Plenty of water and a towel essential

PLAYING 30 MINUTES IN THE MIDDLE OF SUMMER, YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF SLIDING INTO YOUR OPPONENT DUE TO THE PUDDLE OF SWEAT ON THE FLOOR

GOING down to the local squash court for a friendly game sounds like an easy way to get your health and fitness in check.

It’s indoors, you don’t have to run too far to chase the ball and it is quite difficult to lose the ball as well.

All that being said, is it a safe option for the average punter?

The fact it is indoors and out of the sun’s harmful rays sounds great in the tropics.

But do remember this is the tropics, so you will sweat and require hydration.

Playing 30 minutes in the middle of summer, you will find yourself sliding into your opponent due to the puddle of sweat on the floor.

The idea is to have regular breaks and rehydrate and towel down.

For an average player, the ball will be in play for 50-60 per cent of the playing time.

And about 80 per cent of the time the ball is in play for less than 10 seconds.

And with rest periods between points being a similar length of time, the high-intensity nature of the game allows the average player to expend more than 2500 kilojoules in an hour of play.

Of course, for more highly skilled players, the expenditure will be more as they will keep the ball in play longer and play at a higher intensity.

So when looking to play squash, remember to hydrate before, during and after the game. Playing at 9am on Sunday after spending many hours at Gilligan’s on Saturday night would not be ideal.

Taking a towel is also a good, practical idea.

That and beware of your opponent looking for a hug after every point. Yuck!