Windsor Squash & Fitness Club

Another successful tournament wrapped up around 4pm on Sunday.  I have received numerous emails from out of town players who were so complimentary about our club, members and staff.  

I want to pay special homage to our sponsors.  We managed to get 4 cash sponsors this time around and a a result the beer lasted until 3.30pm on Sunday!  The cash sponsors were Peter Wares, Wayne Carroll and a further 2 members who wish to remain anonymous.  On behalf of everyone I would like to thank them for their generosity and helping make all competitors have such an amazing time.

Special thanks to Anis Khan who paid for the pizza on Friday evening and also bought the junior prizes as well as a $20 gift certificate for all junior entrants.  Anis is a great supporter of our tournaments and juniors.

Mark Dalla Valle donated the breakfast items once again and I know how much the players appreciate the fantastic spread we put on every morning, especially the hung over ones!

Dave Porter and Pernod Ricard supported by donating a number of great prizes for the winners prize table.

Finally Steve Demarco who was once again responsible for the souvenir warm up top.  The feedback on these was great!  

We always rely on members support for these events and this time around people really stepped up to help.  

On court the entertainment and quality of squash was fantastic in all divisions.  The woman’s draw was especially competitive.  I will be posting a list of winners on the blog this week.

Graeme Williams – Tournament Chair

October’s here! Time to get ready for summer!

Yes you read that right. And no it’s not a typo.

Tell me if this sounds familiar. The cold seasons arrive, the bathing suits go away, and you do your best impression of a bear preparing for hibernation and you just “let yourself go” for the winter. The plan is to not stress the extra pounds that comes with less activity and giant holiday meals in the winter, and then, do what you have to in the spring in order to have the body you want for summer.

How’d that work out for you last year?

As a personal trainer my busiest time of the year is consistently the spring. People binge eat during cold winter nights, over indulge during holidays, and are reluctant to battle the snow to get to the gym. Thusly, they are typically in worst shape than they planned on exiting the winter and now have to work extremely hard in order to be ready for the pool season.

If you want to finally have the summer body you’ve always wanted your best strategy would be to start now. It is far easier to maintain good-to-great fitness than it is to achieve it in the first place.

What to do? Don’t let winter slow you down. One easy but significant step would be to start working on a fitness program that works for you now. There is often experimentation and some trial and error involved in building a proper fitness program that you will actually use and enjoy. Use the dreary winter months to figure out what works for you. Imagine, instead of stressing out and rushing to catch up in the spring, you could be refining and perfecting what you did in the winter.

This post was brought to you by Colby Martin.  Colby is an IFA certified personal trainer who has, for the past 10 years, been helping a wide variety of clients achieve their personal fitness goals.   Colby continues to enjoy training a wide range of clients, including high level athletes looking to maximize their potential output to individuals working to regain a fit and healthy lifestyle.  To contact Colby, please call Windsor Squash & Fitness Club or colby@windsorsquash.ca

Tip of the week is back and I am hoping to get some videos recorded this week to post as part of this.  

This week however I wanted to discuss something that I noticed in Mexico with the National Team.  Someone there asked me what the difference was between the top 20 players and the top 50.  This was an interesting question and made me analyze what was going on when they met. 

In the warm up it was not always obvious who was the better player, however when the match started the difference was clearer.  The better players were much more pro active in the rallies.  As soon as their opponent missed a target by even a small amount the higher ranked players punished them.  Not with out right winners but by initiating attacks and putting work into their opponents legs.  This meant the lower ranked players were never able to get into a rhythm and play their natural games.  Obviously their technical strength means they are able to execute their attacking shots consistently and better/more explosive movement gets them into position earlier to create openings but the big difference appeared to be a mind set and confidence in attacking especially from lose balls in the back.  Rather than just hit the ball back they were able to attack all four corners with a range of shots/paces and weights.

Next time you are on court try and recognize a bad length and look to do something aggressive with it.  By doing this not only do you make your opponent work harder but you also put pressure on their length game as they know any loose shots will result in some hard movements!!

To read more tips from Graeme, be sure to check out the Squash Blog.  He can also be reached at squash@windsorsquash.ca if you have any questions about Squash programming at the Club.

FOR THOSE 55+

Our very own Teresa Ashworth has put together 4 great programs for those 55+.

Shred & Tread which is great for those who have never been on the treadmill to those who are looking to have more variety in their treadmill workout.

Stand Strong is a program focused on improving your health and wellbeing.

Group Cycling & Strength Training is a low-impact cycling class.

Strength Training will improve your posture, balance and the ability to carry out your daily activities.

If you are interested in learning more about these great programs, please stop by the front desk for an information package.

Labour Day Weekend Hours

Friday – 5:30 AM to 11:00 PM Classes are as scheduled.

Saturday & Sunday - 7:30AM to 7:30 PM Classes are as scheduled.

Monday – 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM Bootcamp rated PG will run at 8am. All other classes are cancelled!

Enjoy the long weekend!

Easter Weekend Hours

Good Friday, April 18th-7:30am to 4:00pm

Saturday, April 19th-Regular weekend hours 7:30am to 7:00pm

Easter Sunday, April 20th-7:30am to 4:00pm

Easter Monday, April 21st-Regular Club hours 5:30am to 11:00pm

Enjoy your Easter Weekend!!!!

Family Day  is Monday, February 17th, 2014! Our Club hours will be 5:30am to 4:00pm and there will be NO CHILDCARE! We wish you and your family a happy and fun filled Family Day!! ~Staff of WSF

Due to an illness we’ve cancelled our Pilates class for the evening of December 30th.  Because of the holidays, we were unable to find a replacement on short notice.  We are very sorry for any inconvenience that this may cause.  All other classes will be running as scheduled.

We wish everyone a great Labour Day Weekend!!  The Club will be observing the following holiday hours:

Friday – Regular Hours

Saturday – Regular Hours

Sunday – 7:30AM to 4:00 PM, No Childcare

Monday – 7:30AM to 4:00PM, No Childcare

There are also some changes to our Group Fitness schedule on the weekend.  Please click here to see the updated schedule.

The 2013 Tony Tomicic Challenge is fast approaching. This is our biggest Squash event of the year and it is not to be missed!  Join over 100 players from across Ontario, Michigan and Ohio for one of the premier events of the season.  Please click on the picture for a full size version of the tournament poster.