8 Ways for fast bowlers to get more stamina and less belly fat | Cricket coaching, fitness and tips

8 Ways for fast bowlers to get more stamina and less belly fat

Mohammed emailed me recently with a question. 

"I'm fast bowler, however my stamina is very low. After 3 or 4 overs I get tired quickly. Can you please tell me the exercises and nutrition that I should take in order to improve my stamina and reduce my belly?"

This is a common question, especially with bowlers. Not having the capacity to bowl at your best must be frustrating. It certainly is for the rest of the team.

What is fast bowling stamina? '

Stamina' in bowling terms is really a your ability to repeat your bowling action many times without loss of technique, speed or accuracy. In short the more stamina you have the longer it takes to get tired and the less effect that tiredness has on your bowling speed and accuracy. Here are 8 ways you can develop this.

  1. Bowl as much as you can. There is nothing more specific to cricket than playing cricket. Whenever you get the chance then bowl. You can head down the nets on your own with some old balls and something to use as a target if there is noone around to train with you. Bowl in overs with a few minutes rest between if you can to make things more realistic or play as many games as possible. Every time you hit the nets try and bowl a few more overs before you have a rest. Always bowl at top speed too, a shorter intensive burst is more beneficial than going through the motions for longer.
  2. Train while you are tired. Every now and again, do some bowling when you are physically tired, perhaps at the end of a training session or workout. This will teach you to bowl with intensity even when you feel the tiredness coming on. It's important not to do this too often or on your own. Train with another bowler or batter who can watch your technique and let you know when it starts to go. As soon as your action fails you, stop for the day.
  3. Run to build work capacity. Running is the next best thing to bowling for increasing your stamina. I'm not averse to rowing either but running should be your number one method. Use interval training to build up your lung capacity and ability to hold off the build up of lactic acid. Intervals are also better for reducing your body fat without causing loss of strength. Long, slow runs are not only a bit boring for most cricketers, but they reduce your ability to bowl quickly by turning fast powerful muscle fibres into slow fibres for, you guessed it, slow jogging.
  4. Use the winter wisely. Off-season training is the time when you can make the most improvements. If cricket is your main (or only sport) and you have a long winter ahead then use it to develop you endurance through lots of running and some cross training. Most winter sports will also get you fit so consider taking up a game you enjoy playing. If you play all year round consider taking a break of 2-3 months from cricket to really focus on developing your fitness. The short-term loss in games will turn into a long-term gain.
  5. Eat more lean protein and good fat. We tend to eat lots of protein but it's usually high in saturated fat. Go for lean options like tuna, chicken, turkey or lean cuts of beef and combine it with a balance of fats from sources like avocados, mixed nuts and olive oil. Reasearch has found this fills you up quicker allowing you to lose weight while having a positive effect on your health.
  6. Eat more vegetables. Vegetables give you energy and contain essential nutrients for health. Eat at least a portion of veg with every meal, preferably every 2-3 hours. This will fill you up more meaning you will lose excess fat but still provide you with enough energy for everyday living.
  7. Eat less carbohydrate. Carbs have always been associated with energy but generally we eat too much for playing cricket, after all it's a power sport not a marathon. High carb food like crisps, chocolate, bread and pasta should really only be eaten once a day at most if you are trying to lose weight and build stamina. Carbs are not the enemy though. Make sure you keep your energy levels up during and after hard training or playing with some carbs combined with protein. Hard training isn't 3 or 4 overs in the nets though. It's weight lifting or interval training at high intensity.
  8. Strength train. Combine your running and cricket sessions with strength training of some kind at least twice a week. This will keep your strength and power levels high and make sure you only lose fat, not muscle while building endurance. Lift with heavy weight and low reps if you can to counter balance the endurance training. Avoid high reps and low weights but bodyweight training is a good compromise if you are not keen on going to the gym.

 



If you want a more comprehensive guide to reducing injury risk and increasing cricket specific fitness, check out county strength coach Rob Ahmun's guide on PitchVision Academy.


 

 

© Copyright miSport Holdings Ltd 2008

 

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Comments

I need to help the proper phyicail training my cricket player for fitness and Batman & Bowler who to devalopthe stamina

We all need help my friend. Read up on the complete guide for all the information: http://www.pitchvision.com/the-complete-guide-to-cricket-fitness/

well i try to run alot but u know im sometimes lazy i workout everyday but not running weight lifting

Glad to hear it Gilbert. If you are weight training and interval running you are doing well.

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hi i am naveen and i got chosen for the trials 3 years ago , i was a accurate bowler not a fast bowler.i was slow medium.I did well in the trials.i bowled accurately but i needed to bowl fast so that i could get selected.I am not sure if i want to try fast bowling,if i do i may lose my accuracy.

