Got a Plan, got the Equipment, found a Club, now need to get Fit, specifically cricket fit.
To be fair I am reasonably fit in so much as I walk 5-6 miles regularly with the dogs on Cannock Chase which is not exactly flat, and I regularly cycle 16km on the stationary bike. I have an on/off relationship with my abs and stretching routine for my various injuries, and I eat pretty well, and drink way less than I used to.
I have done two net sessions now and have been pleasantly surprised how well I have batted, but they have identified quite a few areas that I need to work on:
- my grip and stance need refining from my old one to take into account my lower back and neck “issues”. This means a slightly more open and upright stance to ensure my eyes are level and bat comes down straight. Not a big issue, this falls into the Muscle Memory category.
- my arms need building up, and I have found that my left elbow is a little sore and uncomfortable with the above stance. Repetition and strength needed here.
- defensive shots not an issue but I am losing balance on an attacking drives which I think is partly not having done it for years, but mainly the strength in my legs in particular the stabilising muscles need developing.
- I will always have issues with my back, neck, left hamstring and left knee so a regular session working on the pilates, core and stretching that I have done to varying degrees over the years is a must now.
I have not doing any fielding or game like running yet, but I know what I need to do.
- my shoulder is better that it has been for a while but I would struggle to throw it far or hard at the moment, so a lot of work is needed developing my throwing. Tennis ball, wall, Tito and Marti will help with this.
- I have always been a good catcher and just a few sessions throwing a tennis ball at a wall at varying angles and heights has not caused any concerns, other than my hands are soft! For now all I can do is practise over the winter with a tennis ball but before next season I need a proper “pre season” to get them rough and ready!
- I am going to increase and vary my session on the bike to include two interval and one stamina sessions, and I am adding a weekly run with Tito to his (and my) schedule on Cannock Chase which should help with overall fitness and strength in legs, and with stabilising muscles.
- I need to find a location where I can do a weekly running session: various pace stop start, twists and turns to get the body used to a wider variety of movement.
The other area that will need a lot of work will be the stance, trigger movement and general awareness of where I am at the crease. For now it’s back to my teenage years in a room in my own in front of a mirror, but hopefully a weekly winter net will help with this.
I do need to lose some weight, but can’t really set a specific target as the above will hopefully find and add some long lost muscle, but I suspect something in the region of a minimum of 5kg is required, ideally more no doubt!
Sounds very serious, and I am, as not only am I looking forward to playing and socialising again, I am really looking forward to having this to focus on over the next 4-6 months. It is obviously unclear what next year will allow COVID-19 wise but I am working on the schedule of general fitness training until end of February then hopefully a month or so of more specific pre season type training, before the season starts April/May.
I am not being unrealistic. I have been down and watched a few games of the 3rd/4th and Sunday teams and I reckon that I can hold my own if I focus on the above.
Time will tell. I will probably try and keep some kind of record of how things are going in the comments below.
Day One
Let’s be honest if Day One doesn’t go well then there isn’t really much hope for the plan ….
Exercises: Pilates & Stretching and 900 sit ups of varying types. 30 mins interval training on the bike.
Dog Walk: 3.5 miles on Cannock Chase
Cricket Skills: some throwing and catching with tennis ball, worked on stance and trigger movement.
Food: Breakfast – two fried eggs and mushrooms on a slice of toasted home made soda bread. Lunch – Mixed Fruit & Cream. Snack – Almonds, Pecans, Brazil Nuts, Dry Mango, Toast & Peanut Butter, Dinner – Salmon, Baked Potato and Vegetables
Drinks: 2 Coffee (1 Espresso, 1 Latte), Water, Milk, Peppermint Tea
Pretty much a normal day for me these days BUT I need to have more of these and make them the usual day!
Day Two
Exercises: Upper Body (Few weights for arms & shoulders, push ups and hand grips) and a run with Tito c1.5 miles (very early days for my running but only really looking to get 3-5 miles. Current focus is on a steady stride pattern and good posture. Running on Canock Chase – more up hill than downhill, and uneven paths so good for stabilising muscles and general leg strength.)
Drinks: 2 x Coffee (Espresso & Latte), Tea, Milk and Water
Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs, Mushroom, Tomatoe & Home Made Soda Bread. Snack: 2 Natural Food Bars. Dinner: Spicy Sausage & Bean Pasta, Mixed Fruit & Cream
Day Three
Lost 0.2kg which is fine. Not so focussed on actual loss as expect as add some strength aka muscle that will offset some of th efat loss. Body is taking a better shape and I am stronger so that is the important metric at the moment!
