right. it sounds logical what
those guys say, but if it is a 100% correct, why does every sportsman
on
earth still do a lot of stretching (e.g. the soccer pros)?
I think
everybody
has to find his/her own way.
what i tried out is the thing about training especially the butt
muscles
and it works. even hard tournaments end without having a sore butt. the
exercise i do for that is mainly lunges with a little weight. you can
either
use dumb-bells in your hand or (which is for more waight) a bar on your
shoulder. important is to make big steps to a 90° angle between lower
and
upper leg (not further) and really accelerating back out again. large
steps
are necessary because this trains the glutei, while short steps train
the
quadriceps in the front upper legs.
A good warm up would consist of a short ghosting session of little
to
medium intensity, combined with a few jumps to activate the muscles
Try this -
- Lay on your back with your knees at 90 degrees with feet flat
on a wall.
- Cross your right ankle over the upper part of your left thigh
(ie your left thigh, right thigh and right calf are forming a triangle)
- Place both hands on the right knee and push away till you feel
a stretch in your butt. Hold for sometime (I generally do a count of 30)
- Pull your right knee towards your chest till you feel a different
stretch in your butt. Hold for sometime
- Repeat with other leg
If I've understood the term 'Squash Butt' correctly, then
I've found this stretch to help a lot if done both before and after play.
Thanks for the tip, ill definitely give it a try. I found a lot of useful info by searching for "DOMS" on google. It seems the lunging in squash
is the main cause of DOMS. To quote one:
"Studies have shown that the vast majority of damage associated with DOMS is attributed to eccentric muscle contractions, in which the muscle fibers are lengthened as force is applied to them, for example, when you run downhill"
The lunging in squash is the same thing as you are applying significant weight to the leading leg as you bend it. Unfortunately there doesn't appear to be any conclusive cure for it apart from more stretching before and after the session.
I found several variations on the net, which of these do you think target squash the best:
https://www.exrx.net/Stretches/GluteusMaximus/Lying.html
https://www.myfit.ca/exercisedatabase/view.asp?table=stretches&ID=10
https://www.scottishsport.co.uk/squash/stretch.htm
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