135094144 Strength and Conditioning for Rugby Must Haves

7/28/2019 135094144 Strength and Conditioning for Rugby Must Haves

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Combination f itness

I love the use of small sided competitive games as t he major f orm of metabolic conditioning fo r rugby

players. Players will go longer and of ten work harder in these games, but t here are a few problems. Not

all players work as hard as they should, and human nature being what it is, some may rest up at times or

go missing completely. Also, depending on the skill levels of the players, the ball may not stay in play long

enough to get a conditioning benef it. So by combining this excellent mode of conditioning with a variety

of others, I f eel we can ensure a more complete session.

I like to include blocks o f training with t he conditioning games so that players are moving f rom one

activity to another and dont get used to o ne singular mode. This could be any combination of the

following:

Aerobic grid or block runs ideally based f rom your aerobic running test (i.e. yoyo test)

Repeated speed sessions o f varying distance with varying recoveries f rom dif f erent starting

positions and perf ormed at diff erent speeds

Boxing, wrestling, and grappling activities

Phase play fo r a maximum of three phases with either pad opposition or semi-o pposed

So a session would look like this:

Warm up for 1015 minutes with a range of active movement drills and graduated speeds

12 minutes of of f -s ide touch, 2 minutes drink break/recovery

2 X 4-minute VO2 grids (4 minutes work, 2-minute walk recovery)

6 X starter players (3 f rom lineout and 3 f rom scrum, alternating)

Wrest ling f or 6 minutes

20 X 22 meters going every 15 seconds f rom dif f erent start positions (5 minutes work and then

drink/rest 2 minutes)

Finish with 8 minutes of drop-of f touch

Recovery

Off-side touch: The f irst pass must always go

back and then attack to the f urthest try line. The

attacking team gets two to uches. Aft er the

second touch turnover, the ball can be passed

af ter the restart pass in any direction. To ensure

that everyone is working all the time, the

attacking team must be inside the 22-meter areabefore the try can be scored. The team that

scores retains possession and the defending

team must push inside the attacking halfway line.

Otherwise, the t ry is worth two po ints. Another

version is man-on-man where you can only tag

your partner and vice versa. In addition, you can

add a sweeper who can tag anyone as well.

Drop-off touch: Normal touch rules apply,

except when a person makes a t ouch, he has to

sprint around his own goal post s befo re being

eligible to be on defense again. The attacking

team gets six touches and no kicking is allowed.

Gym-based circuits


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While most of the gym programs I write are based

on a s trength t raining bias, I believe that we are missing the point of specific conditioning for t he game if

we dont include some circuit s tyle training in the program. That isnt to say that we should disregard

st rength and go entirely circuit- based (dare I say CrossFit). That would be like throwing the baby out with

the bath water. Befo re you CrossFit disciples howl your protest , Im not denigrating the mode of training.

Its just that st rength underpins everything in my book, so t ake the time to get strong and learn correct

technique bef ore embarking on high rep sessions with complex motor skill exercises. As Wests ide has

said, Everything works, but nothing works f orever.

Here are my favorite circuits. For a warm up, do ket tlebell swings/skipping/sledgehammer tire hits/rope

waves (30 seconds of each f or f ive sets).

1. Ket tlebell circuit

Kett lebell cleans

Seesaw kettlebell presses

Alternating kettlebell upright rows

Kettlebell snatchesAlternating kettlebell f loo r presses

MMA kettlebell rows

Kettlebell squat jumps

Kett lebell two- handed swings

Do 30 seconds on each and rest f or 90 seconds at the end of the circuit. Repeat f or a total of six sets

or do eight reps on either the Extermin8 or Termin8 circuit.

2. Steel log GPP circuit

Clean and push presses

Front squats

Bent o ver rows

Romanian deadlif ts

Do eight reps on each and then go again f or eight to tal sets.

3. Body weight GPP circuit

Perform 15 reps on each of this nonstop circuit:

Grasshoppers

Hindu push-ups

Knees to f eet jumps

Scorpions

Mountain climbers

Alternate lunges

Rock and rollsPush-ups

Prisoner jump squats

Sit-ups


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(Information on these can be found in Combat Conditioningby Matt Furey.)

