fast bowling upper body

chris3

New Member
fast bowling upper body

I have been doing a lot of upper body weights training with heavy weights and l have bulked up a lot. This has made me bowl a lot slower and i wanted to know how i can get rid of this upper body bulk so i can bowl fast again
 
Re: fast bowling upper body

Bulk is good if you're a body builder... or a member of a boy band :p... but not good for sport, especially cricket. Bulk will not only reduce pace in bowling but will make you a lot less agile. You will also be more susceptible to injury.

The last thing you want to do is stop training. This would be bad on so many levels. The best thing to do is move from hypertrophy training to endurance. Reduce resistance and increase reps. The bulk will reduce slowly putting less stress on the muscles and joints. It would also be a good idea to increase your cardiovascular work by introducing interval training if you have not already done so.
 
Re: fast bowling upper body

Thanks a lot i will do some long runs and some interval work. With the weight training i am going to use really light weight but how many reps should i do. How long do you think it will take to get rid of this bulk?
 
Re: fast bowling upper body

Long runs are not really functional for cricket but they will not hurt, especially if you include some fartlek training.

As for the resistance questions, it is hard to say without knowing your current programme. For instance, what type of sets are you working on at the moment?

Simple Circuit
Single Set System
Basic Sets System
Delorme-Watkins System
Berger System
Pyramid
Super Sets
Slow Continuous Tension

If you are not sure, just let me know to what RM i.e. 6 or 10 you are working, whether you increase/decrease workload, how many sets and the length of rest.

One thing you must be aware of is ensuring you do not create imbalance; not just agonist and antagonist but also contra- and ipsilateral, which is easy to do if pumping down.
 
Re: fast bowling upper body

I have been mainly doing 3 sets of 6reps with long rests and have been doing them slowly and am thinking of doing 3 sets of 10 reps with really light weight and doing it explosively. Going to stop doing isolation exercises just the main ones like squats deadlifts bench press shoulder press
Yeah longs runs aren't the best for cricket but they will probably get rid of the bulk quicker. What about doing some sprints as well will they help me slim down?
 
Re: fast bowling upper body

I have to agree, isolation exercises, though great for bodybuiders, are not functional for sport but I do like the ones you are going to carry on with.

Circuit Weight Training would be good for you. This method is based around the low resistance and high repetitions method aimed at novices but differs in that it aims to develop muscular endurance and cardiovascular fitness by making the circuit continuous. You need to perform each exercise [your choice :)] for 15 reps or, say, 60s but you eliminate the rest period. Just keep going until you drop!

As for the runs, try the following:

If you wish to do this on a treadmill, start with a warm up [say] 8 mins to slowly increase the intensity.

Once you reach 70-80% MHR, pace steady for 2 mins then increase the intensity to 80-90% MHR for 1 min. Bring the intensity down again to 70-80% MHR for 2 mins.

Repeat until you can increase no more then bring the intensity down slowly for [say] 8 mins.

If you can get out, the following was used by the 1994 England World Cup Cricket Squad:

4 mins jog;
3 mins steady run;
2 mins jog;
3 mins steady (to include 1 x 50m fast burst every 30 secs);
2 mins jog;
3 mins steady ( to include 1 x 20m sprint every 30 secs)'
2 mins jog;
2 mins fast;
4 mins jog.

The bursts of speed match the distance, intensities and duration associated with demands made during a cricket game; bowler run-up, running between wickets etc.
 
Re: fast bowling upper body

Thanks a lot for your help i will start doing circuit weight training with low weight and high reps.
I will give those runs a try i think the 2nd one looks good.
Hopefully i will lose some bulk and be able to bowl fast again. Any idea how long it will take?
 
Re: fast bowling upper body

I am afraid the time depends on so many different factors such as age and body type etc. However, attrophy occurs pretty quickly, weeks rather than months but you really do not want to rush it. You may not notice the difference for some weeks but that does not mean there is no change occurring.

If you get a chance, please keep us updated.
 
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