Gym For Cricket

ginger_ninja

Active Member
Hey everyone,

I just want to know what are ppl's views on importance of gym for cricket. Is it very important or not important? Like if i dont go to the gym will i be at a disadvantage? Personally i feel gym is not that important as cricket is mainly a technical sport, as long as you have basic strength and stamina you should be fine.

Would like to hear other ppl's views on this. Also i am mainly a batsman.
 
The gym is vital for cricket. That's not an opinion, that' a solid gold fact.

Or I should say that FITNESS is vital. The right kind of fitness will prevent injury, improve concentration levels, give you better body awareness and mobility for skill development, and make you hit harder and bowl faster for longer. These are hard proven facts. There is no debate. How many professional cricketers don't go to the gym?

Where we can debate is if the gym is right for everyone. I would strongly argue that the right gym will be effective for every cricketer. If you want to be fit for cricket, the gym is by far the best option. by far. Steffan Jones estimates that you can add 20% to your game through gym work alone.

Some might say that they don't enjoy the gym, or the local one is focused on weight loss and bodybuilding rather than sport performance. That's fine. There are factors like cost, distance, skill of trainer, training experience of player and what kind of equipment a gym has. All these can be deal breakers for individuals. If so, other methods can be effective too. None of this takes away that the gym is the best place (outside the nets) for training.

My opinion is this: If you are serious about better cricket then you better have a damn good reason not to go to the gym.
 
The gym is vital for cricket. That's not an opinion, that' a solid gold fact.

Or I should say that FITNESS is vital. The right kind of fitness will prevent injury, improve concentration levels, give you better body awareness and mobility for skill development, and make you hit harder and bowl faster for longer. These are hard proven facts. There is no debate. How many professional cricketers don't go to the gym?

Where we can debate is if the gym is right for everyone. I would strongly argue that the right gym will be effective for every cricketer. If you want to be fit for cricket, the gym is by far the best option. by far. Steffan Jones estimates that you can add 20% to your game through gym work alone.

Some might say that they don't enjoy the gym, or the local one is focused on weight loss and bodybuilding rather than sport performance. That's fine. There are factors like cost, distance, skill of trainer, training experience of player and what kind of equipment a gym has. All these can be deal breakers for individuals. If so, other methods can be effective too. None of this takes away that the gym is the best place (outside the nets) for training.

My opinion is this: If you are serious about better cricket then you better have a damn good reason not to go to the gym.


Thanks for the answer mate. I do mainly strength training with a upper/lower body split twice a week with your usual bench press, chin ups, squats, deadlifts etc.

Problem is i just dont see where this translates to cricket performance in my case batting. As you see my workout is focused on power, but the thing is you have a big wooden willow in your hand to do that so seems kinda redundant to kill urself in the gym every week when that wooden thing can plunder that ball to any part of the ground for u. also cricket is mainly a technical game, with timing/reflexes more important to batting.

My view is (unless you are a fast bowler), if you are a batsman work on your stamina more so you can bat longer. If you are a fast bowler you should definitely go the gym like its a ritual but not necessarily if you are a batsman. Running laps around the oval is more important if u r a batsman dont need a gym membershp for that.
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notice how you said "Where we can debate is if the gym is right for everyone" .SO what i am saying is fitness is important (stamina) no doubt but gym (strength) training isnt if u r a batsman.
 
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Your last comment is very interesting ginger_ninja. Every batsman I work with considers their S&C as a huge factor. However, I only work with elite athletes... then again... perhaps that is why they are elite!!

I am also interested to know, as a biomechanist, why you believe the forces on the batsman are any less than those on a pace bowler. Is this a common belief?
 
Your last comment is very interesting ginger_ninja. Every batsman I work with considers their S&C as a huge factor. However, I only work with elite athletes... then again... perhaps that is why they are elite!!

I am also interested to know, as a biomechanist, why you believe the forces on the batsman are any less than those on a pace bowler. Is this a common belief?


What do you mean by forces on a batsman? I am a common sense person. A fast bowler has to bowl fast ....they have a ball in their hand and they have to physically do all the work themselves by slinging their shoulders/upper body. A batsman has a willow in their hands to do all the work for them. I mean you look at all the talk generated these days with the new bats and how much of an unfair advantage batsman have because of it. Hence i dont think there is as much pressure on a batsman to be as physically strong as a bowler.
 
