Rugby training workout
The rugby season is now officially underway and at FitFor we’re celebrating with a workout to honour the brave lads and lasses who play the game with such finesse.
So, what are the fitness needs for a Rugby player?
To be a successful player you need each of the following:
Speed – Beat your opponent to score
Strength – Fending off & making tackles
Power – Hand-offs and side-steps
Endurance – Gut-wrenchingly tiring, non-stop action
Agility – Lateral movement, jinking, twisting and turning
Rugby’s tough combo: Speed & Endurance
Due to the nature of the game we need to combine speed with endurance. A tough combination to execute successfully but here’s how. We will do 3 running sessions, and to off-set the impact but keep up the cardio, we will also add some cycling and rowing workouts.
Hill Sprints – Treadmill or a real hill!
6-10 x 200m or 35-50 seconds sprints 80-90%+ effort) with jog or walk recovery. If you are exhausted – you can also stand on the side of the treadmill while you slow it down.
Fartlek
2-6 km with 20-30 seconds fast runs (75%+ of maximum effort) followed by 2:00 jog
Guide pace –
Steady jog
3-8 km at a pace you can achieve – between 7.5-12.5 km/h should suit most abilities
It takes cardio to keep that rugby spirit going
Additional cardio exercises
Spin bike – Hill/Sprint intervals
20-30 minutes
60 seconds hill – high gear – 60-70 RPM
30 seconds sprint – intermediate gear – high speed 100-140 RPM
30 seconds rest – gear down low – 60-80 RPM
Row intervals
15-20 minutes
10 x 1:00 hard
30-60 seconds rest
Building that needed Rugby Strength & Power
For strength & power, we are going to do a combination of equipment and body weight exercises:
Weights – Perform 2-3 sets of 10 reps
Olympic lifts – Snatch and Clean & jerk (you may have seen these in the Olympics)
These lifts are very dynamic and definitely not for anyone with a back, shoulder, neck, knee or hip injury. The lifts are used by athletes (e.g. rugby players or track and field) to improve explosive speed and strength. You must be well co-ordinated, follow the correct technique and start with light weights.
The Snatch lifts the bar from the floor or knees (power snatch) to overhead in one movement
The Clean and jerk lifts the bar from the floor or knees (power clean) to the chest, then over head in a second movement
TRX Chest Press
Front squat with barbell
Deadlift
Tricep press with ropes
Bent over row
Bodyweight – Perform 2 sets of your maximum
Press-ups (push-ups)
Pull-ups
Dips
Hanging knee raise
Back extensions (maximum of 25 reps for this exercise).
Rugby – Agility
Perform 3 sets of 10 reps of the following:
Side to side bench quick step-ups
Box jumps
Full strength, power and agility, click here for: Rugby workout video
Rugby – Flexibility
Perform the following stretches/exercises for 30 seconds after each workout. Click for video here: Rugby stretches/exercises
Double knee hugs
Lying glutes
Hamstring (plus hamstring neural)
Side lying quads
Lunge (plus adductor lunge)
Calf
Downward dog
Roller – Hamstring, calf, thigh, ITB