Fitness Foundations & Squash

Learn the foundations of fitness, and how to think about programming for squash.
This is a recording of a live webinar I delivered to the Squash Ontario family a few weeks ago.
Take notes and apply the lessons to your own training.
Ahad
#consciousevolution #ahadraza #fitness #programming #squash

[@sunnysaini2332]

Thank you so much, Ahad for this quality content !!

[@ARProformance]

You're most welcome Sunny! - Ahad

[@ShamonnnYouKnowIt]

Ahad, thank you so much for posting this absolute goldmine of information. Much appreciated!

[@ARProformance]

It is my pleasure to be able to share value and be of service. Thank you for following and learning. I'd love to know what really stood out to you, and any changes you will be making to your own training / game. All the best, - Ahad

[@michalkotowski1789]

great job❤ really informative video. Thank you

[@ARProformance]

Thanks for watching and committing to growing! - Ahad

[@antoniothehitmanvargas7698]

Simply Amazing!! You are the Best Virtual Squash Trainer, Coach and Tactician on KZbin, I'm a newly subscribed member and advid Fan of your Channel!

[@ARProformance]

That's very kind of you Antonio! I really appreciate that. I hope that you continue to gain a lot from the channel. All the best, - Ahad

[@ArturZygmunt]

First minute of your webinar gave me more wisdom than 6 months of trainings :) thank you so much!!!

[@ARProformance]

Hello Artur - Thank you for the kind and inspiring message. You have helped me achieve my goal of positively impacting the community I love :) Out of curiosity, what other trainings have you been watching / studying / practicing? Take care, Ahad

[@snadkarni]

Just came across this video; awesome! Thank you for really great insights and explanations.

[@ARProformance]

Thanks for watching and supporting Sameer 🙏🏼 I hope that you apply some of the suggestions. Do share an update once you have 😊 - Ahad

[@sanvinshahi]

Thank Ahad, for sharing this. There are precious few squash specific resources I've found that are as detailed as yours. Keep it up and if you're ever out west, feel free to get in touch.

[@ARProformance]

My pleasure. Feel free to email me so [e-mail] and we can connect if/when I make my way out West! I'm glad that you are receiving tremendous value from the videos. That's my goal 🙏🏼 - Ahad

[@derekdelacruz8398]

This is awesome

[@ARProformance]

Thanks Derek. I hope that you gained a ton of helpful knowledge! - Ahad

[@novidtoshow]

This is wonderful! I wish you had broken it up into sections for better indexing. But this is just amazing!

[@ARProformance]

I appreciate it. Next time ☺️ Wishing you well, - Ahad

[@shananarocks]

Great video. Better to split into bite size like each 15 min segment as the attention span will wander after a few minutes.

[@shalindravs]

This is so useful, absolutely loving your videos!

[@ARProformance]

Thank you Shalindra 🙏🏼 I really appreciate your comment and continued support 💪🏼 All the best, - Ahad

[@stinkyballsproduction1148]

Wow thanks for this. Really great information. Many many thanks again. Can't wait for Part 2 :)

[@ARProformance]

My pleasure. Part 2 still hasn't been scheduled yet (may not happen for some time since everyone is "zoomed out"!). Maybe if the folks following my channel are keen I can host one for a nominal fee, and go in to even more customized detail. Do you think that would be of value? 🤔 - Ahad

[@stinkyballsproduction1148]

@@ARProformance Yes of course.

[@SonOfTheDusk]

So informative! Thank you for sharing this with us. It's so incredibly helpful and important to think about these things, especially when the majority of us squashers don't think about this at all.

[@ARProformance]

It's my pleasure. That was my hope! I'm grateful to you and the others who took the time to watch it and learn. I'm sure that it will help 💪🏼 I hope that you enjoy the other videos as well. Any specific content requests? - Ahad

[@SonOfTheDusk]

@@ARProformance yes actually! I would like to learn about the pros and cons of height in squash. Obviously, there’s not much you can do about it, but I just wonder if there are ways of moving or movement patterns that benefit a shorter player vs. a taller player and vise versa. I’m 5’9 and I am so jealous of the way Ali farag moves around the court. I know his movement isn’t the sole result of his height or leg length, but it must help some right? Thanks.

[@motivationmonday387]

Thank you so much sir I really appreciate it and love your content was really looking for something like this

[@ARProformance]

My pleasure Tristan. I'm glad that you're finding value in it 🙏🏼 - Ahad

[@abelheirasquash]

Excelent! Congratulations!!! 👏👏👏👏👏

[@ARProformance]

Thank you!

[@mustafahamza6489]

Learned a lot from this session, Thank you so much for sharing. Looking forward to part 2

[@ARProformance]

I'm really happy to hear that Mustafa! Thank you for taking the time for watching and supporting my videos. My question to you (and everyone else that has watched this video), is, what can you do to apply these concepts to your own training and preparation? 🤔 - Ahad

[@mustafahamza6489]

@@ARProformance After understanding more about the RPE thresholds, aerobic and anaerobic workouts. I have come to realize that it is important to have a clear goal on what you are trying to achieve on a particular training day. Also finding your strating point for example 5k run time or spin bike resistance and use FITT to push yourself and build over all strength. The motivation factor is extremely important as well. I often overtrain finding myself not quite motivated to workout again. Gradual progression but being consistent is the key. There are days when you do perform well and days when you don't. The idea of different stress (lack of sleep, work) makes a lot of sense. Maybe a heart rate monitor would be a good to have to help you stay at a RPE level.

