Strength is often the missing ingredient in your quest to bowl fast in cricket. In terms of important criteria for fast bowlers, yes a certain amount of natural ability helps. But the truth is that training to become a fast bowler involves a lot of hard work, and you can improve your bowling speeds with a strength workout that is specific to fast bowling. This article will help you in this quest to bowl fast with two brilliant exercises.
The Clap Push-up
The clap push-up is one of the best and easiest ways to build explosive strength in your upper body for fast bowling. This exercise is like a normal push-up, but includes an explosive upward movement.
To perform a clap push-up, lower your body to the floor in a push-up position and then immediately explode your body upwards as fast as you can. As your hands leave the floor, clap them together and return your hands back to the floor in their original position as quickly as possible. Catch yourself before you hit the ground. Repeat this movement and perform 5-10 repetitions. Make sure you perform this exercise on a soft surface, such as an exercise mat or carpet, to reduce the impact on your hands.
Medicine Ball Slams
This exercise targets multiple muscle groups including your back, shoulders, legs and abdominals, all crucial muscles for bowling fast. More specifically, it encourages the recruitment of fast twitch muscle fibres, which are important not only for strength development, but also for the ability to apply this strength quickly – a crucial element in how to bowl fast in cricket.
To perform a medicine ball slam, start with your feet hip width apart, gripping the medicine ball in both hands. Throw the ball down as hard as you can, slightly in front of you, making sure it does not bounce up and hit you in the face. Catch the ball when it bounces back up. Repeat for 5-8 repetitions. Try avoiding doing this indoors. You don’t want to break anything. Also be sure to test how bouncy the ball is, before performing this exercise at full effort.
So there you have it, two of the best specific training exercises for fast bowlers. However, to get optimal results from your training regime, it is recommended that you combine these exercises with improvements to your bowling action.