Please help

Which trials were these Naveen?

I am a wicket keeper and a lot of people say I need to lose belly fat. I run lift weights every thing but no result, the belly is still fat. HELP PLEASE if I do not lose the belly fat I may not keep...

Email me with your email address and the error you are getting and I will take a look.

i m a fast bowler i need to imorove my speed how can i get the speed?

Try How to Bowl Faster by Ian Pont

I am nt strongly built. But i have the natural swing movement with new ball. I just want to increase my speed so that the swing can become more difficult for the batsmen. Plz suggest some ways.

See my previous answer for a complete guide to bowling faster. Good luck Arnav.

i am 23 years old and am a medium pace bowler.
is it harmful to do jogging regularly or even after getting back from an injury and directly do sprints?

Jogging is not harmful in itself but there are better ways to rehab after an injury. What is your goal?

please tell ms better way to rehab after an injury.
at nets and while playing practice matches,i bowl very well having both speed and swing but in tournament matches pressure gets hold of me and i underperform at that time.so please suggest some method to have right mental frame while playing

The type of rehab depends on the type of injury so there is not any general advice there. What is your goal?

frankly speaking,my goal is to become a genuine fast bowler and i have natural batting ability.

Have a look at the tips here

im cricket coach , iwant to know how to incrise bowling speed 15 year old boy ,
plz send me mail or idias sir

DO a search on this site and you wil find a huge catalogue of ideas friend.

i am already underweight i dont want to lose my fat but to increase bowling speed...what should i do??i am 21

Short answer: Get stronger. The stronger you are the faster you can bowl.

How much running is required for a good cricketer.

That depends. It depends on your goal, your standard of cricket, the time you have available, how fit you already are, your age and the time of year (in- or off-season).

A good general rule of thumb is 1-3 running sessions per week of around 20-30 minutes, but this is such a vague recommendation as to be of little specific use.

i want to bowl short and very fast but when i try to bowl short my speed decreases. how can i do so?

You must be strong first of all to bowl a short pitch delivery called as bouncer . you need to hit the turf hard with your fullest potential to provide the cricket ball with extra pace to bounce a bit higher than the normal delivery . Use your shoulder to generate pace and a use bit of run up to increase it further . hit the turf hard that's the key for bouncer

Really should we lift more weight with lesser reps instead of doing vice versa to increase our physical strength. I've been lifting lesser weights with high no. of reps all the time during my workout. One thing I know that working out with triceps and back(not lower back) muscles in the gym is in no ways helpful for a fast bowler instead it affects your bowling speed adversely but I also don't work with my biceps in the gym. I just go with chest, shoulder, legs and core in my strength training. Plzz help me with proper suggestions to become the strongest and bowl the fastest.

Yes, you should. Lower reps, higher weight. Always with safe technique.

see naveen. india has failed to produce good fast bowlers because of the way bowlers are coached in india. bowlers who have pace but are inaccurate are made to cut down their pace to attain accuracy. i guess u should concentrate on improving your pace. consistency will come automatically along with practice. i was trained in the same way. i had good pace but i would bowl a lot of wide balls. my coach corrected my action and faults without telling me to reduce my pace. now i can bowl consistently on the desired spot at a high pace. i guess you should try this training method

Iam 25 year old my weight is 88kg and height 6 feet inch plz discuss my ideal weight for increase my bowling speed iam fast bowler

Iam 25 year old my weight is 88kg and height 6 feet 3 inch plz discuss my ideal weight for increase my bowling speed iam fast bowler

Sorry my heigt is 6 feet 3 inch

I want to improve my fast bowling after two or three balls i feel tired and pain in my right shoulder

Iam 25 year old my weight 87kg and height 6 feet 3 inch plz discus my ideal weight for become a good fast bowler.

Hello I'm a good fast bolwer as well as batsman ..after batting I fell tired to bowl ...hardly I delivered two or three over..after batting .so I need some advice to increase my stamina capacity...my height is 5.6

Hi, i am a fast bolwer but i have a bad habit of smoking......i can bowl continously 6 overs with good pace after that i have take rest of atleast 15min to gain my strength......is it becuase of smoking?????

I am 16 year old guy I am fast bowler my back muscles are weak what should I do

Hey I am Shinu from haryana how much workout should i do in a day m 15 years

Sir i'am a 17 year boy,I have a thin body and I wanted to increase my pace to 130+,I can bowl 120+,so what can I do to increase my pace.
Please reply...

is my pace dependent on my weight somehow? most fast bowlers have a weight in excess of 80 kg. my height is 5ft 11 inches. what is the ideal weight that i should attain to bowl at maximum possible pace?