Womens Cricket Australia - Fitness for Cricket

Women's Cricket in Australia - Fitness for Cricket - Part 2

By Sally Bailey (B.App.Sci.P.E.)
Fitness Adviser Women's Cricket in Australia

SHOULD A CRICKET PLAYER GO ABOUT IMPROVING ALL THESE AREAS?

Suggested methods of improving the following areas of conditioning include:

FITNESS COMPONENT	SUGGESTED METHODS	OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Aerobic Endurance	Unit Running Repeated Sprint Drills	Running technique and form Heart rate monitoring Speed Understand injury profile of player
Strength	Body weight exercises Free weights Machine weights	Correct technique Protocols (i.e. choice & order of exercise, sets, repetitions, rest periods, resistance…etc) Training loads (i.e. volume vs intensity, training age…etc) Movement patterns, types & speed of contraction. Understand injury profile of player
Power	Plyometrics Acceleration drills Weight training	See above
Flexibility	Static, dynamic, PNF Yoga Feldenkrais Alexandra Technique	Correct technique Mental concentration & focus Warm-up & warm-downs Understand injury profile of player
Core Stability	Lumbar stabilisation Scapula stabilisation Shoulder stabilisation (rotator cuff)	Correct technique Mental concentration & focus Body, muscular & motor pattern awareness Balance, co-ordination & skill of movement Choice of exercises & progression Understand injury profile of player
Agility	Acceleration and deceleration drills Changing direction drills under various speeds Drills requiring rapid changes of pace, direction and non-linear type movements	Balance, co-ordination & skill of movement Understand injury profile of player

SHOULD A CRICKET PLAYER FOCUS ON FITNESS ?

Like any athlete, cricket players also need to follow a strength and conditioning program that aims towards them peaking at certain stages of the year.

Click here to view an overview of a training year for a typical Australian cricket player.

STABILITY VS STRENGTH TRAINING

Why all the fuss?

A lot has been mentioned of late about this mysterious change in thinking from what we can call traditional strength training to the all new stability type training.

In short, there is absolutely no difference. Stability training should actually be thought of as the foundations behind traditional strength training.

The beauty of sports science and exercise prescription is that we are always learning more about the human body and how it works. The downside to this is that it can be incredibly confusing to the athletes when training methods keep changing. It is important to understand that we do need to keep assessing training and conditioning methods in sport due to the incidence of injuries that still take place.

With regards to strength training, the methods we were using were not working as well as we would have liked. To be more accurate, we were strengthening the wrong muscles incorrectly…if that makes sense.

Let me explain further…

Basically, the human body is lazy. For any given movement, the body has a certain number of muscles available to execute that movement. Because the body looks to conserve energy, it may use only a portion of those muscles. This alone is fine. However, problems arise when the body would prefer to use those same muscles every time a movement in that area is to take place. This means that these muscles will get progressively stronger and the muscles that are not being used will become progressively weaker.

This is known as a motor pattern. The net result of this motor pattern is muscle imbalance. The potential outcome of this is an injury.

Stability training aims to teach the body how to "switch on" the right muscles for any given movement. Stability training requires a lot of concentration, and the end result is that it should form the basis of all your fitness conditioning, skills and movements in sport.

POSITION	GENERAL PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES	GENERAL INDICATORS OF POOR CONDITIONING
FAST BOWLER	The ability to sustain blistering pace for a number of overs. Capable of bowling 10-15 consecutive overs (less for under age players) at 80-90% max speed.	The inability to maintain a fast pace The inability to bowl for long periods The inability to maintain good line & length
SPIN BOWLERS	The ability to consistently spin the ball. Capable of bowling in excess of 20 consecutive tight overs.	The inability to maintain consistent "turn" The inability to bowl for long periods The inability to maintain good line & length
BATSMAN	The ability to occupy the crease continuously for 2 hour periods (longer in one day matches) without fatigue affecting speed in running between the wickets, reaction time, movement speed and scoring opportunities.	Reluctance to run quick singles Poor recovery after running 2+ runs Concentration lapses and poor skill execution throughout a session Inability to score
WICKET KEEPER	The ability to sustain a concentrated effort for 6 hours without fatigue affecting running speed, reaction time and movement time. Capable of explosive bursts at any given time.	Slow to get to the stumps to take returns. Lack of agility. Concentration lapses and poor skill execution throughout a session.
FIELDER	The ability to sustain a concentrated effort for a 6 hour period without fatigue affecting motor co-ordination. Capable of explosive bursts at any given time - whether ground fielding, throwing or catching.	Slow moving towards the ball Slow chasing the ball Lack of agility & flexibility Concentration lapses and poor skill execution throughout a session Inability to maintain explosive actions throughout sessions

EXAMPLE OF A TRAINING YEAR PLAN

May - July	General Preparation	Core Stability Flexibility Endurance Strength & Power Speed	Specific localised stabilisation training Develop body awareness Develop aerobic base General preparation Develop speed components
July - Sept.	Specific Preparation	Core Stability Flexibility Endurance Strength & Power Speed	General trunk stabilisation training Increase range of movement; static stretching Increase stamina and volume of work in duration. Specific development, increase intensity, contraction speed. Specific development, acceleration, agility
Sept. - Oct.	Pre-Competition	Core Stability Flexibility Endurance Strength & Power Speed	Functional stabilisation training PNF stretching and dynamic flexibility Develop anaerobic threshold through repeated high intensity workloads Develop power, plyometrics, speed of contraction Specific drills, acceleration, deceleration, agility, turning speed
Nov - March	Competition	Maintain	Maintain

APPROACHING THE END OF THE SEASON

As we approach the end of the cricket season, it seems that the hardest thing for most players to focus on is maintaining their level of fitness. Considering the fact that we are moving into the finals, it is the time of the year when a player's efforts, skills, physical and mental preparation need to be culminated to bring about peak playing performance. So it really doesn't make a great deal of sense to ignore a player's physical conditioning at such a vital time of the season.

While we have to recognise that cricket training and matches do take precedence over fitness preparation and training at this stage of the year, this doesn’t mean that physical conditioning is dismissed. It is essential that a number of fitness training sessions are scheduled and completed during the week so that players can be sure to maintain certain areas of their physical conditioning.

As a team-member, it should be every player's goal to be in the best physical condition throughout the season so that they are able to play at their best consistently. Players need to be strong, fast, powerful and they need to be able to demonstrate all these characteristics at every match throughout the season and especially into the finals. A player's level of fitness will determine how consistently they perform and how well they recover from match to match.

Some things to consider include:

The focus of the fitness work should be on intensity and quality of training (as opposed to quantity or volume).

Each session shouldn’t take a long time to complete, but it is important that a player trains hard in that time frame.

Accept the fact that there is no perfect way of scheduling your training or fitting it into your week. However, you can do things to help, such as combine some sessions together to save yourself some time. For example you might do some sprint training between wickets or high intensity fielding drills at cricket training.

Be sure to place a high emphasis on stretching. A comprehensive stretching routine needs to be followed every day.

Don’t be afraid to train the day before or the day after a game.

Ensure to include weights (strength training) and continuous running combined with repeated sprint work (aerobic endurance) into your weekly training schedule.

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