interval training for squash

Published: 16 Jan 2008 - 09:34 by fatness

Updated: 24 Sep 2008 - 17:29

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hello there,

I am injured at the moment so i am keeping my fitness up on the threadmill with the aid of a heart rate monitor. Just wondering what % of max heart beat should i be working at? I was averaging 94% over a 40 min interval run but i have been told that this is too intense and that running at this intensity will not increase fitness and only make me tired but a lower intensity around 85 to 90 would be much better for fitness. what should my % max hb be when:

a) running at normal pace

b) interval bursts of speed for 90 secs

My fitness level would be slightly above average. I just want to maximise my threadmill workouts so it will benifit my squash fitness. have you any experience in this field of fitness Rita? I have heard that Azlan Isklander uses a HRM when playing pro tournaments and reduces the pace of the game if his heart rate goes too high, makes sense i suppose. Any help greatly appreciated.

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From rippa rit - 16 Jan 2008 - 21:19 - Updated: 16 Jan 2008 - 21:20

fatness - here is a bit more reading which you might relate to better. Sorry I left the link out of the Squash Library/Squash Fitness post but it is up there now; read these things over and over, keep reading stuff written by various people and suddenly the deeper meaning of what you are doing will make more sense as you apply it. Squash is both aerobic and anaerobic so both of those systems need to be trained as specified.

Maybe buy a HR monitor if you are serious. - another read..

From fatness - 16 Jan 2008 - 20:15

Thanks jimbob, great help there rita. I know that your max heart rate is 220 minus your age but I have been told to add 10 if you are fit, is this true?

From rippa rit - 16 Jan 2008 - 17:31 - Updated: 16 Jan 2008 - 21:11

Thanks Jim, good to see you have been following up the fitness track. The Squash Library/Squash Fitness/How to Train is a good place to start when looking for a few ideas. Click on all the tabs and you will see information which relates to your question.

If you are unclear in your situation let us know.

Enter your results in a Diary daily is a good idea too.

From jimbob1965 - 16 Jan 2008 - 10:58

Hi fatness

I have just started treadmill running as well to improve overall fitness so have also been looking into this. I gather that your max HR should be 220 minus your age and you should aim for around 70-80% of this for a good aerobic workout. For the bursts of speed, I would imagine that your HR could rise above this, but so long as this is not maintained for any length of time, it should be OK.

Of more interest perhaps is your recovery HR and resting HR. As fitness improves, you should notice that the HR drops quicker after finishing the workout and also your resting HR (i.e. when fully at rest, for example just before rising in the morning) will drop as well. I gather that for a healthy person, you should see a drop of at least 20 beats per min during the first minute after the workout ceases. I understand that the average resting HR is around 72 bpm and anything below this shows reasonable fitness. Anything early 60s and below is really good.

Things vary from individual to individual of course, so before undertaking any form of fitness training, it is always advisable to seek medical or professional advice to ensure you are not putting yourself at any undue risk.

Hope that proves useful!

Cheers

Jimbob

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