8 Must-Do Exercises: Being one of the most widely played and followed sports around the world, especially in countries like India, cricket requires plenty of stamina for the players. Be it an emerging batsman or a budding cricketer of any stature, fitness plays an important role in performing well on-field performances.
Where strength, power, and quickness on feet become obligatory for them to face stern bowlers and score big runs like the highest-order player, Rohit Sharma, with his mighty knock.
You just need to hit the gym regularly so that you can give your best performance. Fitness does not prevent any kind of injury, but it also provides a batsman the strength to hit hard shots, face long innings, and run briskly between the wickets.
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8 Must-Do Exercises to upgrade batting skills & overall fitness
- Squats
Squats are one of the most effective exercises that provide a stretch to the legs. Batsmen must be in good shape with powerful legs to run quickly between wickets and must be agile for a considerable period.
They sometimes spend hours on the field. Effective use of strong legs also helps in stabilizing the body while playing powerful shots. It is essential to do the squats correctly so that no injury occurs. Regularity in such a routine will work on toning the lower body, endurance will improve, and there will be a lot of energy for long innings.
- Deadlifts
Deadlifts is a full-body workout exercise that works out the lower back, hips, and thighs. These muscles play a crucial role in the batsman when he attempts a high shot to cover the distance.
Deadlifts also help to improve your grip, an element needed by the batsman when facing short deliveries. To ensure one avoids injury while performing deadlifts, proper form is required, and this can be obtained under the guidance of a certified trainer.
- Push-Ups
Push-ups are one of the most convenient and effective exercises for increasing the strength of the upper body. An aggressive batsman needs a powerful upper body to achieve power while performing shots and then controlling them.
There are several forms of push-ups, like incline push-ups, decline push-ups, or diamond push-ups, which can further increase the strength in the chest muscles, shoulders, and arms to execute better shots.
- Pull-Ups
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Pull-ups are a good exercise to strengthen your back, shoulders, and arms. These exercises hit the biceps, lats, as well as your upper and middle back muscles- all important for power generation while batting.
Besides helping keep proper shot rotation and stability, these exercises increase the strength of these muscle groups. Pull-ups also help improve grip strength, which enables a batsman to hold onto his bat firmly when taking a fast delivery.
- Snatch
One of the favorite Olympic lifts by most athletes, including Indian cricketer Virat Kohli, snatch form is also an excellent option for improving posture and lateral movement. The overall strengthening of the shoulders, back, and core is achieved along with flexibility and agility enhancement while doing this exercise.
For cricketers, this helps in reacting better, balancing properly, and darting across the crease faster in no time. However, this exercise should be performed in the presence of a coach or a trainer to prevent the risk and especially injury, particularly for the lower back and shoulders.
- Core Exercises
A strong core is the base of any batsman. All three muscles that constitute the core — your abdominals, your obliques, and your lower back — help contribute to balance, posture, and a good amount of power when driving the bat into the pitch.
Work your core by regularly doing planks, leg raises, and Russian twists to strengthen the torso. This can give the batter a range of shots to play with power and in control.
- Bent-Over Rows
Bent-over rows work your back muscles, particularly the lats, rhomboids, and traps that enable the generation of power on shots. A stronger back helps a batsman to rotate his torso and remain balanced while playing big shots. This endurance develops the capability to face long innings, and it also improves general posture.
- Running and Sprints
For batsmen, cardiovascular fitness is very important to ensure energy expenditure throughout the game. Running and sprinting drills will enhance stamina, speed, and agility great performance for batsmen if they need to hurry between wickets, allowing reaction to deliveries in less time.
Fitness goes hand in hand with a cricketer’s training. All of the above exercises are essential to the development of batting performance. Adding strength-building, core exercises, and cardio-respiratory exercises to your routine will help you become a better batsman as well as improve your total cricketing capacities.
Besides such exercises, there is a need to seek training from an appointed coach or trainer, especially for technical activities like deadlift or snatch. If you do so and with regular training and hard work, you will shine like Virat Kohli and avoid possible injuries.
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