Half hearted cricket training is as bad as no training at all.

Low intensity training is a waste of time because a few knock-ups on the outfield are not going to prepare for a searing drive heading straight for you at cover.

Here are some ways to ensure you are training hard enough:

• Keep drills short. Whatever drills you are doing keep them short in duration with plenty of participation. This way you can do everything at a faster pace: Hit the ball harder, run faster and go at game speed.

Ever heard a conversation at your cricket club go something like this:

Senior Player: That Jim is a good player but he tries too hard.

Club Pro: We will soon get that out of him!

*laughter*

The underlying sentiment seems to be that success is wanted by the club, but you can't be seen to be trying too hard to get it.

From time to time, guests will give you a slightly different take on cricket. This post is by Jason Jones.

Catches don't come much better looking than a full-stretch dive: Something that is still a dark art at club level. Why is this?

If you are very lucky you will be a member of a great cricket team and a great gym. In fact, what you look for in one you should look for in the other.

Take this template of a great gym from Andrew Heffernan:

1. PERSONAL ATTENTION.
2. RECOGNITION FOR ACCOMPLISHMENT.
3. CONTINUED INSTRUCTION.
4. TRAINERS WHO ARE ON THE SAME PAGE.

A large parcel delivery company in America has a central warehouse that moves thousands of parcels through every day. Delivery on time is their business so any failure in the conveyor belt means massive losses in profits.

You can guess what happened: The conveyor belt failed.

The company tried to fix it, but everything they tried failed. Time is money so they called in a consultant.

I post today with a heavy heart after my club side was roundly beaten yesterday. Not the best start to the league season.

• 5 Myths about fitness training (hint: lifting weights does not make you inflexible).
• "I have trained hard for this moment and my body is ready... Let’s just do it!".
• Real cricketers front squat.

Part of the attraction of cricket and fitness is that both worlds generate so much debate: Everyone has an opinion. Rent-a-pundits are 10 a penny on Sky.

But it's important to question everyone's opinion because without asking why we accept as truth a lot of stuff that we can do better.

Look at the example of Jason Ferruggia, a man who has trained many athletes to peak performance. He says in his blog that supplements and fast acting sport drinks are a waste of time.

Had enough of being known as the jolly, roly-poly one in the team? You are not alone.

Most cricketers I speak to have weight loss as their main goal. And why not? It's good for your health, makes you look better and improves your cricket.

But losing weight is hard work and confusing. Especially during the season where a good tea is always just around the corner. With all those cakes and egg mayonnaise sarnies, no wonder you can't drop a pound.

Yesterday we passed a milestone with the 500th subscriber signing up. I figure this makes harrowdrive.com one of the most popular cricket blogs.

I want to thank you for your continued support. I have never paid for advertising yet you still visit regularly. I never thought this would happen when I started the site last year and it's all down to the regular feedback, questions and readers I get every day.