art icle s.e lit e f t s.

co m

http://articles.elitefts.co m/training-articles/strength-and-co nditio ning-fo r-rugby-must-haves/

Strength and Conditioning for Rugby: Must Haves

elit eft s Sunday Edit ion Af ter recently being let go by the Australian Rugby Union, Ive had time to contemplate what is important in rugby strength and conditioningbasically the must haves rather than the nice to haves. When I get my next position, these are nonnegotiable and will be included in the program to assist players at becoming physically dominant. T hese then are my must haves: Speed power combo Combination f itness Gym-based circuits If you have the gym and f ield in close proximity to each other, the speed power combo is one of the best f orms of anaerobic conditioning that Ive f ound. It involves perf orming some speed related activities on the f ield and then immediately coming into the gym and lif ting weights. T hen, you return to the f ield f or more speed work. You go back and f orth like this until youve f inished your maximal strength lif ting session in the gym.

Opt ion 1
Field: Warm up with patterns on ladders and mini-hurdles combined with dynamic f lexibility options Gym: Power snatch f rom blocks or hang, 8 X 3 Field: Sled marching, 4 X 22 meters with 22-meter sprint f rom a three-point stance in between Gym: Kettlebell swings, 30 seconds supersetted with knees to f eet jumps, 6 X 6 Field: Harness and release f or 22 meters resist and then 28-meter sprint X 6 Gym: Band box squats supersetted with box jumps, 8 X 3 or two-stage step-ups and single leg box jumps, 4 X 6 Field: Sled sprints ladder (empty sled X 40 meters, sled and 20 kg X 30 meters, sled and 40 kg X 20 meters, sled and 60 kg X 10 meters, and then repeat going back up the ladder)

Opt ion 2
Warm ups: Mobility circuit, f ull f orward ladder series X 6 (exercise returnsi.e. skips, butt kicks) Band box squats every 30 seconds, 12 X 2 Slow walk back recovery, 10 X 10 meters Power snatch f rom f loor every 60 seconds, 8 X 3 Block power cleans every 60 seconds, 6 X 4 Deadlif ts variation every 60 seconds, 4 X 6 6 X 22-meter parachute and 28-meter release every 3 minutes or 6 X 10-meter resisted harness and 20-meter release Sled sprints, 4 X 20 meters every two 2 minutes

Combination f itness
I love the use of small sided competitive games as the major f orm of metabolic conditioning f or rugby players. Players will go longer and of ten work harder in these games, but there are a f ew 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 of training with the conditioning games so that players are moving f rom one activity to another and dont get used to one singular mode. T his could be any combination of the f ollowing: Aerobic grid or block runs ideally based f rom your aerobic running test (i.e. yoyo test) Repeated speed sessions of varying distance with varying recoveries f rom dif f erent starting positions and perf ormed at dif f erent speeds Boxing, wrestling, and grappling activities Phase play f or a maximum of three phases with either pad opposition or semi-opposed So a session would look like this: Warm up f or 1015 minutes with a range of active movement drills and graduated speeds 12 minutes of of f -side 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) Wrestling 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: T he f irst pass must always go back and then attack to the f urthest try line. T he attacking team gets two touches. Af ter 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 area bef ore the try can be scored. T he team that scores retains possession and the def ending team must push inside the attacking half way line. Otherwise, the try is worth two points. 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 touch, he has to sprint around his own goal posts bef ore being eligible to be on def ense again. T he attacking team gets six touches and no kicking is allowed.

Gym-based circuits

While most of the gym programs I write are based on a strength training bias, I believe that we are missing the point of specif ic conditioning f or the game if we dont include some circuit style training in the program. T hat isnt to say that we should disregard strength and go entirely circuit-based (dare I say CrossFit). T hat would be like throwing the baby out with the bath water. Bef ore you CrossFit disciples howl your protest, Im not denigrating the mode of training. Its just that strength underpins everything in my book, so take the time to get strong and learn correct technique bef ore embarking on high rep sessions with complex motor skill exercises. As Westside has said, Everything works, but nothing works f orever. Here are my f avorite circuits. For a warm up, do kettlebell swings/skipping/sledgehammer tire hits/rope waves (30 seconds of each f or f ive sets).

1. Ket t lebell circuit

Kettlebell cleans Seesaw kettlebell presses Alternating kettlebell upright rows Kettlebell snatches Alternating kettlebell f loor presses MMA kettlebell rows Kettlebell squat jumps Kettlebell 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. St eel log GPP circuit

Clean and push presses Front squats Bent over rows Romanian deadlif ts Do eight reps on each and then go again f or eight total sets.

