Test Your Squash-Specific Strength!

On the fitness side of the site in particular, we’ve got a great range of squash-specific physical tests to measure your endurance, speed, strength, and power.

The benefits of going through these kinds of tests is that it really helps identify the exact areas in which you need to develop and improve.

A lot of squash players still have the concept of ‘fitness’ as being just one vague general attribute, but hopefully the testing protocols on the site will really help demonstrate the wide range of different physical elements that actually go into making up the complete squash athlete.

For those already at a somewhat more advanced stage with their strength & conditioning work who are looking for other ways to measure their current progress, there are some great assessment exercises out there that you can use to monitor and evaluate your physical training.

One of the most comprehensive battery of tests that I’ve come across recently is that outlined by human performance specialist Dr. Joel D. Seedman that you can see here at the T-Nation website. Dr. Seedman proposes a series of 12 subtle variations on familiar strength exercises to test your physical capabilities, which will really challenge even the most advanced gym-goer.

These tests are all designed for the advanced exerciser, but they also represent a useful guide as to some general foundations of strength, power, and stability that anybody training for optimal sporting performance should be taking into consideration and aiming to develop in their strength & conditioning sessions. The balancing and unilateral elements in particular are of key concern for the squash player.

So for those of you out there that fancy some challenging tests of your strength and athleticism, check out Dr Seedman’s list and let us know how many you can complete successfully!

Gary Nisbet

B.Sc.(Hons), CSCS, NSCA-CPT, Dip. FTST
SquashSkills Fitness & Performance Director