Update: This article has now been updated and reposted. Click here to go to the latest page and download the latest plan. The information below is for archive puropses only.

Most club cricketers in the Northern hemisphere are not thinking about next season yet. Winter nets tend to start after Christmas and football is dominating the world. But this is the best time to set down a fitness plan for the year.

Previously, I have approached this using a periodisation plan for cricket. I still think this is the best way to get results, but the method I used was quite complex. This periodisation plan comes from the successful Husker Power system from Nebraska. Although it's designed for American college power sports, it has certainly been successful in baseball, is a simple system and I believe can be adapted to cricket easily.

A complete cricket fitness plan

The Husker Power system is build on the idea that you start by building a general base of fitness, gradually peaking towards the start of the season. The year is broken down into 4 smaller periods. In the original plan they are 12 weeks each, but as the cricket season is typically 26 weeks I have made some adjustments:

1. Postseason (4 weeks). The weeks after the end of the season are designed for rest and recovery, light exercise and playing different games.
2. Offseason (9 weeks). This phase is designed to develop a strength base and controversially has no running in it (more on that in a moment).
3. Preseason (13 weeks). This is the time to bring your fitness to a peak just before the start od the season.
4. Inseason (26 weeks). The actual cricket season itself where you simply maintain your current fitness level and get to the nitty gritty of playing.

Update: This article has now been updated and reposted. Click here to go to the latest page and download the latest plan.