ABSTRACT
In squash, each player tries to force his/her opponent to move all over the playing area during the game, which results in them covering a longer distance and being subjected to a higher loading. Player’s loading during a match is his/her activity on the court which is expressed in physical units and has two components: quantity and intensity of movements. The quantity of cyclic movements is measured in terms of distance covered by the player (m), while that of acyclic movements is measured in terms of number (frequency) of executions of certain movements (turn, jump, lunge, side-step) and others activities (particularly strokes). Intensity of cyclic movements is measured in terms of velocity of movement (m.s−1), while that of acyclic movements in terms of number of repeated movements in a time unit (s−1). Players’ loading during a match or training encompasses all cyclic and acyclic movements executed by the player. Cyclic movements combine the same elements, repeating over a certain period of time, including walking and various ways of running (forwards, sideways, backwards). In squash, a movement in one direction is very short, thus cyclic movements mostly occur before and after acyclic movements and activities. As the playing area is small, acyclic movements are very frequent, characteristically brisk, and unique and their structure varies. Among them are different ways of stopping and positioning, changing direction, turning, jumping, lunging, side-stepping and various strokes.