Food: Breakfast – Fried Eggs and Soda Bread. Lunch – Bread & Cheese. Snack – Almonds, Brazil Nuts, Bread & Peanut Butter, Dried Mango. Dinner – Chicken & Chorizo, Vegetables, Rice, CRISPS.
Drinks: Coffee (Espresso), Water, Milk, Beer, Whisky!
Dog Walk: 3.5 miles
Exercise: 45 mins on bike. Worked on stance and trigger movement and some throwing and catching. Arm and shoulder already feeling much better when throwing.
Day Four
Sands birthday so a relaxing day was planned!
Food: Breakfast – Toast and Honey, Lunch – Chicken, Chorizo, Rice, Monkfish, Potatoes, Vegetables, Cheese Cake. Dinner – Smoked Salmon & Rye Bread, Crisps, Camembert, Cheese Cake.
Drink: Espresso, Latte, Peppermint Tea, Water, White Wine, Beer, Cava
No exercise or dog walk
Day Five
Food: Breakfast – Bacon, Fried Eggs, Tomaotoes, Toast & Honey. Diner – Vegetable Pizza. Snack – Apple, Ham & Cheese Sandwich
Dog Walk: 3.5 miles Cannock Chase
Exercise: Bike (Interval), Abs & Pilates
Cricket: Net which was MUCH better. Has been a steady improvement over the last three weeks. LONG way to go ofcurse but is good that the things I am identofying and working on are making a difference
Day Six
Transport day which means no exercise and no walking and a case of eating when can really. I tale food with me, but when trips are delayed I do tend to buy some junk food …
Drinks: coffee, tea, water with SID tabs
Food: Ham, Cheese and Mustard Rolls, Bacon Rolls, Apples, Nuts & Dried Fruit, Protein Bars, Crisps, Scotch Egg.
Day Seven
Food: Lunch – Prawn Cocktail, Roast Beef, Creme Brule. Dinner – Cheese & Fruit
Walk Dogs: 3.5miles
Exercise: Strength
Drink: 2 Coffee (Espresso & Latte), Peppermint Tea, 2 glasses red wine, glass white wine, can cider.
Went to golf club for lunch with parents then Sands and I called into cricket club
Day Eight
Food: Breakfast – Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Smoked Salmon & Mushrooms. Lunch – Hame & Cheese Sandwich & Almonds. Snack – Cheese & Dried Mango. Dinner – Choicken, vegetables & baked potato
Drink: 2 Coffee (Espresso & Latte), Tea, Milk, Water
Dogs: 3.5 miles Cannock Chase
Exercise: Pilates, Abs & Bike (Interval)
Cricket Skills: Stance – working on keeping head/eyes level and grip, which is putting some strain on left hip area and right side of neck, and some throwing and catching with tennis ball. I think the aches and pains are muscles related to using areas of body with old injuries in a different way.
Day Nine
Pretty poor day really as had headache so no exercise or run with Tito.
Food: bacon sandwich, crisps, hoola hops, 2 snickers, apple, grapes, almonds, salmon, new potatoes, brocolli.
Drink: water (not drinking enough) 3 coffees, 2 teas, lucozade sport & milk
Think headache is related to shoulder and neck, in particular the response to cricket stuff, so I need to keep stretching and exercising and hope that will get stronger and adapt. Not sure pillows are helping.
Day Ten
Weight: Lost o.1kg which I am happy enough with given that the focus is strength and fitness at the moment, and I had a pretty “bad” week with couple of social events for Sands Birthday and a junk food day yesterday!
Exercise: Strength, Pilates & Abs and Bike (Stamina)
Food: Breakfast – Fried Eggs on Toast. Lunch – Ham Sandwich, Apple, Driwed Mango, Almonds. Dinner – Chicken Casserole
Dog Walk – 3.5miles
Drinks: Water, Coffee (Espresso & Latte), Tea
Day Eleven
Exercise: Strength, Abs, Pilates & Bike (Interval)
Drink: 2 Coffee (Espresso & Latte), Tea, Peppermint Tea, Water
Dog Walk: 3.5miles
Food: Breakfast – Fried Eggs on Toast, Lunch – Pate & Bread. Snack – Slice Cake, Almonds, Raisins, Cheese. Dinner – Vegetarian Pasta
Day Twelve
Internal transport day so no exercise other than net in the evening which have gone really well, butI need to work a lot of my neck!
