Strength and Conditioning Considerations for Racquetball Athletes

Abstract

RACQUETBALL IS A COMPLEX SPORT THAT INVOLVES MULTIFACETED MOVEMENT PATTERNS AND MUSCULAR INVOLVEMENT. ANALYZING THE UNIQUE DEMANDS OF THE SPORT AND THE NEEDS OF THE ATHLETE PROVIDES STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING SPECIALISTS WITH THE REQUIREMENTS NEEDED TO OPTIMIZE PERFORMANCE AND PREVENT INJURY. TO DATE, THERE IS NO MODEL THAT IDENTIFIES NOR PROVIDES SPORT-SPECIFIC PROGRAMMING FOR RACQUETBALL. THEREFORE, THE AIMS OF THE ARTICLE ARE TO EVALUATE THE PHYSIOLOGICAL DEMANDS OF RACQUETBALL, IDENTIFY THE UNIQUE NEEDS OF RACQUETBALL ATHLETES, AND DEVELOP SPORT-SPECIFIC TRAINING METHODS THAT WILL MAXIMIZE PERFORMANCE AND REDUCE RISK OF INJURY.

Plyometric Training Practices of Brazilian Olympic Sprint and Jump Coaches: Toward a Deeper Understanding of Their Choices and Insights

“…For Barnes (2003), a soft and safe landing can be achieved when the box height allows athletes to land "with their knees bent to approximately 120 degrees". Due to their low-to-moderate intensity nature, box jumps are usually prescribed during preparatory or transitional training periods in order to develop and improve basic jumping abilities (Mothersole, 2013;Turner and Jeffreys, 2010;Waller et al, 2014Waller et al, , 2019 or in conjunction with more intense exercises (e.g., heavy squats, loaded squat jumps, and drop jumps) to increase a variety of neuromuscular qualities (e.g., the rate of force development, concentric force production, and power) across different phases of the season (as illustrated in Tables 1, 2, and 3) (Anthony and Baghurst, 2019;Dann and Kelly, 2021;Janz and Malone, 2008;Lockie et al, 2012;Marcello et al, 2017;Wing, 2018). Such a wide variety of applications combined with an inherent practicality and efficiency contribute to making the box jump one of the most prevalent jump drills not only within the sprint coaching community (Bolger et al, 2016;Healy et al, 2021) different sports and of diverse performance levels, either to enhance the landing technique (and reduce landing forces) or improve athletic performance (Loturco et al, 2022(Loturco et al, , 2023bMcNeely, 2005;Mothersole, 2013;Weldon et al, 2022b).…”

Technique of the Unilateral Dumbbell Wide Row

“…The rear deltoid aids the rhomboid and trapezius to retract the shoulder (5). Given the wide dumbbell row is performed unilaterally, the exercise can be used to reduce the potential effect of asymmetries in muscular development in sports that are one-arm dominant, such as tennis and racquetball (1). Common exercises used to strengthen the upper back include pullups, pulldowns, seated rows, bent rows, and dumbbell rows.…”