Prakhar has a question I get asked a lot,

"As a faster bowler to improve my pace. In gym in which exercise I focus more: such as core or shoulders?"

First, well done to Prakhar for busting through the myths and heading for the gym. More cricketers should follow his example.

But what should he do when he gets there?

Here is another extract from my Handbook of Cricket Drills eBook. This week it's ways to improve your power.

The medicine ball is an exceptional training tool that adds variety to any workout. When used correctly it will help you build a rock solid core, burn fat, increase your functional strength and improve your overall sports performance. These exercises are designed to enhance your sports specific performance through dynamic explosive training. Start slowly and get used to the each movement pattern before you begin to push your limits.

It's rare to see a coach these days without a fielding bat and a baseball catching mitt in the kitbag. But the mitt is a tool that can be used by all players.

I can hear people saying, "Hang on, mitts are cheating. Why would a player want one?"

The answer is simple: to improve your throwing.

This is a guest article from Steffan Jones

As you already know, there is no one type of fast bowler, but they all have one thing in common: all fast bowlers want to bowl faster.

So although the goal is the same, the way to reach that goal varies depending on the type of bowler. Training the right way for your type makes a huge difference to your performance.

When it comes to training there are 3 types of bowler:

This is a guest article by Dr Laurence Houghton.

During the last decade there has been a shift in cricket fitness that has seen the end of static stretching in warm-ups. Nowadays it's all about "dynamic" stretching. This is a great development but it’s a concern that this trend encourages cricketers to entirely remove static stretching from their routine. The aim of this article is to argue otherwise!

This year I am coaching a group of talented 11 year old players. The kind of guys who one day hope to play professional cricket over 4 or 5 days.

Bur right now they are 11 years old and have only played 20 overs. This season they have had to jump up to playing 40 over games as well.

It's a big jump in required levels of stamina and concentration. One similar to players entering the professional game going from one day to multi-day cricket.

So how do you prepare your body and mind for this unique cricketing challenge?

Can you remember your first ever net session?

It's quite likely that your first ever net was pretty similar to the net you had last week. The bowling may be faster and your pads a bit bigger, but essentially the humble net hasn't changed: batting for 20 minutes (if you are lucky) on a different surface to match-day; using old balls; having no fielders; bowlers alternating after every delivery; balls continuously fed; batsmen not running-between-the-wickets; and focusing on execution of correct technique over tactical decision making.

This series is part of the Cricket Fitness Workouts series. For the full list, click here.

In season training is a tricky proposition and it can get complicated what with games at funny times and rain intervention.

A lot of trainers get clever with the in season system, and that's perfectly fine if you know what you are doing. But what if you just want a simple "fire and forget" way of getting your gym work done during the summer.

Welcome to the Simple Summer Workout.

This is a guest article from former professional bowler, and current Strength, Conditioning and Fast Bowling Coach Steffan Jones.

There is no doubt in my mind that most fast bowlers ignore the best training method that exists for improving pace.

Today we can break that trend.

I remember in 1999 I was was at the start of my career and was searching for that X-factor that would help me add pace onto my bowling. I was currently being clocked at 78mph. In county cricket that is neither here nor there.

I needed more.

This is a guest article from Liz Ward.

Peter May once said, "the best preparation to batting, bowling and fielding was batting, bowling and fielding."

I am not going to disagree with him.

However, lifestyle today is alien to the rigours of the current game. Sitting at the computer, in cars, in front of the TV and communicating through technological wonders leave the body unprepared for cricket.