Food: Breakfast – Bacon Roll. Lunch – Ham Sandwich, 2 Apples, 2 Hoola Hoops, Sausage Roll, Dried Fruit & Almonds. Dinner – Chicken Dansak, Rice, Chicken Tikka, Onion Bhaji
Drink: 2 Coffee, Tea, Water (with SIS), 2 Beers, Milk, Whisky
Think you got the idea by now, will check back from time to time, but the main thing is to be consistent.
You have the picture. More of the same for me, so will check in with updates from time to time ….
Has been a while ….
Fitness wise I am doing OK. Not great as I haven’t been able to do much Cricket Skills/Fitness but I am running once a week with Tito, walking the dogs, using the exercise bike and building strength and core.
My body is adjusting well to the alignment work I am doing (left hamstring, left outer calf, right hip which are all related to left knee operations) and my neck and shoulder are much better BUT a long way of being able to throw fully.
Nets are going really well. Stance, trigger and grip much improved. Better movement and control of feet and head is more level.
I know, yet another “I am going to lose weight” promise, but this time ……
So far the better eating overall and increase in training (and being consistent) have made me a lot fitter and stronger, but the weight loss is not so good. Have lost weight, and still feel that given change in body shape I must have more muscle weight, but I do need a concerted month to try and shift at least 3kg.
No fad of speciality diet though, just a lot less carbs (bread, potatoes, pasta), even less alcohol than usual, and cut out the handful of almonds and Brazil nuts I eat each day.
Will allow myself Carbs on 3 days a week, and alcohol 2 days a week.
No nets (COVID-19) but have been working three times a week on stance, trigger and grip and on some specific strength and stabilising exercises relative to batting.
Neck, shoulder and back all doing really well BUT I will need to work hard on my right arm (trapped nerve basically) so that I can throw a half decent ball.
Completed Day One of ECB Coaching Course yesterday.
Tough as had been on a transport until 5.30am.
Course was good. As we were learning fielding skills to coach and how to coach them it was more active than I had thought.
Body held up well, but legs very aware of how much “game specific” fitness they need! Knees a bit sore after a tumble.
My skills were very good. Caught well, stopped ball well, and threw at stumps particularly well.
This getting fit is going to be a very long road! My general fitness is OK, but my potential match fitness is non existent and my body alignment is really bad – this is my main focus at the moment as I think it is all connected. My body leans to the right so my right shoulder is lower, my head/neck not straight, my right hip tight, my left hamstring tight (also due to knee surgery over the years).
Very mixed at the moment. On a positive note I am very impressed with how well I have stuck to a routine and without doubt I am getting fitter, and have just “upped” the time spent on bike and number of push ups and sit ups with a view to soon being able to exercise less often but more each week.
On the negative side my body is a LONG way from being in any real shape! The re alignment work is making a big difference but it is making other parts of my body ache as things get back to ‘normal’. I am struggling a lot less with the movements I will need though so it is working.
Is going to be a long road though!! I think if I can keep this up for December and January I will be in a position to have a pre pre season month in February
Have pretty much had the last week off as a) had a cold, b) body was aching, and c) am busy doing pre Brexit pet transports every weekend until Christmas.
So far so good (ish). I think my overall fitness will be ok, but the main issues will remain a) left knee, b) left hamstring, c) right arm and d) lower back. Not much I can do about them as they all long term chronic issues. I should be able to get knee to about 80% and my hamstring I think is more of an alignment issue so that may get to 80% as well. Arm is nerve related so maybe 75% and lower back again 75% if I keep the exercuses up.
One reason for the above rest was that I really have pushed by neck and shoulder alignment and it is much better now, but it was very stiff for a few days after a particularly intensive couple of sessions. Basically I am trying to realign and repair 20+ years of poor posture and injury related poor alignment.
End of Year Summary: 5/10. Proved to myself that body is capable of more than I had thought, but will require a lot more effort and continuity to get fitter. Bad sinus infection, lots of pre Brexit transports and Christmas Food resulted in a very poor December, and my body can tell. Still am more relaxed and the body has had time to get over some aches and pains, but from 1st January I am planning a three month intensive fitness programme.
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A steady but not spectacular month: lost some weight, but apart from not drinking have not cut anything out of the diet – just eating less, no binging etc. Exercise has been good, with the focus on correcting (as much as possible) the issues with knee, hamstring, back, shoulder, arm and neck and have made really good progress. Have got a little stronger, little better on the bike, and body shape starting to move in the right direction. Very little done on cricket skills though!
