Conditioning for cricket – the exercises you need to know
Gone are the days when cricketers could get by on skill alone. Nowadays, top-level cricket players are just as much the consummate athlete as those in any other sport. For a sport like cricket, which requires a combination of strength, endurance and explosive power, it can be highly beneficial to do some conditioning and strength training outside of the sport itself. Here are the best exercises you can do to up your game.
- Squat
The squat is one of the best exercises for building a power base. You can squat with your bodyweight, a barbell or dumbbells, making them a versatile and adaptable movement that you can tailor to your environment. Squats build the muscle in your quadriceps, calf’s, gluteus Maximus and even helps strengthen your spine.
Considering they also help release lots of testosterone compared to isolated lifts, increase your jump and running speed and help strengthen your joints against injury, you’d be a fool to skip squats.
- Press ups
Whether you’re doing these weighted or with your bodyweight, press-ups are one of the best conditioning exercises around. Training your shoulders, chest, delts and even your core, the exercise is perfect for cricket players. Unlike bench press, which can place quite a lot of strain on your joints and body, bodyweight press-ups can be done at any time and without virtually any serious impact. Strong shoulders are essential for bowling and batting.
- Deadlifts
You’ll spend lots of time on the cricket field in a bent over position engaging your lats when you’re batting or bowling. Deadlifts build the entirety of your back, strengthen your core and also build your legs. Put simply, they’re the king of compound movements. Leave them out of any routine at your own peril. Specifically for cricket, the Romanian or Stiff Leg deadlift is a good adaption to throw into your program. These focus more on your hamstrings, which will be engaged often when running on the field.
- Pull ups
Like the deadlift, the pull up builds lots of muscles all at once. Engaging your lats, back and chest, a pull up benefits cricketers by building power and injury-prevention. Varying your grip between wide and narrow helps change up the sets, with a narrow grip engaging your forearms more heavily.
- Lunge
Returning to your legs (the base of your power), lunges are a great way to build dynamic strength and also balance. The lunge focuses on your quadriceps but builds stability and isolated strength in the area you need it most.
Build any strength and conditioning routine around the above exercises and you’ll be king of the cricket field in no time. You’ll be less likely to get injured, stronger and faster. Try to avoid isolation, body-builder style lifts as these will build bulk rather than strength. Instead, all of the exercises above should be done with less reps and sets. 3 x 8 is a good number for strength building.
Remember, any strength routine alongside an athletic schedule can be extremely taxing on your body. Keep your diet clean and invest in some sports recovery and maintenance shakes from Maxinutrition to stay on top of your game.