Squashercise is a fun, female-friendly activity class for all ages and fitness abilities, which in a nutshell (can you guess?) is fitness that is based on squash and racketball movements. Something a little different! Want to know more? Then read on…
What’s it all about?
After much research by England Squash and Racketball (ESR), the National Governing Body found that a lot of women were getting bored with their standard gym routine, especially when it came to working out individually.
So as part of their Big Hit campaign (a national programme aimed at engaging more people in the UK to get involved with sport) ESR created Squashercise – a group women-only activity that combines fitness, with rackets and balls!
What can you expect from a class?
A typical Squashercise class begins with a gentle warm-up to raise your heart rate and get you prepped for higher intensity.
It then moves on to focus on major muscle groups and introduces exercises aimed to improve your range of squash-specific movements. This is then followed by some unique routines to develop squash and racketball skills such as ‘battleship throwing’, ‘throw and ducks’, and ‘walk the dog’ – having fun, keeping fit and developing your game all in one go! (For more details of the exercises visit the Big Hit website)
And then it’s time to bring your heart rate back down, with a little light warm-down activity as well as some stretching.
What are the benefits?
This work out is ideal for all racketball lovers, especially those that enjoy squash as it helps to improve your skills without actually playing endless games of it. It’s also great for an alternative method to keeping fit – we really believe that variety is so important when it comes to sustaining a healthy lifestyle.
But finally, its brilliant for making new friends too, meeting other women who enjoy squash in a fun and friendly environment – you can’t go wrong with that!
Do you need to be a good squash player?
Absolutely not – the main thing is to have fun and discover a new and hopefully sustainable way to keep fit and active. Yes you can brush up on your old skills, and develop a few new ones along the way, but it also doesn’t matter if you have never even played before. – it’s welcome to ALL abilities.
Where can you do it and how much does it cost?
Classes last on average 40-50 minutes (depending on your club’s court-time hire) and cost between £2-£5.
Sessions can be found on the Big Hit website where you can register your interest and someone from the team will get in touch to let you know of your nearest club.
If you like or are intrigued by Squashercise, you may also like cardio tennis too – click here to check out how Sportsister’s Lizzie got on with this other racket/ball workout class.
More info: www.thebighit.net
Lizzie Flint, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine