Dramatic Improvements!!

In the last couple of weeks, my game has seen dramatic improvement that has left the opponents complimenting me and my feeling more and more confident about stronger players and performing better against them!!

After months of scouring the web for ways to improve my footwork and court coverage and reading a lot on the same - I decided to get the basics right first!! I realized that my legs were not strong enough and I was not really keen on going to work with the weights etc. as I find it really boring and it is difficult for me to drag myself to the gym for workouts.

I have started jogging for about half-an-hour at moderate speeds before I go to the court. So my training routine now looks like this:
1. 20 rounds of a circular track about 150 meters in length - takes me about 25-min to 30 min to do this. The first five rounds are done at a slow pace - primarily to warm up the body and the legs. I then increase the speed slowly and jog at a speed that i can maintain for about 15-20 min. The last couple of rounds include short sprints of about 30-35 meters.
2. Stretching the legs (hamstring stretch, thighs stretch, figure of 8's with the feet), shoulders, waist (side bends, forward bends, waist rotations) - This entire set of activities takes about 10-15 minutes please gives me a good opportunity to cool down and recover my breath.
3. Squash training on court with the coach - primarily around the squash drills and strokes.

I have started jogging only for 1 week (- 6 days to be precise!!) and my game has seen an improvement of 400% at least!! And this is not an empty claim - all the people I play matches with, will attest to that!! My court coverage and stamina has increased phenomenally!! It gives me so much confidence now to know that the drops and rails in the back corner that I could not reach earlier are so easy to reach!! Not only do I reach those rails in time, I am able to stretch and bend enough to have 1-2 shot options for most of the cases!! I could go on listing the benefits forever but the top 2-3 benefits definitely are:
1. Spending more time looking at the ball - now that I am not as worried about my ability to reach the ball, I watch the ball more closely. This allows me to anticipate opponent's stroke better and hence move even better!!
2. Working on recovery - my recovery after making the strokes in improving every passing day. So, from the backhand corner, if I play a rail and the opponent volleys it to forehand front corner - I do not have any problems making it front corner in time. I even have time to decide whether I want to lob the ball or play a cross-court drive!! This is resulting in further improvement in the overall movement around the court!!
3. Digging out balls from corners - I must admit that I was a lazy player earlier!! By second or third game, I would be too tired to dig out the balls from the corners!! So to avoid the corners, I would try and volley without getting into proper position for volleying and make unforced errors. This used to give my opponents lots of points. But in the past week, I have been patient,have allowed the balls directed at the body to pass and then take them off the back wall, play better rails and rallies and in general surprise my opponents!!

So here you go - if you are a Level 4.5-5 player, looking to improve your game, start with jogging!! Doesn't sound like a profound magic mantra - but believe me, it has worked wonders for me and it should work wonders for you too!!