4. Beastly circuits

Do six sets of six reps and then three minutes of hard cardio (i.e. bike, box, row, versa, rope pull,

treadmill incline run, grinder).

Option 1: Deadlif t/Power clean f rom hang/Front squat/Push press/Bent over row/Romanian

deadlif t

Option 2: Power clean f rom f loor/Split jerk/Front squat/Hang clean/Lunge/Bent over row

Option 3: Power snatch f rom f loor/Push press/Back squat /Hang clean/Split jerk/Romanian

deadlif t

Option 4: Three-pos ition clean/Push press/Jump squat/Hang snatch/Split jerk behind neck/Goo d

morning

Option 5: Power snatch f rom f loor/Overhead squat/Push jerk behind head/Combo good

morning/Jump squat /Power clean f rom hang

5. Power f itness

Do power clean, pulls, or deadlif ts at 70 percent f or 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 (15 seconds rest between sets) and

then t hree minutes hard on the bike o r versa climber. Rest 90 seconds and repeat six times.

6. Power circuit

Perform five sets o f f ive reps o f a 500-meter row af ter each circuit.

Power snatch

Clean and push press f rom blocks

Jammer

Power tackler

Band box squat


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Perf orm an abdominal circuit af ter each of the t raining options, alternating weighted and unweighted. Do

weighted abs (f ive exercises f or f ive sets o f f ive reps) in a circuit:

Half Turkish get- up

Lateral side bend and pick up (windmill)

Zercher pick up

Suitcase deadlif t

Combat twist unweighted abs

Do f ive exercises f or three sets of f ift een reps in a circuit:

Hanging leg raises

Rollouts

Cyclone balls

Sprinters sit-ups

One-minute bridge

7. Borreginne super circuit

This was shared with me by Haydn Masters, the greatest weightlif ting coach that Aust ralia has produced

and a man Im proud to call my f riend.

You can alternate 20-meter shutt le runs with 100 meters on the Concept 11 rower or the Prowler:

1. 10 X squat jumps (bar)

2. 10 X bench presses (60 kg)

3. 20 X medicine ball Russ ian twists (10 kg)

4. 4 X shutt le runs (20 meters)

5. 10 X hang cleans (40 kg)

6. 10 X bent over rows (40 kg)

7. 10 X hanging knees to chest

8. 4 X shutt le runs (20 meters)

9. 20 X barbell step-ups (bar)

10. 10 X bench press (60 kg)

11. 20 X medicine ball crunches (6 kg)

12. 4 X shut tle runs (20 meters)

13. 10 X snatch squats (bar)

14. 10 X upright rows (30 kg)

15. 20 X chinnies


17. 10 X burpees with push- up

18. 10 X barbell curl to press (16 kg)

19. 20 X medicine ball Russ ian twists (10 kg)


21. 10 X squat jumps (bar)

22. 10 X bench presses (60 kg)


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23. 20 X chinnies


25. 10 X hang cleans (40 kg)

26. 10 X bent over rows (40 kg)

27. 10 X hanging knees to chest


29. 20 X barbell step-ups (bar)

30. 10 X barbell shoulder presses (30 kg)

31. 20 X medicine ball crunches (6 kg)


33. 10 X burpees with push- up

34. 10 X upright rows (40 kg)

35. 20 X landmines (20 kg)


8. Strongman circuits

Strongman training dif f ers f rom traditional weight t raining in that the objects that are pushed, pulled,

lif ted, dragged, or carried arent uniform in size, shape, or weightbut nor are the players we come

across on a rugby f ield. I primarily use Strongman training as a s trength endurance circuit where players

are paired of f and one player works f or one minute while the other rests, mot ivates, and encourages his

partner. When both players have worked for one minute, they move on to the next exercise. We usually

have about ten exercises, but depending on the size of your squad and the availability of equipment, the

choice is endless. Always be on the lookout f or equipment that you might be able to use. Check out the

local dump and see what o thers have thrown out such as truck tires, odd-shaped blocks, and otherthings that are gold to people like us looking fo r something a litt le dif f erent.

