My Pre-Match Routine for the National Champs Final

In my last post I shared my usual tournament recap for Nationals.

However, given the number of questions I receive on Instagram regarding pre-match prep and mindset, I thought it might be helpful to share everything I did leading up to the final.

Absorb what is useful to you, discard what is not! Remember that you will only figure out what works for you after trying it for yourself, so use your practice matches to put some of these changes into place so tournament day isn't a new and unexpected experience.

I made some adjustments to my routine to try to feel as prepared, relaxed, and positive as possible for my match, and I was very pleased with how they helped me perform optimally.

Pre-Match Prep (With Exact Timings

6:30 am: Wake up. My alarm was scheduled for 7 am but I woke up early. I was a bit tired still, but there was no point just laying in bed and then being rushed for my practice. Might as well get up and get moving. Start the day on a positive and highly motivated note.

6:45 am: Drank AG1 and Ultima Electrolytes. Also had a few bites of Greek yogurt overnight oats I made the night before. The AG1 is new for me, and although it took me a few days to adjust to it (I was getting mild skin rashes shortly after consuming it, but they would disappear within an hour), I felt like it was really helping my digestion. Also, I like starting off my morning routine with something non-caffeinated.

7:45 am: leave for club. Sipped on a caffeine-free tea (Cinnamon Rooiboos Chai by David's Tea. I'm OBSESSED with David's Tea!!!!! It is sooooo worth the hype and price tag).

8 am: practice on glass court. My was scheduled on the glass for 8:30-8:45 am (yes, just 15 minutes!), but I got there at 8 am in hopes that people wouldn’t show up for their morning practices. I was correct, and I got 30 mins of solo in, then 15 minutes of light drills with Salah. 45 minutes total- woo!

9:30 am: Made my way back to hotel (15 min drive)

10:00 am: Ate breakfast/pre-match meal of Overnight oats (Greek yogurt, oats, blueberries & figs, peanut butter). Still no coffee, because I wanted to have a little nap, and also save the caffeine surge for closer to my match.

10:30 am: Spoke with Graeme on the phone for pre-match coaching chat. I am always proactive now about scheduling a quick 15 min call with Graeme before my match.

11-11:30 am: little 20-30 min nap. This is a relatively new staple to my routine. I never used to be good at napping, but through practice I have improved. Also, I've taken the pressure off of actually "sleeping". Just switching off my brain and closing my eyes is a helpful reset.

11:30-12:15 pm: Packed, dressed, checked out of hotel.

12:45 pm: Left for club.

1-2 pm: Got a coffee, met Tim for physio & taping. I made sure to stay away from the glass to chill out and away from squash people. I was feeling relaxed- probably because I was more concerned about my performance than the result (which I have been overly concerned about in in the past). 

2 pm: Originally scheduled match time. However, matches were running behind, so I delayed my prep.

2 pm: Got changed, slowly began my warmup away from the glass at the doubles court. The day before I warmed up in the glass court arena in the designated warmup arena, but I felt like I wasn’t seeing the ball well when I did step on court. Plus, the match before me had a lot of drama, which I kind of got sucked into (there was a 45 minute injury break which I had to adjust my warmup around). So I decided to change it up and go warm up away from the glass courts. 

Warm Up Routine:

Foam Roll 5-10 mins

Mobility: 5 mins

I started with a bit of gentle mobility, but didn’t go through an extensive amount because my joints and muscles were already feeling decent. I only did a handful of exercises- mainly for my hips and ankles.

If I had been feeling "creakier", I would have done more mobility work. Also, I'd just seen Tim for physio, and he helped with this a bit! I can't stress enough how much consistent physio (even just 20 min sessions) enhances your regular mobility/rehab/prehab. Some things you can and should do on your own, but for other things it's super helpful to have a professional go to work and make their own little assessments and judgments. Seeing Tim throughout the week absolutely helped me feel better as the week went on!

Sometimes I jump on the bike to get my heart rate up (especially if I'm feeling a little tired and stiff), but I didn't need it today. Also, getting my heart rate up too soon can leave me feeling flat. And with the unpredictable nature of the match before me (there was another injury break...), I wanted to conserve this mental energy.

Line Drill Sequence: 5 mins

knee grabs, ankle cradles, quad stretches, quick skips, power skips, lateral shuffles, high knees, pogos, single leg hops.

These are all general movement drills to get things moving, improve coordination and circulation, and prepare you for more sport specific exercises.

Lunge Matrix: 5 mins

This lunging sequence is a warmup that I adapted from the French "carree magique" in order to re-train lunging at range after an injury. I started doing this a few months ago, it has been really useful for both my own prep and for my clients!

Basically, it's a series of one step lunges (with racquet) both open and closed stance, to front right, front left, side right, side left, then back right, and back left. It gently eases your joints and muscles into squash specific movements.

Ghosting: 5-10 mins

5-10 ghosts at a time. Started with moderate speed, not sinking too deep into lunges. Gradually progressed to quicker & deeper range movements.

Similar to the day before, there was also an injury break in the match before mine, so I had to adjust my warm up and not do too much early on. I did some hard quick ghosting as I mentioned above, but didn’t try to “stay” warm and explosive this entire time. My body felt good and I didn’t want to feel flat when getting on court. I did do some explosive stuff about 2-3 mins before going on court.

Overall, I felt like this prep got both my body and mind into an optimal state of being relaxed but ready to fire quickly.

My Match:

You can find the match recap in my previous post, but I think the entire match duration was about 57 minutes long. My warmup was about 30-40 minutes of activity, then I'd estimate I had to wait for about 20 minutes for the match before me to finish. And of course, it took me a little for my heart rate to calm down! That's why the duration in my Whoop stats below is nearly 2.5 hours!

Whoop Stats:

If you're a Whoop user, you'll probably find these stats below interesting. The stats are hugely individual, and for me, this is high strain relative to how strenuous it felt. Both sessions didn't feel too tough cardiovascularly. You will see that reflected in the lack of Zone 5. I'd say that the duration of overall activity and consistently elevated heart rate is responsible for the high strains. I also think this just shows how much strain can vary day-by-day (I'm not completely sold on the Strain calculation/algorithm, but that's a point for another post), but also how much extra work goes into tournament matches with the longer warmups and cool downs.

BIG TAKEAWAYS & TIPS:

• Overall, I was really pleased with the way I handled the stress and importance of the overall event, and how I was both professional yet relaxed in my approach.

• I'm really glad I made the effort to get to practice early every day. I think I practiced at 8 am every single morning (even when I couldn't get on the glass, because courts were taken for Jrs the remainder of the day), and this really helped me get my body going and refine my ball control.

• Physio and rehab maintenance is crucial during a tournament. Stay on top of it.

• Make sure you prioritize sleep before/early on in the event, because you are probably going to get less of it as the event goes on- especially if you have late matches. Capitalize on rest early on in the event so your battery doesn't drain so quickly.

• Protect your social battery. Spend a bit of time with people who fill your cup with good energy, avoid those who don't, and take as much time as you need to rest on your own completely away from people.

• Get to the grocery store ASAP and stock up on items you can keep in hotel fridge for breakfast or easy snacking. For me, the staples are: greek yogurt, berries, oats, peanut butter/almond butter, oat milk, and tea/coffee.

I hope this post was interesting and useful for you! Please comment with any questions, or email me at nicole@squashletic.com, or DM me on Instagram @squashletic.