Payne Out To Add Weight To Bowling Attack
16 November 2012
While most professional sportsmen battle to keep their weight down, David Payne is actually hoping to put on a few pounds this winter.
The 21-year-old left-arm seamer has undertaken a special programme with that in mind. But it involves protein drinks and gym work, rather than scoffing hamburgers and chips.
David explained: “For a couple of years the club have tried to get me on a gradual weight-gaining programme. It has worked to an extent, but then through the season my weight tends to drop again.
“So going into this winter I told our Strength and Conditioning Coach Chris Bodman that I wanted to give it a real go, almost taking it to an excess limit to see what would happen.
“I started at the beginning of last month and I’ll continue until we break up for Christmas when I will assess what the weight gain is.
“It means drinking a lot of protein shakes, two or three a day including straight after training, and consciously eating more of the right things.
“It’s gaining weight, but the right type of weight. I am doing more gym sessions with the aim of building up extra muscle, and it’s certainly not about getting fat.
“With the right extra weight, I will become stronger, which should help my bowling. My body type is such that I am never going to be massive, but I hope to gain more endurance to be more effective as a day’s play wears on.
“Body weight can equate to energy and endurance. It’s about gaining core strength in my body so there is more in my legs in the final sessions of play.
“Hopefully, I will be able to come back stronger for later spells than has previously been the case.”
David reflects on last summer as largely one of frustration for him and the team.
“It was tough for me because of a side injury I picked up early on,” he said. “It played on my mind for the rest of the summer, even though I was fit to play.
“It was in the back of my mind that it could happen again and I lost the ability to swing the ball as much as I had been able to do before.
“This winter for me is all about gaining confidence in my body again and going through my drills to ensure I am swinging the ball.
“Finishing bottom of the Championship was tough for the lads to take. It’s not where we should have finished and I feel we should have been competing for promotion again.
“A lot of boys have gone away for the winter, but before they left we had a meeting and agreed where we want to be next season.
“We gave ourselves a kick up the backside. I agree with John Bracewell that we cannot hide behind being a young side anymore.
“Players like Ian Saxelby and myself have been playing for a few years now and, although we are young, we are building up a bank of knowledge.
“We are still learning, but at the same time we should be doing a lot better than we did last season.”
