If you’re a squash player, beginner or not, you might be wondering: how often should I play squash?

There’s never any hard and fast rules about how often to play a game, though some games do need you to play regularly to stay good at it and reap its benefits.

There are no specific guidelines for how often to play squash, but 2-3 times a week is ideal. This allows you to get the benefits from the game, while also providing your mind and body enough rest to be able to play well in the next game.

But the temperament and needs of the player should also be taken into account when deciding how often you should play squash.

We considered the benefits of the game itself as well as taking opinions from experts during our research.

Exercise Requirements

For general health and fitness, an average person should be exercising at least 3-4 times a week. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to hit the gym and try out every machine they have; you can do just as well by playing a game of squash.

After all, the real purpose is to increase your heart rate for an hour or a half, to give your body the much-needed cardio and thus improve your overall body health. But cardio isn’t the only exercise, and if you were at the gym, you’d need to do multiple exercises to address your whole body’s needs.

With squash, you’re getting pretty much everything: a good cardio workout, focus on your major muscle groups, working on your agility and flexibility, and burning calories. If you’re playing a full session of squash 2-4 times a week, you’d be meeting your body’s exercise requirements easily, and addressing all of them in one go.

The Game of Squash

The fact is that you can only really become a good player of any game - from games that involve you physically, to even video games - if you’re a regular player. If you want to improve your squash playing, being a habitual player is the best way to go about it.

As the saying goes: practice makes perfect.

To be good at squash, you’ll have to put in enough time to develop the skills you need to become a good player. However, this also depends on the level you’re at.

When you’re just starting out with playing, you’ll probably be at a level where your physical input is a lot more than your mental input. You’d be scrambling to get to the ball on time, rather than thinking too hard about strategies.

At this level, because the purpose is to develop muscle memory and get your body’s abilities in line with the game’s requirements, you’d have to really stick to the game to become a good player. Slacking off at this stage could cause more problems than at later stages.

But there is another factor to consider: if you’re a beginner, then there’s a high likelihood that playing too much can actually cause you more harm than good. Since most of your input would be physical, you’d be more likely to tire yourself out and possibly even injure yourself if you’re pushing your body to the limits.

You need time to allow your muscles to rest and heal before you use them so vigorously again. That’s why, even though you want to improve muscle memory and understand the game better, playing a full session of squash everyday is not a good idea.

On the other hand, for more experienced players, not being as regular wouldn’t be too much of a detriment physically, but would still need you to warm up quite a bit before you can get back in the zone.

Still, regardless of what level you’re at, if you want to develop your gameplay, you’d have to commit to a few regular sessions per week. Not only will regular play make you more used to the game and the type of movements it involves, it’ll also help you understand how different players work, and how you can strategize against their moves.

By playing squash 3-4 times a week, you can definitely improve your performance on the court without tiring yourself out too much.

Can You Play Too Much Squash?

So, what about overplay? Can you actually play too much squash?

The answer is: yes, you can. As mentioned earlier, if you push your body too much and play squash everyday, the recovery time between games drops, and you can end up doing more harm to yourself than good. It’s definitely not a good idea to be so harsh on your muscles, regardless of what level you’re at.

Sometimes, playing too much squash can also cause other problems, like mental fatigue and boredom. Often, people get really into the zone and play so much of the game that they end up burning themselves out. If you’re doing the same thing every day for a long time, you’re bound to get tired of it.

At some point, you may even find that you’re not getting any enjoyment out of the game itself, and are just pushing yourself to play because you ‘have’ to. It’s okay to take a break if that happens, but it’s even better to pace yourself so you don’t end up burning yourself out.

If you do take a break, make sure to keep up with your exercises, though! If squash was your weekly exercise, you’d need a substitute to fill that gap.

How Much Time Should You Spend On Squash?

The real answer is that it depends on every individual. After all, everyone’s body is different and has different requirements and limits. The average time is three to four times a week, since this works out for most people, but if you think you can play more than that, that’s also fine!

Always make sure to listen to your body, though. If you think you’re pushing your mind and body too much, it’s better to stop and recover before you start again, than to keep pushing and causing bigger problems in the long run.