December Break 2018 Training Program

Detraining is basically linear – if you do NOTHING between Sat. Dec. 8 (our CONN match) and our Fri. Jan. 4th return to campus you will show up with the same level of overall fitness you had on Nov. 11.
Although we finished the semester with zero “active” squash injuries (10+, so at least 1/3 of you had significant squash injuries during the term) this process of becoming injury-free was accomplished through 5 weeks of our injury prevention training at practice.
Starting on January 4 our physical training volume will DOUBLE from 12-14 hours per week to 24-30 hours per week – you WILL get injured or sick if you do not maintain or improve your fitness over break. Remember that in professional soccer there is a .87 correlation between a teams “number of days lost due to injury” and their final league standing – the same applies to college squash. When we play an opponent of the same ability (predicted 5-4 result – 50/50 either way) when you are unable to play due to a “preventable” injury (hamstring or groin pull, sore knees or shoulder, etc.), your teammates below you on the ladder must all move up almost ensuring a team loss. It sounds harsh but this loss would be YOUR fault.

Here are THREE possible routes to staying in shape:

Access to squash courts & training partners: continue our team weekly practice schedule: 20 min. of movement prep & prehab, 60-90 min. of play & practice, 20 min. of strength & regen. Here is a screenshot of our weekly schedule:
No access to squash courts: continue our team weekly practice schedule (movement prep, prehab, regen & strength) substituting an aerobic workout 3-4 times a week (20 min. high intensity or 30-40 min. lower intensity), a speed/power workout 2 times a week (20 min.) and a Lactic workout (e.g., 2-3 times 100 touches) 2 times a week (20 min.).
Minimal maintenance program for those constantly travelling or with minimal motivation: movement prep & prehab 5 times a week, 2 aerobic workouts per week (20 min. high intensity), one speed (e.g., 15 x 10 yd. sprints with 60 sec. rest between) and one lactic workout per week (e.g., 2 X 100 touches).

Important Notes:

Absolutely essential prehab components to include no matter what are:

stability ball leg curls – at least 2 sets of 12 but really you should be working towards single leg curls;
stretch your hip flexors (illiopsoas) either dynamically or statically;
shoulder mobility including W,Y, T, Ls & sidelying internal rotator stretch;
front & side planks, dead bug, stability ball crunches & back extensions
mini-band exercises

Important Resources:

If you need detailed instructions on exercises here are several of the programs we have sent to you over the last couple of years:

Basic strength training: Wes 201718 GP1

Slightly more advanced strength training: Wes Sq 2017 SP2

Racquet Sport Psychology