February I plan to increase exercise including a weekly run and to focus a bit more on weight loss. Cricket skills will start again in a small way, with March the month I want to get outside with a bat and ball and start catching, throwing, running etc
OK another month has passed. Diet wise I am doing very well, and bot so good!! I am not losing much weight BUT my body shape is getting better and I am a LOT fitter so I think fat loss is genuinely been replaced with muscle mass. I am not really ‘on a diet’ just trying to eat less and no alcohol of binging and a lot less snacks. I would struggle to eat much less and exercise this much. I am doing more on the bike, longer dog walks, more exercise reps and started running. My shoulder, neck and back are a lot better as is my knee and hamstring so am encouraged by this. Have done very little Cricket skills though. Plan for March is really more of the same: up the fitness activities, eat less, no alcohol and start doing some cricket skills training.
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Three months in and the no drinking wasn’t an issue. Have lost some weight but not huge amount but muscles are bigger, body shape better and body fat % is down so all heading in the right direction!!! and ….. back in the nets which has been great and as good as I could have hoped for. The work on the body over the last three months has paid off but I need at least another 3 months so no letting up. First training session later this week which will be a good guide to both my fitness and how I stack up against the others.
A couple of games in and a very mixed report. My overall fitness levels are pretty good, and the work I have been doing on my various issues has been good but the old concept of match fitness is a big issue.
While I can run or cycle for an hour, trying to run a single or chase after a ball is an issue, primarily because my natural stride pattern is very small so I am having to stretch out my hips and muscles to accommodate/allow actual running. I am also having to do a lot of strengthening of my thighs and hamstrings (higher setting on bike, longer strides when walking).
My hands and arms ache through use which is OK, but my right arm is struggling to throw it any distance which I think will always be the case. I really need to field in the slips, but we don’t always have one, so fielding is always going to be a tough one to avoid being a liability.
I have batted pretty well. My abs, hips and pelvis have let me know they have not ben used in this way for many a year, and running 2’s is tough.
The good thing is that my view at the moment is that with more hard work I will be able to improve most of these areas to an adequate level.
A much better month fitness wise if not form wise (batting great in nets but the lack of pace and bounce on pitches and my inability to tune in mentally is proving an issue). My body is still adjusting so stiff most days and knees (mostly right), right hamstring and left side of neck remain the main issues but I am moving much better, throwing better and catching well (although hands very sore). Focus next month is continue stretching, work on three areas above, increase general fitness and strength, and get better at running between the wickets.
Body feels much stronger than it has for year and is a better shape, although no real weight loss.
Very mixed results/progress. The elephant in the room is that I need to lose a lot of weight as I need to be carrying as little fat as possible if I am going to play well and for a number of years. Catch 22 is that it is proving very hard to lose weight at the same time as trying to get fitter and play! I have drafted a plan for some moderate weight loss in July and August and then an intense “off season”. In many ways the body needs the same. Playing is getting easier, but the combined need to rehab (thigh, hip, knee, shoulder, back and neck) combined with general strength and cardio training is proving tough to say the least. On a positive note all areas are improving, I am playing better each week (fitness wise at least) and most things I am working on are indicating that my body does improve and I am positive about future seasons. For now it has to be a balance focussed on stretching, some cricket specific conditioning and try and shift 6 – 9kg over the next couple of months!
It has been a lot harder than anticipated! The toll playing has taken on my body and the areas that it has identified as needing developing means that I have had little realistic chance of working very hard on my fitness. That said, body shape is still heading on the right direction. Neck, shoulder and right arm are much better and the stretching is helping. Lower back has started to respond in last couple of weeks and left hamstring is significantly better, but still a long way to go stretching wise. Knees are sore, but they better quicker after a weekend and in general are under control but they need the mobility and stabilising muscles working on. Biggest issue really is lower abs and hips/groins and thighs i.e running!!! These tend to be so stiff during a game I struggle and remain too sore until about Thursday by which time I don’t want to run and make them worse for the weekend. I am going to try in August though less netting and more running!
Lat post on this thread (hurrah I hear) as I will be setting up a new post season Post in October to track my off season progress. I still have four games (weather and selection allowing) this season but am really just nursing my body through before having a good rest and then starting an intensive rehab and fitness schedule.
Patently I was not fit enough this year and and that falls into two general categories: wear and tear on the body caused by previous injuries and years of not using the body in anything remotely relevant to playing cricket.
On the first point the good news is that to varying degrees all the issues have improved throughout the season as I have worked on specific areas.
On the second point I have got better both in the field and at the crease, but getting fitter has made new parts of the body ache hence just nursing my way through to the end of the season.
Over the winter I will work hard on rehab and fitness and I am confident I will be back fitter, stronger and better next season.