Well, it is no secret on here that I specialise in pace bowling. We are in a [very friendly] race at the moment to see who will produce the first consistent 100mph er. I have a sneaking suspicion that our good friend Ian Pont is already there and I know if Steff Jones puts his mind to it, he will have little difficulty!

It is common nowadays to see balls in non-elite cricket reaching 80-90mph. The bat will be travelling at around 100mph on impact and I am sure you can equate the final collision speed. Unfortunately, not all that energy is transferred to the ball, quite a sizable quantity is absorbed by the body and if the batsman does not have the strength in the right muscles to deal with this, they are asking too much of their rotator cuff muscles and they will eventually tear!

More importantly for the batsman [not the pre-/rehabilitator] the force generated for the big shots need to come from somewhere and I am afraid no amount of great technique alone will do it. The general problem with batsmen who fail to reach their potential is poor, mainly upper body, posture and weak muscles in their backs, particularly the shoulder stabilisers.

Although, having said that, gym work per se will not do. A batsman needs a proper, functional S&C programme!
 
Many apologies g_n... As David alluded to above, most gyms are geared towards generic 'messing about with the weights' or rows of cardio machines. No problem with that... it is the market. Most guys who regularly go to the gym are just interested in looking good on the beach! You quite rightly say, little transference to sport.

However, Strength & Conditioning should be functional for a specific purpose... in your case, batting.
 
Many apologies g_n... As David alluded to above, most gyms are geared towards generic 'messing about with the weights' or rows of cardio machines. No problem with that... it is the market. Most guys who regularly go to the gym are just interested in looking good on the beach! You quite rightly say, little transference to sport.

However, Strength & Conditioning should be functional for a specific purpose... in your case, batting.

OK thanks again for your input, i appreciate it.
 
No worries g_n, always happy to help if I can :D

Unfortunately, like David, I am not able to log on for long periods of time but, as you have already found out, David has some great resources on his site. When you get a moment, use his search facility and view some of the great archive articles to help you reach the right decision!
 
notice how you said "Where we can debate is if the gym is right for everyone" .SO what i am saying is fitness is important (stamina) no doubt but gym (strength) training isnt if u r a batsman.

If we are talking principles, strength training is super-important for improving performance. Here are the peer reviewed performance benefits of improved strength:
  • Better concentration levels
  • More speed for stolen singles
  • More power for hitting
  • More power endurance and work capacity (that's stamina for the muscles rather than pure heart and lungs) for long innings.
  • Reduced injury rates
  • Better body awareness (great for transfer to cricket technical skills)
Now, you don't have to go to the gym to be a good batsman. Nor does going to the gym make you a good batsman, but the benefits of the right type of training do cross into performance. That is undeniably proven.

It's easy to assume there is no crossover from gym to cricket. This is incorrect. It's also just as easy to assume that simply doing any gym training will automatically make you better as a cricketer. This is equally incorrect. But get it right and stronger equals better. Strength is the foundation of all athletic performance. That's why men can bowl faster and hit further than women. Men are physically stronger.

Also, as a little joke side note, here is what Keith Pont of Essex had to say about his county's preseason running programme in the 1980s when jogging was all the rage: "We might not be the best team, but if we ever have to chase a ball 11 miles, Essex will be the first team there."

(Mind you, he also once rode a bike between third man for a left and right hander during a match, so take from that what you will.)
 
Brett Lee I think was saying something today that for bowlers not to lift to much to get big as you don't have to be super strong to bowl really fast, instead do smaller weights but with heaps of reps.
 
Brett Lee I think was saying something today that for bowlers not to lift to much to get big as you don't have to be super strong to bowl really fast, instead do smaller weights but with heaps of reps.
Absolutely correct Kram81... 'bulk' is not at all helpful! This is why players' need a specialised programme. :D
 
Wait ....but smaller weight with heaps of reps makes you bulky its called 'hypertrophy' training. i am confused now.
Hypertrophy is trained with high resistance/low reps.
Training with lower resistance/high reps trains muscle endurance.

However, sport specific is little about resistance and more about the patterns of movement.
 
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