Every now and again I'll update you with my own schedule, just to give you an idea of how a club player can do it. Hopefully it will give you some context to my tips.

After upping my calorie intake slightly last time to get more lean muscle I found all that happened was that my weight went up by 1kg and my body fat up by 3%. This could be to do with missing several 5-a-side and sprint sessions too.

From time to time, guest posters will give you a slightly different take on cricket. Today David Virgo of cricketfitness.com gives his views on the idea of core stability.

Cricket is an intermittently explosive game that requires explosive speed strength, rotating, bending and holding of certain positions. The core strength will enhance these qualities. Adequate core stability keeps you safe from injury and able to produce power throughout these movements.

Have you ever seen how strong, powerful and coordinated Gymnasts are? In this respect they are using skills that would be a great asset on the cricket field.

That's why my interest perked up when Scott at Straighttothebar suggested cricketers, especially bowlers, would benefit from ring training.

After all, powerful shoulders and back combined with precision balance and timing would transfer well to the art of bowling, right?

Your reactions will naturally vary from other peoples, but whatever your reaction time, you can improve it by practice.

The benefits to cricket are huge, giving you more time while batting and fielding, so reaction training should be part of your plan to improve your cricket.

One of the critical elements in a batsman's fitness development is the strength of his legs.

They are often overlooked but�strong legs allow you to run faster, reduce your chance of injury and reduce your fatigue when batting for long periods.

So don't be one of those batsmen who ignore their legs.

Stretching before a game is one of those Good Things we have been brought up by PE teachers and coaches to do. Very often we feel guilty when they don't get done because they are dead boring.

Guilt no more: Stretching is a bad idea.

You see, research has been done into the effects of stretching on top athletes. Boffins compared 2 groups: One lot stretched as part of their warm up, the others didn't.

Commitment, desire and hard work.

These are all valuable traits in a cricketer. Look at Steve Harmison. After a nightmare in the first Ashes Test he put in extra hours to sort out his action.

It stands to reason that he should do this. After all, the harder you train the more results you will get.

I admit it. I throw a lot of information about cricket fitness at you. It can be confusing to know what to do next.

I even confuse myself sometimes.

But there is a simple way to get fit for cricket (apart from subscribing of course).

The secret is nothing more that this:

Just start

It doesn't matter if you have the right balance of exercises or how much rest you are getting. It's doesn't matter if you are running too slowly or if one exercise routine is better than another.

Cricket and circuit training are a good fit, especially for amateur players with less time on their hands to train. This is because circuits develop strength, mobility and stamina at the same time. Here are some example circuits you can add into your own training.

Base Building Circuit