[@SquashShortShots]

Great content! Very informative

[@ARProformance]

Thanks Thomas. I appreciate the feedback and support. I hope that you continue to find value in the content. - Ahad

[@X5one67]

Thanks excellent info👍

[@ARProformance]

You're most welcome. I'm glad that you enjoyed it and gained value. Ask the best, - Ahad

[@mustafaadil6080]

Great body n content❤️

[@ARProformance]

I appreciate the kind words Mustafa. Thank you 🙏

[@arvegillette3771]

As an aging club squash player over 70, I found this video. I wonder what modifications you would suggest for the over 60 crowd.

[@ARProformance]

Hello Arve - Please forgive the delay in responding. The same principles hold for the aging club player. I would emphasize a focus on injury prevention by maintaining and building mobility, core strength, and overall strength. As we age our bone density decreases. Heavy weight lifting (relative to our own strength), low intensity plyometric exercises like skipping / jump rope are very helpful. I hope this helps provide some context. Wishing you the best, - Ahad

[@robertsnodgrass2599]

Great content. What I am looking for is some simple exercises to get fitter and stronger for squash. I am 48 years old and play twice a week. I also enter the odd masters tournament but don't really do much training - sometimes do the odd drill session but that is a about it. What do you recommend I start out with?

[@ARProformance]

I would recommend doing some of the isometric (hold based) exercises I mentioned near the end of the video. Even 15-20 mins of these 2-3 times a week will help a lot from an injury prevention standpoint (and performance enhancement). Especially as we get older, it's critical to keep the tendons, joints etc strong. I offer a paid service to create an effective training plan if that's of interest. Happy to discuss. All the best, - Ahad

[@68sayem]

In mid puberty when the muscles and bones grow very fast ... is it wise to engage the the anerobic system training while developing the muscle strenghth ... or these are different paths ?

[@ARProformance]

A lot of youth struggle with knee pain etc during growth spurts (puberty). The anaerobic system typically requires higher intensity of training, so I would personally say more aerobic (lower intensity work) because the body is already under a lot of stress. Adding excess intensity through additional anaerobic training will likely overload the body. I'd suggest thinking of overall stress on the body - puberty / growth places a lot of stress on the body along with many other factors I discussed in the video. We need to retain enough energy for adaptation. Each person is different, so what may be overkill for one, could be perfect for another, and vice versa. I hope this helps 🙏🏼 - Ahad

[@Zodiak055]

Awesome proffesional content, thanks! How did you find out all this :) ?

[@ARProformance]

Years of study, experience, passion and consistency 😊🙏🏼 thanks for your support Adam! - Ahad

[@ARProformance]

What was the most valuable piece you took from this video? 🙂

[@Zodiak055]

@@ARProformance e.g. Stress layers, aerobic and anaeroibc systems, adjusting to training routine, and intensity.

[@nicksee1970]

great content... more so on the very important topic of fitness! sufficient fitness is crucial in order to allow one to respect the opponent's shot and to reset the rally. more often than not.. a lack of fitness pushes one to try to "close the deal" prematurely by executing high percentage error shots. btw have you heard of PAI (personal activity intelligence)? is this for real or just a gimmick?

[@ARProformance]

You just helped me learn about something Nicholas. Thanks! PAI makes sense based on the quick research I just did. All of our personal metrics are unique. For example a busy of mine and I go cycling together sometimes, and his Max HR is around 170. Mine is around 200. Our RPE is very similar when my HR is 180 and his is 150 for example. If we were just using a HR figure to train, we would be in completely different training zones, with totally different training effects. Apps like PAI help the layman get more specific. Truthfully using the RPE scale, and having a sense of your personal metrics (resting HR, max HR etc can give you a good sense of your intensity and effect). I like technology's tangible stats, but really it all comes down to one's own competency / knowledge, and level of motivation - technology helps given the tracking element. Hope this helps, - Ahad

[@nicksee1970]

@@ARProformance i was introduced to PAI when using an activity tracker like amazfit and fitbit bands. from what i understand reading some of the literature, the traditional 8K or 10K daily steps routine doesnt quite capture the "intensity" factor which PAI does.

[@ARProformance]

Yes exactly. Truthfully heart rate alone is also not an ideal measure because it varies given temperature, rest etc. It sounds like PAI is a better way to measure intensity. 10,000 steps in 10 hours is very different to 10,000 steps in 1 hour. HR is a good proxy for intensity, but one day that may elicit a HR of 75% of max HR, whereas another day it may elicit an 80% response (due to the factors mentioned earlier). It's a complicated topic to say the least :) - Ahad

[@nicksee1970]

​@@ARProformance what i've seen from these activity trackers is that they try to gamify fitness. i think gamification is a important factor to ensure consistency and sustainability of any fitness regime. without gamification, things can get abit stale or mundane after a while.

[@ARProformance]

Absolutely!