Adding racquet sports to templates

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

I’ve been running BB1 for the past year. From August 1, I’ll be switching to the 3-day version of BB1 2nd Gen (took advantage of the 50% discount :blush:) and committing to hitting at least the minimum required cardio. I’m 44 (45 next month) and heart health is now a top priority.

I’m also thinking of getting back into racquet sports, mainly squash and tennis. I haven’t played regularly since I was a teenager, but I had an indoor tennis session yesterday and absolutely loved it. I was especially impressed how strong I felt and I have no aches or pains today. I sweated profusely for an hour and it felt like a cardio session – but fun! I move to a condo next week and they have a squash court for residents. I definitely want to give it a try too.

I am conscious to not overdo it, but if I were to play squash or tennis two or three times a week, I would also struggle to complete the template as written – time is limited with work and family etc. Would replacing some of the LISS sessions with tennis or squash be advisable? Is an hour of tennis or squash comparable to one hour of LISS? I did track my heart rate during the tennis session on my Apple Watch – it ranged from 120 to 155 bpm.

I also noticed during the tennis session that my left bicep was still a bit sore from the previous day’s GPP – nine sets of arm work. I did feel a little stretch in a few shots. I’m wondering whether it would be advisable to reduce arm volume or lower the RPE targets for bicep work. Do you agree?

Any other other suggestions that I ought to be aware of?
Many thanks for time and continued guidance.

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I don’t think your training needs to be modified so incorporate squash. I’d just start with 1-2x/wk, <60 min, and likely control intensity (vs all out competitive matches) for a bit before adding more exposure. Similarly, I wouldn’t replace LISS with squash, if possible. Instead, I’d just add the squash to the training.

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