Fit: Squash the Competition

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MOTHER NATURE is one heck of an opponent. Last week, under the warming embrace of the sun, you perhaps dusted off your tennis racket in anticipation of hitting the courts. Then Ms. Nature served up chunks of ice from the heavens. And within a month, expect days so sweltering, you'll wilt before you can finish a match.

Climate calamities like these call for a change of game plan — or, at least, game — to squash. "Weather's no excuse, so you can't back out of it," explains Connie Barnes, who runs the squash programs for the Sport & Health chain.

And if it does happen to get gorgeous outside, squash gets your heart rate up faster than tennis, so you can laze longer in the sun. "We're required to spend a lot of time on a tennis court to get a good workout, but in squash, you'll get one in a half hour," says Ghirma Meres, assistant athletic director and squash pro at the University Club of Washington. Rallies tend to stretch out in squash, forcing tons of tiny sprints in the course of a match.

But tennis players are often wary of the enclosed courts and small, squishy ball. "They'll steer clear of it because they think it'll ruin their tennis game," says Brian O Hora, head squash pro at Results the Gym on Capitol Hill, who notes that the exact opposite is true. Because of the limited space and ball speed in a squash match, players hone their reflexes and reaction time — skills that serve folks well in any sport, especially tennis.

Beyond adjusting to the new court size and rules (which take about 15 seconds to learn), the main hurdle for tennis players is figuring out the stroke. Squash relies on movement from the elbow down instead of the entire upper body, explains Hunt Richardson, the pro at the Sports Club/LA.

In theory, that sounds minor, but 22-year-old Catherine Hagbom, who took an introductory lesson with O'Hara a few weeks ago, learned it takes some getting used to. "I've played tennis my whole life. I'd never held a squash racket, though," she says. "It felt awkward. I couldn't even hit it repeatedly."

Another practice or two should leave Hagbom primed to take on other beginners. That's fairly simple at most clubs with squash courts, thanks to weekly round-robins and other events geared toward pairing off equally matched opponents.

If you fear preppies, you may be surprised by the changing demographics of the players, notes O Hora. After-school enrichment programs, including Squash Empower and the D.C. Squash Academy, aim to attract a diverse cross-section of youth to the sport. And teens may be drawn to the fact that a squash background is still rare enough that it may give kids a leg up in college admissions.

Best of all, as we approach summer months? The way your tush will look in a bathing suit. "People commonly get squash butt," says Richardson, referring to the burning sensation in one's backside after a rigorous squash match. "You'll never see a squash player with bad legs."

SQUASH SPOTS
» Results the Gym (315 G St. SE; 202-234-5678)
» Sport & Health (multiple squash locations, 301-807-9905)
» The Sports Club/LA (1170 22nd St. NW, 202-974-6600)
» The University Club (1135 16th St. NW; 202-862-8800)