When it comes to personal fitness, there are two schools of thought within the coaching industry.

Cricket is a simple game, but getting good during preseason gets complex when you look at the hundreds of different methods espoused by coaches and fitness gurus.

These are the things I have tried and tested over a 20 year period as both a cricket coach and fitness trainer.

Controversial? Only if you don’t follow the evidence.

I stand by every one (and have made them all at one point or another).

If you could boil preseason training down to its most basic and important elements what would you be left with?

The answer is the following 4 ingredients that anyone can mix together to improve their game in the shortest possible time. Think of it as your cheat sheet for what to work on in preseason.

That’s something which is especially important for those of us with limited time to train.

How strong should you be? Well, that's relative, but here are some general benchmarks.

I have been coaching and playing cricket for decades. Every year I come across the same frustrating attitudes that stop people reaching their potential.

It all happens long before the season starts. People mess up their pre-season training and simply never recover when the weather improves.

If only they realised what they were saying and took positive action. It’s time we changed things for the better and started giving you the summer you deserve by giving you a preseason to be proud of.

These myths drive me mad, yet I hear them every preseason nets.

When the season is over and the sun has disappeared from the sky the temptation is to hibernate until indoor nets start again.

But a recent trip to a physio for a sports massage changed my mind about winter training.

I had noticed over the last couple of years that my back began to feel tighter and tighter and now was the time to do something about it.

My logic was to give my back a service to allow it to feel loose for a few months before the strain started again.

Most people groan at the thought of a game of indoor cricket and regard it as a waste of time; the runt sibling of the traditional game.

Where is the fun in getting up early on cold Sunday mornings to dodge cricket balls bouncing off the walls of a humid leisure centre sports hall?

It’s not even a standard game, with regional rules and differing facilities.

It’s a far cry from warm summer days and the momentum of outdoor cricket. You may as well be a starving dog with a rubber bone.

Marcus Trescothick has signed with Mongoose Cricket for the 2011 season. The former-England opener will be using the innovative smaller bats to smite county bowlers to all corners of Taunton come the summer.

To celebrate this, Marcus, Mongoose and SPIN Magazine teamed up to put on a night talking cricket in London. I was lucky enough to go along and get 5 minutes to chat with ‘Banger’ before his big interview.

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." – Ralph Waldo Emerson.

 Being a consistent cricketer isn’t always as good as we imagine.

As decent level players we search for better consistency. We have had good performances in the past. We dream the purple patches will come again. Every shot you play beats the in-field and every ball you bowl finds the outside edge to a pair of safe hands.

The revolutionary PitchVision Academy Problem Solver has had a major upgrade.

Judging by the number of questions we get here at PitchVision Academy, a lot of players and coaches have a cricketing problem they need solving. Everyone has something; a technical flaw in the cover drive, not quick enough bowling, getting gassed with low fitness levels and a hundred other things.

We also know that there is a frustrating gap for most of us.

Since we stopped doing the weekly PitchVision Academy podcast I’ve been constantly asked when it’s coming back.

The great news is that we are planning the new series right now and all the PitchVision audioheads can get their fix again very soon.