Squash/other racket sports

Telecaster · 5 Jan 2019 at 13:56

I've been meaning to look into some sort of exercise for a while and now seems as good a time as any. I have an active manual job so I'm not sedentary, but I'm also far from fit. I'll be 40 this year, low ish blood pressure and quite a low resting heart rate, I'm happy enough in my cooking and nutrition ability to sort that side as I've always been self sufficient on that front it's just the exercise I need to sort out.

I'm about 5 foot 10/11 and 15 stone so bang on 30 BMI which makes me obese, and whilst it doesn't effect my life I'd like to knock it down a bit. I used to be a keen cyclist and went from zero to regular 200km rides but I never lost any weight from it plus I just find stuff like that tedious and boring eventually and give up- same goes for all that sort of stuff so running, cycling, swimming, gym workouts are completely out of the question as I just won't keep it up through boredom.

I think the best way for me to be active is to have some sort of mild competition through playing a sport where the goal isn't fitness and just comes as a byproduct hence me looking at something like squash/racquetball/badminton etc. So any tips how to get into this on my own, do all local leisure centres just run clubs/groups for this stuff where you can just turn up and join in or how does it work?

Kreeeee · 5 Jan 2019 at 13:57

If you want to lower your weight through fat loss then the only way is through what you eat.

Telecaster · 5 Jan 2019 at 15:57

That's not my goal, it would just be a side effect of playing sport and becoming fitter, but thanks anyway.

Ripper · 5 Jan 2019 at 16:53

Check out your local leisure centre, a lot will run internal squash leagues/competitions that cater for lots of abilities.

Best thing to do is put yourself out there, get involved and you’ll gradually build up a network of people who you can organise games with.

Telecaster · 5 Jan 2019 at 19:59

Thanks, do you need your own equipment or can you usually borrow it?

oneilldo · 6 Jan 2019 at 00:46

You might be able to hire it but you could pickup a good enough squash racket for £20 or less at sports direct or similar. You will also need non marking shoes. Best bet if your interested is contacting a local Squash club as a lot will just let you come down for a try on club night which would consist of players of all standards. As mentioned leisure centres may have internal leagues as well which you could sign up for.

Have you played any racket sports before? Fitness wise you could start with racketball and then move to squash

semi-pro waster · 6 Jan 2019 at 08:51

Depending on where you are there are often No Strings Badminton clubs which are usually cheap to attend, the standard is variable but it's intended to be for anyone to join whether they've got experience or not. I have just tried to look up the website though with no success so I don't know if it's still going, worth a bit more investigation if you're interested perhaps?

Telecaster · 6 Jan 2019 at 10:00

oneilldo said:
You might be able to hire it but you could pickup a good enough squash racket for £20 or less at sports direct or similar. You will also need non marking shoes. Best bet if your interested is contacting a local Squash club as a lot will just let you come down for a try on club night which would consist of players of all standards. As mentioned leisure centres may have internal leagues as well which you could sign up for.

Have you played any racket sports before? Fitness wise you could start with racketball and then move to squash

Thanks, I didn't want to buy all the gear before getting into one of them in case it wasn't for me, but £20s not too bad. I played quite a bit of badminton when I was younger and a little bit of tennis, squash/racketball just seemed like more running about is all I was thinking.

semi-pro waster said:
Depending on where you are there are often No Strings Badminton clubs which are usually cheap to attend, the standard is variable but it's intended to be for anyone to join whether they've got experience or not. I have just tried to look up the website though with no success so I don't know if it's still going, worth a bit more investigation if you're interested perhaps?

Cheers, will look into that. I've found my local leisure centre so I'm going to give them a ring and see what they have to offer.

Razor-BladE · 6 Jan 2019 at 10:16

The problem with the No Strings sessions if that they don't coach. If you're looking to start something and keep with it for a decent amount of time, I'd look to see if there's any group coaching sessions around, before you pick up bad technique as it'll limit you in future, and you can injure yourself a lot more easily. Usually they're between £4-7 so very reasonable.

oneilldo · 6 Jan 2019 at 10:19

Squash is certainly running about especially if you play against similar standard. If you go to a leisure centre then might be able to give both a go. I’m sure if it’s a club night or similar someone playing or the club will lend you a racket to give it a go as a fair few players will likely have spares with them. If you’ve played a few racket sports before you will pick it up no problem but make sure to start with a suitable ball for squash that’s bouncier and/or racketball.

Telecaster · 6 Jan 2019 at 10:27

What's the major difference between squash and racketball then and is one better suited to what I have in mind? I don't want to get all serious, the same way that a bit of 5 a side isn't the premier league.

Just a nice comfortable level of regular exercise playing against similar minded folk would be great, if I did really enjoy it and want to take it on that's for another day, at the minute I just want to get into something fun I can keep up without feeling like it's a massive chore or ball ache.

oneilldo · 6 Jan 2019 at 11:36

Racketball the rackets are shorter and ball bigger and bouncier so rallies last longer. large overlap between the two and some Squash players might play racketball during the summer etc for fitness. Squash is more explosive and faster as well as likely larger lunges etc. Squash tends to be more popular here but you may find they play both. I think you are better off having a try of both if possible

Telecaster · 6 Jan 2019 at 11:38

Cool , cheers.

oneilldo · 6 Jan 2019 at 11:42

No problems, As an example I much prefer squash but have been playing years. I play racketball with my 7 year old kid though as it’s easier to keep rallies going. Injury wise probably less likely with racketball but if you stretch and take it steady initially you should be fine with both. Squash is a great sport to play as you get older as well. I played a fit as a fiddle 65 year old who played 3 times a week and did no other sport as well as one of the coachs at our club has just turned 70 and still plays at a relatively good level

Telecaster · 9 Jan 2019 at 21:47

So my leisure centre has a few squash courts but they don't organise anything there, just for hire. There is a squash club as part of the local (ish) but quite upmarket tennis club in a posh part of town that has a membership fee a bit more than I'd like for a bit of casual squash.

Tempted to just go to the leisure centre, hire a court and smack the ball about for an hour or so.

oneilldo · 10 Jan 2019 at 22:25

Yeah you can play on your own but it’s not the same. Any other squash clubs near you? You could see if the upmarket one does a trial or equivalent or a swish social night you could attend (for free ideally) to see if you like it. Seems weird the leisure centre doesn’t have mini leagues or similar. Any local Facebook community groups where you live - could see if anyone fancies a game there

Telecaster · 11 Jan 2019 at 16:53

I'm not on Facebook. I'll give the leisure centre another ring and see if I can speak to someone else, she didn't sound the most clued up of people so she may have got it wrong.