This is the final part the "Principles of Cricket Fitness" series. To go to Part 1 click here.

The world of fitness is ever changing as new research, techniques and fads come to light. Some ideas work brilliantly for cricket and some are a waste of time.

That's why it's important to focus on the constants that have been proven over the years with real cricketers.

We have already talked about the big three principles: Progressive overload, specificity and reversibility. Never train without considering those aspects.

There are other principles too. Perhaps not as set in stone as the big three, but are golden factors to consider for anyone serious about improving their cricket.

• Recovery. Rest is vital for good training. Fitness improvements occur between training sessions, not during them. Amount and type of rest have always been an area of debate but everyone agrees on the importance of getting enough.
• Periodisation. The idea that your training needs to be split into 'cycles' depending on your goals and the time of year is long established and proven to work. Coaches use different techniques, with some dismissing the approach altogether. A simple way to approach periodsation can be found on my post on planning your training.
• Fast Twitch Training. Recent research has begun to back the theory that slow training (like long runs) makes slow athletes. This is because power sports such as cricket require short burst activities that use the fast part of your muscles (fast twitch fibres). If you train the slow twitch part you get better at doing stuff slowly. So train in the way you play: with fast, powerful movements.
• Kinetic Chain Theory. This theory makes sense but has been hard to prove. The idea is that your brain controls your body through whole movements and not individual muscles (true). The theory is that in order to train effectively you should forget trying to make individual muscles better/stronger and instead train movements. That way you will be more powerful and faster in the right way.
• Individual Difference. Everyone responds to the same training in the same way but at different levels depending on your age, fitness, medical history and genetics. While this is true, there is no need to worry too much about it as long as you are following the progressive overload principle. It's just some people will need less time to get to the same place than others.

Combine these golden rules with the rest of the principles of cricket fitness and you have a rock solid base of knowledge. You can use these ideas to train yourself better and make yourself a golden cricketer.

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