1. Run the treadmill: Cardio workout is essential to improve your blood circulation and power your metabolism. For cricketers this is especially useful in building endurance, which prevents fatigue and improves stamina.
2. Floor exercises: Ab workouts, leg pulls, crunches and planks are important to build your core body strength, tone your body and improve bowel control. South-African captain and batsman AB De Villiers is an ardent follower of these exercises.
3. Practise regularly: If you want to stand out in terms of your fitness and get an edge in your run between the wickets, it is important that you exercise with religious regularity. Hit the gym for at least 2 hours every day, for at least 5 days of the week.
4. Nutrient-rich diet: Plan your meal strategically to include just the right amount of proteins to build your muscle and allow you to maintain your strength. Milk, cereals, fish and eggs are safe options to include in your diet.
5. No carbs: Carbohydrates should be strictly left outside your diet. They lead to weight gain as eating food rich in carbs causes rapid fluctuations in insulin and blood sugar, causing hunger to spike.
6. Cultivate patience: Staying calm is important when you are playing an instinctive game like cricket. Ignore things you cannot control and practise replacing the negative thoughts with productive ones to become mentally tough.
7. Identify your weakness: As Steve Smith's ideology goes, the harder you work the luckier you get. Create time to reflect upon your progress toward developing physical and mental strength.
Watch out for the big India vs Pakistan Champions Trophy Final to learn a few tricks from the start crickers MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli.
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