With a relentless playing style that’s seen him become one of the best in the world, squash pro Joel Makin boasts a level of aerobic fitness most of us can only dream of. MF finds out the secrets to his next-level staying power
Joel Makin is arguably the fittest man in squash. The 29-year-old Commonwealth Games Silver Medallist – who has lifted five PSA titles to date, including the prestigious Manchester Open – is renowned for a style of play based around pushing his opponents to their physical limits. As a result, the Welsh number one has risen into the world’s top ten.
Data analysis of his performance in competition reveals that he spends a remarkable 80% of matches in the ‘red zone’ – with a heart rate of 175bpm or above – burning approximately 1,000 calories during that time. What is it about squash that demands such high levels of fitness? And how has Makin conditioned himself to become one of the fittest players in the world?
Men’s Fitness: What makes squash so physically demanding?
Joel Makin: So many qualities are needed at once. People don’t really understand that squash players are sitting at max heart rate for 45 minutes plus. You don’t see that in many other sports.
MF: To hit that kind of intensity must require some pretty hardcore training. What does a typical session look like for you?
JM: A typical fitness session involves 10 sets of 1km intervals run at 20kph (12.5mph), combined with 4-5 reps of heavy lunges, together with pressure sessions on court.
MF: Have you always been physically fit?
JM: It was just something I ran with when I was younger. I doubled down on it as a way of having something that separated me. You start on the tour at 500 in the world, and everyone’s got different attributes that are good. It’s hard to distinguish yourself from the rest of the group. Getting in great shape as quickly as possible was one area I knew I could control.
MF: Is a lot of your fitness maintained on the court?
JM: Yes, and we probably compete far too much. We have tournaments where we’re expected to play potentially for an hour and a half, four days in a row. The demands in a tournament can be so high that you have to then reset to a degree. If you play four matches like that in a few days, you’re going to need downtime, otherwise you’re going to be chronically injured very quickly.
MF: Talk us through that intense schedule.
JM: We play a lot of league matches. We play French league, German
