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Firstly let me say that I believe Squash to be one of the most exciting & demanding sports on the planet, however until it establishes itself as a major media force it will never gain the recognition it so obviously deserves, you're right TV is everything. I think the fundamental problem with showing Squash is that it is just simply too fast and the shots too complex for the 'Joe-Average' viewer to cope with, far easier to just sit down & tune out to those other noteworthy olympic sports 'Beach Volleyball' & 'Sychronised swimming'.

But cynicism aside I have actually sat and watched videos of squash matches with people who are unfamiliar with the sport and you can see how difficult it is for them absorb, the sport simply does not lend itself to 'easy' viewing. In comparison the other 2 main racket sports Tennis & Badminton are much simpler for the viewer both sports are much more 'one-dimensional' ie no angles, rear, & side walls to clutter things up !!, and so much more viewer-friendly with clear & easy scoring, TV replays etc etc

I know a lot of work has gone into the broadcasting of Squash but it still faces the problem of a sports viewing public who can't be bothered to understand a relatively complex game and it's vagaries, try explaining why a stroke or let was given to a non-player and you'll have some idea of what I mean !!!.

I don't see an easy way out of this as any large scale changes to the rules, for TV purposes would alter the game, and probably not for the better. That said until Squash makes itself more open and available, more viewer-friendly it's going to face an uphill struggle to make it as an Olympic Sport !!!!.

It seems to me that one of the main areas for 'growing' the game must be in the USA, if the game takes off there then it will grow world-wide, this in turn could influence the Olympic situation I would be interested in your views on this matter.

thank you for such an in depth email. It is a subject close to my heart, I find that the same stuff surfaces around this issue. Squash is just not 'in favour' as far as being selected by the IOC. I wrote an article, which is on my web site www.chris.walker.net, about it - I think you did read this before emailing me? and I am afraid I still remain cynical.

However, I haven't given up and some of what you say regarding TV is valid, plus lining the right pockets and getting the filming right - it's a real pity that the commercial side of everything has taken over as the driving force now and that Squash didn't do the job and get in before!

So we continue in our efforts and maybe some time soon someone will be in the right place at the right time! The USA - definitely will help the cause.

Hi Chris.

I've been training the Guatemalan squash team, but there's this guy who really needs to get an anaerobic conditions. He's doing a lot of base running (30-40 mins runs 3 times per week) but he really need to improve his the recovery time. What type of anaerobic or circuit do you recommend me. Thanks, and I hope to see you again sometime in England

It sounds like your man needs to do some shorter exercise's and focus on increasing his work rate, with repetitions.

I would tend to direct my efforts in 2 areas.

1. get out on the running track and do some 400m, 200m and 100m reps. Time the reps and record them to set targets to beat the next time. This is the best way to motivate to put that huge effort in EVERY time.

build up in 2's from say 6 x 400m, with 1 1/2 minute rest in between. But remember it is quality.

I would mix in other sessions with say 6 x 200m and 6 x 100m , with 1 minute between each sprint and 5 mins between each change of distance.

2. get him on court and into a circuit like we did at the club there, or simply various ghosting patterns. BUT with these exercises you have to get 100% controlled effort out of him. If he does say 12 sets of 12 corners ghosting, 30 secs on/ 30 secs off, then he has to push hard through every set. (As if his life depended on it). Anything less than that will be detrimental to improving his conditioning.

Frequency of training - well, always do the quicker stuff first. And then every other day to give the body a chance to recover. But get in to a 6-8 week program which gradually increases each week. Rest at the weekend and push through all the way.

Stretch well before and after to prevent injuries - V. important.

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I watched you play an exhibition at the Princeton club against Peter Nicol and saw your web page. I wanted to know if it is true that the top squash players run 20-30 440's to get in shape. That workload is absolutely staggering. How do you build up to that many if it is true? Are 440's the best training for squash?

Geoff Hunt and Jonah Barrington pushed fitness to s different level in the 70's. Off the back of that their pupil (the next generation) built up over a summer training period of 2-3months to do up to 30 440's.

I have done up to 12, 440's although I tend to mix distances more. For example I have done sessions like this: