Programming for rugby fitness training is one of the most challenging but also enjoyable tasks in sport. Why? Because the demands of a rugby player are so far reaching that you need good levels of all fitness qualities. You also have athletes of all shapes and sizes with differing fitness demands depending on position. It’s a challenge but it is also stimulating to be able to use a variety of fitness training methods.
The other challenge is that no one athlete responds the same to a training approach. So you need a large toolbox of fitness training methods and understand which to use with each athlete at the right time.
The purpose of this rugby fitness guide is to teach you everything you need to know to get yourself or your players fitter for rugby.
We’re going to share with you some awesome rugby fitness training methods shortly, but before we do it’s important you understand some prerequisites that will determine how effective your rugby fitness training turns out to be. If you get these things right you will reap the benefits of your fitness training, recover quicker, adapt better and avoid injuries.
You’ve probably heard this before: “You wouldn’t put diesel in a Ferrari”. And it’s right, if you want to get the most out of your fitness then you need to fuel well. Make sure you’re getting the right balance of macronutrients, especially Carbohydrates which are important for fuelling high intensity activities like rugby fitness training and playing.
Hydration not only effects your performance in games and during fitness training sessions, but it also effects your ability to adapt and recovery between them. Make sure you take your hydration seriously. Aim for at least 3-4 litres a day and isotonic drinks during intense fitness training and games.
Sleep is your number one form of recovery. In fact cryotherapy; which has often been hailed as a great recovery modality is thought to be effective due to it’s impact on sleep! There is also research out there showing that less than eight hours of sleep increases risk of injury and injury stops you from training to increase your fitness. Aim for 8 hours a night and if training really hard try and get a power nap in too.
Strength should be a huge priority for a rugby player. Strength is not only needed to dominate the physical collisions in the game but also as the foundation for all other physical fitness qualities that are important for rugby. Strength development is important for improving speed, power and fitness for rugby.
Research has even shown that rugby players who have a stronger squat perform more high intensity work in a game. Not only that, despite doing more in the game they also recover faster between games. If you want to get fitter for rugby, you need to get stronger.
Plyometric training is mainly considered as a speed and power training modality. But it also has a profound effect on fitness and injury prevention . Improving your plyometric ability makes you more energy efficient ie. It takes less energy for each foot strike you make. If you think about how many foot strikes you make in a game you can potentially save a huge amount of energy by improving your plyometric ability.
Improving your body composition is an easy way to increase not only fitness but also speed. It’s simple really, if you decrease fat mass, the weight that offers no functional or contractile benefit, you will improve fitness scores and be able to cover the ground quicker. If you don’t believe us try running round the pitch for a while with a 10kg weight vest on!
Improving these three factors will help massively to get you fitter for rugby and should be a priority in your rugby strength and conditioning program. Once you’ve got these covered however you need to really consider your rugby fitness training…
Before you can decide what type of fitness training you need to do to improve your rugby performance, you need to understand some of the basics of physiology we’ll start with the energy systems.
The graph above shows the three energy pathways the body uses to generate and supply energy for physical activity; the ATP-PC, Glycolytic and Aerobic. Let’s look at them all individually:
This energy system provides energy rapidly from the ATP-CP stores in the cell. They typically provide energy for 5-15 seconds of high intensity activity. It is one of the two anaerobic energy systems, which requires no oxygen.
This energy system generates ATP from glycolysis; the breakdown of glucose. It can provide energy for 20 secs -2mins and again is anaerobic. A by product of glycolysis is lactic acid and hydrogen ions. I’m sure you’ve felt the effects of this after a tough fitness session when your legs feel heavy!
The aerobic energy system requires oxygen to generate ATP and uses protein and carbohydrates but predominantly fat. The aerobic energy system supports long duration low intensity activities. But more importantly for rugby fitness the aerobic system is important for recovery between high intensity bouts.
It is important to understand that the energy systems never work in isolation, they are all being used at varying degrees throughout exercise. You should also understand that the intensity of the exercise you perform and the work:rest ratios you use dictate to a great extent which energy systems get used.
When you look at the energy systems you should see the need for all to be trained to get the most out of your rugby fitness training and how you train will dictate which energy systems you stimulate.