Please dont get me wrong. This type of training is excellent f or s trength endurance and for

st rengthening those support muscles that arent easily targeted, but they dont replace the f act that

maximal st rength and s trength-speed type training is best developed us ing weights in t he gym.

Some of my favorites f or t raining rugby players in this style of training are:

Fingals f inger: Lif t a post of f the ground and then, with your hands above your head, walk it

f orward until it is vertical.

Conans wheel: Lif t a bar, which is connected to a load, Zercher style in the crook of yourelbows and proceed to walk in a circular path until you can no longer continue.

Farmer s walk: Pick up two implements, one in each hand, and walk until the implements f all from

your hands as your grip gives out.

Tire f lip: Position yourself in a good deadlift position and lif t the edge of the tire of f the

ground. Cont inue lif ting and pushing with your knee until it f lips over. Cont inue for time and/or

distance.

Chain drag: Grab hold of a length of anchor chain and walk backward as you drag the chain. Our

chain weighs 150 kg, and we picked it up at a f ishing fleet store shed.

Yoke walk: Take a squat bar out of the rack or have a yoke make specifically for the purposeand walk as f ar as you can. This is a real challenge.

Lift and carry: Take a keg, stone, buoy, or any heavy, odd-shaped object and pick it up. Take it

f or a walk. The more awkward, the better because this will challenge your stabilizer muscles.

Lift and carry press: Do the same as the above, but instead of carrying fo r distance, press it


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above your head. A great use f or the Swiss ball is to f ill it with sand or water to the desired weight

and then proceed to push this live weight overhead. This is a real challenge.

Stee l log: Clean and press f or reps or t ime. The log, being quite a wide diameter, makes it

awkward to lif t and also puts extra emphasis on lower back stabilization, which is a bonus.

Sled drag: Use a sprint s led. Load it up and proceed to walk, towing this behind you f or t ime

and/or distance.

Conclusion

Because Im a strength coach f irst and f oremost , it would be remiss of me to f inish this art icle without

giving you what I consider to be my mos t productive strength t raining tips.

Three-week strength training cycle:

Ive used this many times with dif f erent levels of players, and Ive always had success with it as an of f -

season training system incorporating wave loading, which I consider to be the best overloading method

ever:

Week 1: 2 X (6/5/4)

Week 2: 2 X (5/4/3)

Week 3: 2 X (4/3/2)

Ive also had success with it in-season when time is of the essence:

Week 1: 6/5/4/4

Week 2: 5/4/3/3

Week 3: 4/3/2/2

Both s tyles ensure that youre hitt ing above 95 percent of your maximal load every three weeks and that

you dont drop below the st rength thresho ld of 80 percent every three weeks a la Westside. You should

change the program in some way (e.g., a simple exercise change or variation) to ensure continued gains.

For the more advanced, the system known as complexes has also worked very well in my training

programs. It can be used with major compound movements:

Week 1: 4 X 6 straight sets plateau load 80 percent

Week 2: 4 X 3/3 complex with 1520 seconds intra-set and 23 minutes inter-set rest

Week 3: 4 X 2/2/2 complex with 1520 seconds intra-set and 23 minutes inter-set rest


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Week 4: 4 X 1/1/1/1/1/1 or 4 x 3/2/1 complex with 1520 seconds intra-set and 23 minutes inter-

set rest

Finally, the Rule of 24 that Ive written extensively about has provided great gains in size, s trength, and

power f or all those who have tried it. Check back through the Get Strength art icle f iles to see them all.

In the New Year, Ill be compiling much of my material into an ebook f orm, which will examine in detail all

my training programs f or s trength and conditioning.

So there you have it. I hope that Ive added to your training too lbox and that you can glean what

necessary information you require to aid in the development o f your productive program. Remember, as

said at Westside, If all you have is a hammer, then everything else becomes a nail.

Train hard and make a dif f erence in someones lif e!

Related Articles:

Strongman Training for Rugby

Introduction to Preparing Athletes for the Challenging Sport of Rugby Unions

Ten Prowler Variations
http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/ten-prowler-variations/http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/sports-training/introduction-to-preparing-athletes-for-the-challenging-sport-of-rugby-union/http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/sports-training/strongman-training-for-rugby/

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135094144 Strength and Conditioning for Rugby Must Haves