Former India strength and conditioning coach, Ramji Srinivasan talked about training methods through which cricketers can keep themselves physically fit even while being in isolation because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ramji, who kept the Men in Blue on the park during the 2011 World Cup, believes one doesn't need heavy weightlifting to keep himself fit and can do that by adopting some other smart methods of training.
"Trust me, you can maintain top fitness even at home. Just need to know your body and what works for you. I just don’t get the obsession over weight training these days," Ramji told IANS.
"Yes, it definitely works for some athletes, but it is not the only road to staying fit and healthy. I have been with the Indian team when it had some brilliant cricketers, but more importantly, smart people who knew what their body needed."
India skipper Virat Kohli, who leads the pack as far as fitness is concerned, has been quite vocal on how understanding the right techniques of weightlifting is important or else a sportsperson is vulnerable to injuries. Kohli has been a big beneficiary of weight training. But that is an individualistic thing and may not work for everyone.
"I never saw a Sachin Tendulkar, Dhoni, Virender Sehwag or Rohit Sharma obsess over weight training," Ramji said. "Yes, they did hit the gym, but there was a reason when they did and not because they would lift heavy weights. The likes of Sachin would work a lot on their wrists and shoulders."
"Let’s keep Dhoni aside because I honestly believe he was a natural. You cannot go through a career like his and with the workload he had and still count injuries on your fingers,” he laughed.
“The problem is that we tend to forget that what works for someone doesn’t necessarily work for the other. You cannot generalise."
"You would again be surprised to know that Zaheer Khan was another cricketer who knew almost every muscle in his body," Ramji added. "He knew exactly what he wanted to train and how so that he has the right strength in his hamstring and lower back to help him deliver."
(Inputs from IANS)
