Can you use your body to boost your power?
For many years, fitness coaches have waved the flag of plyometrics as the perfect cricket specific speed, strength and power tool.
It's true that no training method alone can meet the varied needs of cricketers. However the use of body weight, medicine ball and box to improve your running, jumping and throwing is very attractive.
Weekly Links 29th October 2006
- After my post on running, here are some tips on improving your technique at the BBC Sport Academy and Peak Performance.
- For the wicketkeepers, I finally found a glove refacing service after lots of searching, plus have you considered a custom made glove? I'm not sure I understand the advantage of paying so much extra.
Is your running slowing you down?
Think back to your coaching sessions when you were younger. No doubt you were painstakingly taught the correct bowling action, the forward defensive and many other complicated techniques.
What about being taught how to run?
What club players can learn from England Women
I was recently lucky enough to speak to Neil Rider, manager of the Ashes holding England Women. He's an expert coach with plenty to say on cricket coaching, fitness and psychology: Much of which club cricketers can take into their games.
An Interview With Neil Rider
Can you run us through a typical training session with England?
Practice under pressure for amazing results
Have you ever had trouble moving the confidence and technique of your net practice to the middle?
It's a seemingly unsolvable problem but the difference can be put down to one word: Pressure
In the net you can't get out. You can groove your technique as long as you like under no danger and no need to worry about score or what's happening at the other end. Traditional net practice is not specific enough. And we all know how important specificity is.
7 Tips on being a good fielder
Club cricket fielding can often be poor. But on many occasions this is less to do with skill and technique and more to do with concentration and awareness. Two factors that any fielder can improve. Here is how to do it.
Weekly Links 22nd October 2006
- Muscles soreness is one of the worst things about regular training. You know it's natural and needed but it doesn't stop it hurting. As a way to ease the pain, Sport Fitness Advisor has this great guide to the theory behind DOMS.
- Matt at SixandOut has started explaining some of the more unusual cricket terms in his Sticky Wicket feature. Great idea.
Practice like a physical genius
Do you have a talent for cricket?
There is a growing theory that natural ability may not be as important as you think.
Talent, they say, is merely your desire to pursue your goals with single minded dedication.
Creatine for cricket
But creatine is certainly not a magic bullet. Before you start any supplementation plan you need to be aware of the facts, the benefits and the risks.
What the heck is creatine anyway?
A supplement Shoaib and Asif could have used
What with all the words written about the Pakistan doping controversy, I thought it would be interesting to get a club cricket angle on it all.
After all, if you can find legal ways to supplement for Shoaib then perhaps you can use them yourself as a club player?
One thing you need to keep in mind is that most club players don't need any supplements - legal or not. A combination of a good diet, focussed training and a well-planned fitness routine is more than enough to skyrocket your performance.