"Squad Fitness"

There has been a lot of discussion about how our game might have changed over the generations, but one undeniable aspect that has moved on, is the fitness levels of the players. Talent and skill are undeniable prerequisites of winning sides, but if the opposition can match you in those departments, and have superior fitness and motivation, then there is only one outcome: success for them; failure for us, writes David Heard, managing director of Team Fitness.

With the increases in sponsorship and the demand of the media, especially television, the sport has had to become more professional and commercial. Winning and performance now have a price - literally. These, and the competitive urge to win and simply be the best, are the drivers behind John Emburey's innovative concept of % gains. If every player improves just 1% in every aspect of their game, they become formidable. Nowhere are we more aware of this than in the fitness levels of our guys. Team Fitness is dedicated to improving those variables of conditioning, both the body and the mind, and thereby optimising the skills inherent in every member of the squad. Of course the practice is more prosaic: hours of hard work in the gym and in the field will make the difference. But it is not simply a case of grunting effort - there is a science to fitness.

The period immediately post-season is a time of recovery. Then follows what we think of as the golden time: the period when free of the pressures of playing competitively, a tight timetable and travelling, we can spend time with each player individually and work on their strengths and buttress their weaknesses. For some players, like Jamie Dalrymple and Simon Cook, the winter months have been a chance for reparative surgery. There then followed a programme of rehabilitation, where the fitness coaches and physios work hand in hand to ensure full recovery and enhanced performance. These can be delicate times, frustrating for the players, but a patient consistent approach reaps dividends. Our objective is to get these guys back to optimum match fitness without relapse or re-injury.

For some of the younger players, the objectives are quite different. These stars of tomorrow need nurturing in different ways. For three in particular, Ben Duncan, Chris Whelan and Eoin Morgan, there have been individual assessment sessions with specific strength development programmes. With a pre-Christmas monitoring and re-evaluation session and then with regular online updates they have been able to not only maintain their programmes, but build on them in their home environment. This 'distance learning' approach via the telephone and internet means minimal disruption of their academic year and maximum support.

For some of the more experienced players the winter has been a time of re-balancing the body. Cricket, being largely an assymetrical sport, takes its toll on various parts of the body. The torque and stresses of bowling and batting will put strain on different muscle groups and parts of the skeleton. Part of our off-season programme is to re-balance the body; to neutralise the long-term effects of those stresses. This can not only prevent injury during season, but can effectively extend the playing years.

January saw the first group sessions, which start to turn the winter work into functional fitness. Running drills and agility exercises start to convert strength and power to speed. Flexibility increases range, which impacts on the efficiency of all aspects of the game - throwing, bowling, batting and fielding. But it also helps to prevent injury, a major factor in the conditioning programme. February sees the increase in intensity. Of course the one-on-one work continues - correcting, re-balancing, building, but as a group we move into more intense workouts - plyometric drills, aerobic and anaerobic conditioning circuits. Fitness is about overload. Overload the body and it develops and gets stronger, faster and more durable.

In March the squad comes together. This is where we try to bring the whole programme to fruition and funnel everyone into their optimum performance levels. Trying to blend players who have been training hard all winter, with those who have been abroad playing and others who have missed the winter as they needed to work, is a task in itself. But for a month we are able to work with them full-time and that is invaluable.

Now we are already working on programmes designed to maintain the high fitness levels that guys will have in April and throughout the season. Another set of opportunities.

There is also the mind game: getting players to believe in themselves. To feel good in their bodies and translate that into a positive, winning approach in their minds. If we are sharp on the field; if through superior fitness we can snatch runs that wouldn't otherwise be there; if we can stop the opposition getting the runs they thought they would make; we not only increase our % performance, but we demoralise them, and ruin theirs!

Case Study: Client G - Extreme Endurance, Extreme Conditions The Sahara Marathon (Marathon des Sables) is 6 marathons, back to back, across the desert, one stage being a double marathon of 84 kms. Runners compete in extreme heat on a variety of tough terrain, carrying a week's supply of food, a daily ration of water, and sleeping under canvas. It is one of the toughest endurance events in the world. Many runners fail to complete the course; some suffer hospitalisation. Team Fitness has successfully trained athletes in the elite category of this event. Training comprised gym based upper-body strengthening - necessary for carrying a rucksack without prejudice to the running gait - lower body muscle balancing, distance and interval running - with heart rate monitoring - nutritional analysis and advice. Members of the Special Forces also provided assistance and advice. To simulate the climate conditions, Team Fitness constructed a 'sweat box' surround for the treadmill. Ambient temperature was kept at a constant 90o, and the athletes had to run in full kit. Drinking whilst running was practised constantly, with ingestion every 5 minutes - an absolute requirement to avoid dehydration. Pre-race preparation included acclimatization, and replication of conditions by training on the lava fields and beaches of Lanzarote. More Team Fitness Case Studies.

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