Fitness training

This section will be continually updated to keep you in the best shape possible.

The information below should get you started. Click on the following links to jump to each item:

Warming up

The warm-up is vital before any match or training session. It increases blood flow around the body, allowing muscles and joints to move with more freedom and reducing the risk of tears and strains.

Areas to work on include:

Aerobic activity eg. light jogging for ten minutes
Stretching - particularly the muscles you'll use during your activity
More intensive aerobic activity, allowing joints and muscles to actively stretch out.

Stretching is particularly vital, as this increases the suppleness of your muscles, and determines how flexible they are during activity. The more flexible, the better performance on the field, and the less chance of injury. If your muscles are tight, then it follows they'll be far easier to tear. You can't score many runs or take many wickets if you can't move your shoulders! There are over 650 muscles in the human body, so that's a lot of opportunities for injury. Put the time in during the warm-up and you'll enjoy the game a lot longer.

Cooling down at the end any match or training is an essential and oft overlooked element. Again, use light aerobic work and stretching to help dispose of waste products that build up in the muscles during activity.

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Training

There are three types of fitness training:

Resistance training
Interval training
Continuous training

Each type prepares your body for different physical activities. However, there are certain generic factors which you should remember when working on your fitness:

Rest for a day after heavy exercise to allow for body recuperation
Suit the training to the specific muscle groups your sport requires.
Gradually increase training intensity - don't go too hard too early.
If you stop exercising, your body will lose fitness levels - and it's a long road back!
Tailor a program with a consultant to fit the needs of you - don't follow someone else's program.

Resistance Training

Resistance training is basically working your body against a force - such as weights or gravity. This form of training develops muscular strength. Lifting light weights and performing lots of lifts without rest develops muscular endurance. Furrther resistance training involves circuit work, where press-ups and sit-ups strengthen the muscles by using your own body weight as the resistance. This also contributes to the development of your aerobic fitness.

Interval Training

This involves intense but short pewriods of hard work, followed by a period of rest. It should be repeated a number of times throughout a session for most beneficial effects. The periods of hard work are know as high intensity activity. An example of this is 10 fast runs over a certain distance, followed by a short rest time, and then a repeat. As such, interval training develops your aerobic and anaerobic fitness.

Continuous Training

Fairly self-explanatory, continous training is relatively easy work over a far longer period of time. Cycling for 30 minutes, jogging etc all help you develop your aerobic fitness and muscular endurance.