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play squash!

R

rashandreflex

Bluelighter
Joined
May 15, 2006
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i see a lot of threads on here about weight loss, exercising, etc. i play squash for my college team, and not only does it burn a ton of calories (forbes magazine's list of activities that burn the most calories in an hour had squash first) it is also a lot of fun. every person i have taught to play has always loved it and wanted to play more. it is not that well known in the US but if there is a court near you, i'd definitely recommend taking it up. in my opinion the key to exercising is making sure it is fun and something one actually wants to do (the treadmill, elliptical, are sooo boring to me:p but to each their own.)

any other squash enthusiasts out there?
 
I play squash 3 - 5 x a week with a trainer. It's the BEST sport ever.....even better than tennis (IMHO). Hopefully in a few more months I'll be ready to compete =D
The relatively small court and low-bouncing ball makes the game harder to master than its American cousin racquetball, as the ball may be played to all four corners of the court. Since every ball must strike the front wall above the tin (unlike racquetball), the ball cannot be easily killed. As a result, rallies tend to be longer than in racquetball.

Squash provides an excellent cardio-vascular workout. In one hour of squash, a player may expend 700 to 1000 calories (3,000 to 4,000 kJ) which is significantly more than most other sports. The sport also provides a good upper and lower body workout by utilising both the legs to run around the court and the arms/torso to swing the racquet.
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yeehaaa!!!
 
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i forgot to add that it also doesn't take long to learn to play a match. basically you just have to learn to hit the ball and to hit a serve and then find someone else who is a beginner. it isn't pretty at the beginning but you improve so quickly playing matches and watching other people play matches.

crystal - where do you play? why did you start?
 
^^^I started playing around 2000....yep, six years ago! I just wanted to try another sport other than tennis (which I played since I was a kid.) I was HORRIBLE at first , couldn't even hit the ball lol. Than I slowly got better but played very sporadically over the course of the last couple years. I only started playing again regularly this year....I practice regularly in the local sports club with a trainer who I've known forever (who used to play in the National team).
So from basically just hitting the ball, practicing my forehand/backhand, perfecting the footwork , doing 20 minute rallys, I've only started playing a real game just last month. =D I'm nowhere near as good as some of the regulars who play at the club, but I hope to be.

Basically I just wanted a fun INTENSE workout alternative to the usual gym, elliptical, bench, taebo etc al.....I get bored quite easily. So far squash is my 1st love (spinning is a close second!)
 
trust me, if you are having 20 minute rallies with your pro, you are definitely ready to play a game if you can find the right level parter for you. it's boring to play someone a lot worse, ad it's fun to play someone a lot better for the, like, one or two rallies you play well in/win but the other millions of rallies that you lose in one or two shots are pretty boring heh. anyway good luck....as we have discussed it is a lifetime sport and a great workout, and once you start playing with the people at the club, you'll become a part of the little squash cult;) .

i started to play in prep school (like you, i played tennis first but played both at prep school) and now i play for the team that unseated the previous Ivy League champs who had a three year winning streak going, so we were Ivy League champs and it was an amazing feeling. i swear playing on a team is one of the best things one can do during college.

oh yeah you should see if there are some tournaments/women's teams at your club. the women's teams usually compete against teams from other clubs a couple of times a year. it's pretty lowkey, and they divide the levels like A, B, C, etc. good luck!
 
^A bunch of guys I know play.I tried to play was but it was embarrassing. I think I ended up throwing my racket.
 
rashandreflex...wanna play???? ;)
Actually squash isn't that popular back here with women as it is with men, I'm usually the ONLY girl in the courts playing! I usually try to get my female friends to play with me and it always turns out to be an hour of falling over laughing like retards kind of game.

anyway good luck....as we have discussed it is a lifetime sport and a great workout, and once you start playing with the people at the club, you'll become a part of the little squash cult
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Squash cult oh yeah....lol it is definitely a lifetime addiction!!! It's also the only sport I spend money on...racquet, balls, ankle wraps, shoes, etc.
 
yeah there is so much flashy squash gear that you can end up spending a lot of money. but recently i have been going through an "old school" phase where i like to use my old racquets, old shoes, old clothes, etc...vintage squash, heh. plus my school gives us a ton of free stuff.

in general i do think more men than women play in the US (i wish the sport would become more widespread here). of course there aren't any shortage of girls on my team. you can play with men...i love it esp bc guys always think they are going to beat me and i definitely enjoy putting them in their place if i can;) ...but you are right that you have to put more time in if men are your only competition. what city are you playing in?
 
squash is that game with the tiny door that goes in to that room where u bounce the ball off the wall right? if thats it, i played it once, got a bad bleeding nose and never tried it again.
 
i think you are talking about racquetball...squash courts don't typically have tiny doors, and the courts aren't rooms (they don't have ceilings. oh, and squash balls aren't very bouncy. racquetball balls are blue and very bouncy whereas squash balls are black and don't bounce much at all.

squash is way more fun than racquetball imo, but racquetball has its place.
 
Love it.

My dad is in his mid 60's and still plays squash pennants... obviously not at the top level anymore but he is still running around and beating players in the C-Leagues who are in their mid twenties.

It frustrates the hell out of me... I am fitter, younger and stronger but I get destroyed every time I step out onto the court with my pensioner-aged father ;)

I love the game anyhow... I was brought up on it and while I don't play regularly anymore I am lucky enough to have about 4 friends who are at roughly the same level of playing as myself.

So there is usually someone around for an epic match.


My dad is buying into some courts in the next couple of months, so I will be able to work casually in a squash center and play for free.

Looking forward to it.


I have always thought of squash as a kind of... rogue sport. People who haven't played it before kind of look at it with a revered awe. I guess it seems so strange and fast to someone who has never really learnt to play.

I have to get out and start playing again :)
 
I've only played Squash a little bit and I was probaplly the worst or second worst of the whole group out of 12 or something. But I had so much fun. I think that squash could actually become my life long sport. I wanna go play right now! I can't though cause I need money.
 
^^go for it =D
what city are you playing in?
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Manila, Philippines...in Asia. Not as many courts/players/not as popular as in Hongkong or Singapore but we have pretty good players! (nephew of my coach won in the Asian sea games). There is pretty much a set of squash courts in all the country clubs (around 4-5 clubs only) scattered around the metropolis.
 
SoLiDo said:
I've only played Squash a little bit and I was probaplly the worst or second worst of the whole group out of 12 or something. But I had so much fun. I think that squash could actually become my life long sport. I wanna go play right now! I can't though cause I need money.
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what do you need the money for?

cc- i had assumed you were in the US (not that we're exactly a squash hotbed as i pointed out before)...goes to show my ignorant american ways, heh. i'm in boston, and i'm going to train a ton this summer bc we are getting four good recruits next year who are definitely going to threaten my position. are the courts really hot there??

in general, i am glad to see multiple people who play squash and have an affinity for *discussing* drugs...just my kind of people;)
 
for anyone who is interested, here is a link to the finals of the canadian open 2006 on google video

women (inexplicably they only have the first three games of a five game match):
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6244966536614005385&q=squash&hl=en
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4063076124276923948&q=squash&hl=en
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2785683723971780767&q=squash&hl=en

men:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6311086967802990025&q=squash&hl=en
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8254445097888012187&q=squash&hl=en
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2309508484040538256&q=squash&hl=en
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8479882574135145946&q=squash&hl=en

by the way, this is not the greatest women's match i have ever seen...i think it was an off day for the women. enjoy:)
 
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