3. Body weight GPP circuit

Perf orm 15 reps on each of this nonstop circuit: Grasshoppers Hindu push-ups Knees to f eet jumps Scorpions Mountain climbers Alternate lunges Rock and rolls Push-ups Prisoner jump squats Sit-ups

(Inf ormation on these can be f ound in Combat Conditioning by Matt Furey.)

4. Beast ly circuit s
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: T hree-position clean/Push press/Jump squat/Hang snatch/Split jerk behind neck/Good 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 it ness
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 three minutes hard on the bike or versa climber. Rest 90 seconds and repeat six times.

6. Power circuit
Perf orm f ive sets of f ive reps of a 500-meter row af ter each circuit. Power snatch Clean and push press f rom blocks Jammer Power tackler Band box squat

Perf orm an abdominal circuit af ter each of the training options, alternating weighted and unweighted. Do weighted abs (f ive exercises f or f ive sets of f ive reps) in a circuit: Half Turkish get-up Lateral side bend and pick up (windmill) Z ercher pick up Suitcase deadlif t Combat twist unweighted abs Do f ive exercises f or three sets of f if teen reps in a circuit: Hanging leg raises Rollouts Cyclone balls Sprinters sit-ups One-minute bridge

7. Borreginne super circuit

T his was shared with me by Haydn Masters, the greatest weightlif ting coach that Australia has produced and a man Im proud to call my f riend. You can alternate 20-meter shuttle 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 Russian twists (10 kg) 4. 4 X shuttle 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 shuttle 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 shuttle runs (20 meters) 13. 10 X snatch squats (bar) 14. 10 X upright rows (30 kg) 15. 20 X chinnies 16. 4 X shuttle runs (20 meters) 17. 10 X burpees with push-up 18. 10 X barbell curl to press (16 kg) 19. 20 X medicine ball Russian twists (10 kg) 20. 4 X shuttle runs (20 meters) 21. 10 X squat jumps (bar) 22. 10 X bench presses (60 kg)

23. 20 X chinnies 24. 4 X shuttle runs (20 meters) 25. 10 X hang cleans (40 kg) 26. 10 X bent over rows (40 kg) 27. 10 X hanging knees to chest 28. 4 X shuttle runs (20 meters) 29. 20 X barbell step-ups (bar) 30. 10 X barbell shoulder presses (30 kg) 31. 20 X medicine ball crunches (6 kg) 32. 4 X shuttle runs (20 meters) 33. 10 X burpees with push-up 34. 10 X upright rows (40 kg) 35. 20 X landmines (20 kg) 36. 4 X shuttle runs (20 meters)

8. St rongman circuit s
Strongman training dif f ers f rom traditional weight training in that the objects that are pushed, pulled, lif ted, dragged, or carried arent unif orm in size, shape, or weightbut nor are the players we come across on a rugby f ield. I primarily use Strongman training as a strength endurance circuit where players are paired of f and one player works f or one minute while the other rests, motivates, and encourages his partner. When both players have worked f or 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 others have thrown out such as truck tires, odd-shaped blocks, and other things that are gold to people like us looking f or something a little dif f erent. Please dont get me wrong. T his type of training is excellent f or strength endurance and f or strengthening those support muscles that arent easily targeted, but they dont replace the f act that maximal strength and strength-speed type training is best developed using weights in the gym. Some of my f avorites f or training rugby players in this style of training are: Fingals finger: 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, Z ercher style in the crook of your elbows 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 f rom your hands as your grip gives out. T ire flip: Position yourself in a good deadlif t position and lif t the edge of the tire of f the ground. Continue lif ting and pushing with your knee until it f lips over. Continue f or 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 f leet store shed. Yoke walk: Take a squat bar out of the rack or have a yoke make specif ically f or the purpose and walk as f ar as you can. T his 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. T he 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 f or distance, press it

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. T his is a real challenge. Steel log: Clean and press f or reps or time. T he 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 sled. Load it up and proceed to walk, towing this behind you f or time and/or distance.

Conclusion
Because Im a strength coach f irst and f oremost, it would be remiss of me to f inish this article without giving you what I consider to be my most productive strength training tips.

Three-week st rengt h t raining 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 styles ensure that youre hitting above 95 percent of your maximal load every three weeks and that you dont drop below the strength threshold 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

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 interset rest Finally, the Rule of 24 that Ive written extensively about has provided great gains in size, strength, and power f or all those who have tried it. Check back through the Get Strength article 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 strength and conditioning. So there you have it. I hope that Ive added to your training toolbox and that you can glean what necessary inf ormation you require to aid in the development of 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