“It ain’t what you do, it’s how you do it!”
We are going to show some great rugby fitness training methods but it is imperative that you understand that you could employ anyone of these methods but if you don’t use it right you won’t get optimal results.
Here’s an example; you want to get faster and be able to repeat it for the duration of a rugby match so you perform repeat 100m sprints. This could be a good training approach but you use short 30s rest periods which doesn’t allow enough recovery for you to perform them at enough intensity to stimulate the adaptations you desire. In fact it will end up turning into an aerobic fitness session!
The point is you can perform any type of exercise to get fitter for rugby but it is the work:rest ratios that determine whether it is the type of fitness you are targeting. See the table below for the exact work:rest ratios for the fitness qualities targeted. And remember it’s not what you do but how you do it!
Fox, E.L., and Mathews, D.K.(1981). Physiological basis of physical education and athletics. 3rd Edition. Philidelphia: W.B. Saunders
Viru, A. (1995). Adaptation in sports training. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press
If you understand how to use these work:rest ratios you can manipulate any fitness training modality to achieve the fitness qualities you need. This gives you almost endless variations of fitness training sessions to develop. But how do you know what fitness qualities to target with your training?…
Fitness testing is a great way to help you figure out what fitness training you need to perform to get fitter for rugby. For best results use a testing battery that can gauge your fitness levels of many different fitness qualities. Make sure that covers all the energy systems previously discussed. Then you simply look at how far you are from the standard on each test and the one you are weakest at should be the focus of your fitness training.
Another way to asses your rugby fitness is to take an honest look at your game or ask a trusted coach to give you honest feedback. Do you gas out after a couple of sprints? Do you struggle with the initial intensity of the game but come back as the opposition tires? do you run out of steam in the last 10mins? These questions often give a better insight into your fitness training needs than a one off test. don’t ignore it!
This is the moment you’ve been waiting for!! Here we share some of the best rugby fitness training methods we’ve used in our online subscription program and with some of the top players in pro sport…
Maximal Aerobic Speed training is a great way to build you aerobic capacity for rugby. It involves determining your MAS from a 5min running test and then using it to program individual specific intervals. An easy tool to use for coaches to train a large number of players but still keep it specific to the individual’s ability. Limitations of it are that it’s one paced so it won’t prepare you for high intensity efforts but research shows it increases aerobic fitness for rugby. There are loads of variations to use and the MAS numbers make it an easy way to program progression.
If you have access to a good hill then you can get one hell of a fitness session in. You don’t want too steep an incline for best results but occasionally a really steep hill is good for character building. Increase your rest periods for more of a speed/acceleration session and decrease them for more of a conditioning session.
It should be clear by now that you fitness training should improve your ability to produce specific work that you perform in a game and obviously sprinting is high up there! The ability to repeat sprint efforts with minimal drop off in performance is extremely important for rugby players. Some of your rugby fitness workouts should include sprint efforts with relatively short rest periods to simulate the fitness demands of a game.
High Intensity Interval training is a must for anyone who is serious about getting fitter for rugby. These types of sessions will include change of direction, down and ups and of course a variety of different distance sprints. All of these elements make them a rugby specific and tough fitness training workout. These types of sessions are short and intense which makes them a good choice to add at the end of your rugby training to add a conditioning stimulus.
The majority of your running should be done on the field but treadmill fitness sessions can be a good way to reintegrate following an injury or as a change of pace when the pitch is water logged! Difficult to perform really high intensity fitness sessions as it takes a while to get up to speed but great for aerobic work and slightly less stressful on the joints.
Long Slow Distance running shouldn’t be used too much if you want to get fitter for rugby. You see rugby fitness is more about repeated high intensity sprint efforts and physical work than running continuously for long periods of time. To really persuade you would you want to play rugby if you had the physique of a distance runner?! Didn’t think so! If you’re really out of shape you might want to use this initially but soon progress to higher intensity fitness training methods.
Complexes are great for challenging the whole body under load for a continuous time. They will improve grip strength, body composition and conditioning. A barbell complex consists of typically 3-6 barbell exercises performed back to back without putting the bar down. Loaded heavy they can be really tough. The only issue is that usually one exercise limits the load. For instance you can squat and deadlift way more than you can overhead press.
