Cricket and fitness are two words which don't always seem to be obviously related! The traditional image of cricket being played by gentlemen on the village green is changing and, with this, so are the physical demands of the game.

Cricket is not only physically demanding but it also places great stress on mental capacity. Players will spend between one and five days on their feet, some have to bowl, bat and chase the ball too. The fitter player will be able to concentrate for longer, make quicker decisions, move more quickly and execute actions more forcefully and accurately.

Fitness in cricket is also about preventing injuries. Not only will the fitter player experience less fatigue which is one of the pre-disposing factors for injury but a cricket specific conditioning programme will also help to prevent certain injuries to which cricketers are particularly susceptible both chronic/overuse and acute.

But how do you train for such a multidimensional sport? Good cricketers need to display a full range of fitness attributes including

• cardiovascular fitness
• acceleration
• speed
• balanced muscular strength
• muscular power
• co-ordination
• agility and flexibility.

The pre-season period is essential for building a base level of fitness which will then be developed into sport specific fitness throughout the first few months of the season during club based sessions.

Download 8 week fitness programme
Download an 8 week fitness programme specifically for Cricket here.

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