Winner Of The Gatorade Fastest Runner: Australian Cricketer Aaron Finch

First up Aaron, congratulations on taking out the Gatorade Fastest Runner and of course, the recent ton for Victoria, have you had any downtime since the T20 series?

There's been none to be honest. Straight from Auckland to Perth to playing the Shield game. It's been a pretty hectic summer but that's pretty good cause it means you're playing and you're playing well which is nice.

Obviously, you're not a scrawny bloke, you're well built, how does someone of your size move so quick?

Good question - I think i've always been quite quick over 20 to 60 metres. I suppose that it's - I grew up playing footy and cricket, I haven't worked a hell of a lot on it to be honest, speed comes reasonably natural, just the endurance I'm not great on.

So you must have been quick at school then?

I wasn't too bad - I think I've naturally been reasonably powerful - short sprints, cycling as well, just genetically gifted.

Do you have a particular running technique that allows you to move quicker?

I wouldn't say any particular technique - I've been trying to change my running technique over the last 12 months to be a little bit more efficient and hopefully cut down on some injuries that I've had in the past. Maybe it's all working? 

Do you have any stretching routines pre-aerobic work, running or sprinting?

Over the last couple years, having the two hamstring injuries, I've had to do a little bit more work on that. I'm by no means flexible and I've had a couple calf niggles in the past. It's about making sure that I'm doing my neural stretches with my hammy and just making sure that I feel ready to go, that it's all warmed up - it's obviously referred to as the old man's injury. More just preventative really and just trying to make sure that I'm across all my rehab which is pretty important, at 31 and with a little history of injuries. 

So what does your typical leg workout look like? Do you focus on power or strength?

Mainly just power to be honest. It's probably changed from when I was younger - there was a lot of strength training. a lot of heavy squats and deadlifts. But over the last couple years, it's changed to more explosive movements - cleans - and making sure that it's efficient and powerful as opposed to just trying to lift heavy weights. There's also a lot of rehab that goes into my leg program which is unfortunate. 

In terms of the workout itself, would there be big compound exercises or would you isolate each muscle in your lower body?

It's mainly just individual ones to be honest, sometimes there'll be weighted calf raises mixed in with isometric holds for my hammy into snatches followed by box jumps. It's really basic but it helps get enough explosive power. And in cricket, as a batter, play over 20 metres is more important than big heavy weights.

We've just started the series in South Africa, looking back at the recent one against England, there were days where we reached nearly 40 degrees. How can players stay hydrated during those long days?

It's about making sure you're very well hydrated leading into the day. Make sure you've done all your preparation and then after play, get in your waters and electrolytes like Gatorade and make sure you're really ahead of the game. Once you start, it's difficult to replace anything, especially on extremely hot days. You want to be just topping it up rather than chasing the tail and trying to get hydrated on the day.