Developing Your Game -
USA Rugby's Training Philosophy

Rugby is a very dynamic sport requiring power, strength, agility, footwork, flexibility, aerobic and anaerobic conditioning. Therfore, as a rugby athlete, you should train all of these facets to be as effective as possible and to sustain the whole 80+ minutes of the game.

Rugby is a collision sport and preparing ones body for the rigors and demands of rugby should be of utmost importance for individuals and teams. If you are under prepared then you stand a great potential for injury and a reduction in performance.

In my opinion a lot of the common injuries (to both the upper and lower extremities) and lack of performance can be prevented if the team and individuals follow a scientific-based strength and conditioning program. So within this first edition of USA Rugby News, I will provide you with the basics of a program that you and your team can follow.

IT STARTS WITH
CONDITIONING….

Performing 45 minutes of hard, rugby-specific conditioning at the start of your practice on a Tuesday night instead of at the end will yield better results, allowing you to do your skill work whilst tired and more game specific training towards the end. Then on Thursday nights performing more of a speed/sprint session will better prepare the team for the game on Saturday.

You cannot advance your training, agility, plyometrics and power without an aerobic base. Aerobic conditioning allows recovery from bouts of work and the ability to sustain effort throughout the entire game. Aerobic conditioning should be done in the off-season or pre-season period and then move on to more interval and speed work with varying distances and shorter rest periods to make the conditioning more rugby specific.

STRENGTH TRAIN LIKE A RUGBY PLAYER,
NOT LIKE A BODYBUILDER...

For the strength-training portion of training all you need is a power rack for Olympic lifts or a squat rack with rubber flooring for softer landings, a Swiss/stability ball, weight plates, dumbbells and an adjustable bench, and then commitment to sticking to the plan. As stated earlier in the first paragraph, rugby is a highly demanding sport demanding use of the whole body. Athletes should not train like bodybuilders; they should train movements and not muscles. Yes, you can bench and squat all you like, but if you are neglecting the supporting musculature you will stand a greater chance of sustaining an injury. Performing pre-rehabilitation (exercises that you would perform in physical therapy for rehab, but perform in training to reduce injury potential) exercises for the rotator cuff and knee for example will significantly reduce the chance of a shoulder injury and ACL tears.

If you think seriously about rugby, you mainly use your legs for running, tackling, rucking and mauling, therefore performing a full body workout three to four times a week in the off-season and twice a week in-season with a little more emphasis on lower extremity power, strength and injury prevention will better serve you and prepare you better. Everybody should be able to squat, lunge forward, back and laterally with excellent biomechanical form to enhance lateral power and agility. Working on muscles you can not see in the mirror, specifically your hamstrings (with RDL's, Swiss ball hamstring curls, step-ups, lunging) and lower and upper back muscels, will make you less susceptible to injury and hence a better athlete.

When lifting, always perform a core warm-up prior to lifting as these are the muscles you are going to use when you lift, instead of running on a treadmill or sitting on a bike for five minutes. The use of Swiss balls adds balance and coordination to any movement, thus engaging more core stabilizing muscles. If you can do core exercises standing up which is much more specific as opposed to sitting/lying down. Then move onto your explosive Olympic lifts, squatting, and chest and work your way from major muscles to smaller supplemental muscles and lifts.

There are many ways to train an athlete that is why the Strength and Conditioning profession is constantly evolving and more workouts come on to the market. All of them have their benefits. You have to adhere to the core principles of training and maintain your form over trying to get more weight lifted. The training has to be specific and demanding to the challenges that you are going to face. You have to build a base of strength and conditioning prior to moving on to any further training programs. If you skip phases or progressions of exercises you risk potential of injury.

CIRCUIT TRAINING IS
A GREAT ALTERNATIVE...

Circuit training is a great year round training tool for all positions as an alternative lifting day or a metabolic session. It is also great to do as a team as there are many different exercises in quick succession.