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GET FIT FOR RUGBY MANUAL

Get Fit for Rugby Final

BONUS SECTION

Brutal Bike Conditioning Programme

Mass in a Month Programme

Giant Sets for Fat Loss

Finisher Menu – Sphere Fitness

rugby fitness games 2

Sphere_Manual_final

These are all in PDF format meaning you will need to download them to your hardrive. Just right click and then save to hardrive. They should download right away. If you have any technical issues then feel free to email me direct at jlark@spherefitness.ie

For access to my inner circle here is the link:

http://healthcamp.ning.com

Join the ‘Rugby Fitness Group’ – When you have this you can then ask away!

Very soon you will receive an email that you need to click on the link to confirm your subscription (this is to enable me to make sure that I am not sending you SPAM left-right and centre)

In the meantime if you need more information to help you with your rugby fitness levels either as a player or a coach then go to

http://www.fitnessforrugbyblog.com

If you need more help with eating right for rugby then check out

http://www.nutritionforrugby.com

As always your comments and opinion count so feel free to drop me an email via the comments section at the blog!

Yours in rugby

John Lark

Thanks for being a loyal subscriber! As a way of saying thanks for putting up with the emails (alognside the barrage of other garbage that hits your inbox) and more importantly reading them please accept a FREE copy of Craig Ballantyne’s Bodyweight Workout Manual.

This is an awesome geared to the amatuer, youth or school-boy player looking to get more conditioned for rugby. PLUS you can use them in your sessions. A win-win all round!

Click Here to Download

This is a PDF so right click and hit ‘save as’.

Yours in rugby,

John

Author, Get Fit for Rugby and Nutrition For Rugby

]]> http://getfitforrugby.com/free-bonus/feed 0 http://getfitforrugby.com/the-best-mass-building-exercises-4-rugby-fitness http://getfitforrugby.com/the-best-mass-building-exercises-4-rugby-fitness#comments Wed, 07 Oct 2009 06:32:40 +0000 http://getfitforrugby.com/?p=93 The Best Mass Building Exercise 4 Rugby Fitness

In terms of fitness 4 rugby, the best mass building exercises are simple. In fact if you are looking to pack on mass quick then add more food to your plate and more weight on the bar whilst sticking in the weight room to a sound diet of the exercises below.

1. Deadlifts

Number one ranks the deadlift and there is a strong enough reason why this is important in getting you fit 4 rugby. Why? Because it is a total body movement that at the same time allows you to shif obscene amounts of weight. The hormonal effect is therefore much greater with this exercise.

I am not a huge believer in functional training for rugby. In this respect you try and mimic as closely as possible the actions you perform on a rugby field. If you try and do this you will get weaker. I know, I have tried it. It doesn’t work. Stick with the big guns and get strong with the loads you are lifting. THAT will have a direct carry over onto the rugby pitch.

Likewise I am not going to try and instruct you on technique. Get a coach who can look at your technique allowing you to get the most out of it. There are so many indivudual flexibility issues that can only be spotted with a trained eye. However, remember some  coaching cues if you are on your own in the weight room. These include, arse down, chest up, look straight ahead.

Deadlifts for rugby are best performed in sets of 3-5 working with 70-85% of your best effort for 1RM. During the season I would train them once per week. In the season train them once per week.

A sample workout for your deadlift would be:

1. Deadlift 8 x 3-5 up to 180s rest

2a Back Extensions 4 x 15-20

2b Hanging Leg Raises 4 x 15-20

3 GH Raise 2 x 5

2. Squats

Like the deadlift, squats are great if you are looking to improve your fitness 4 rugby. There are many progressions too if you can master the full back squat including the depth that you are looking for.

Begin with the box squat and the ‘art’ of forching your hips back to allow the muscles of the posterior chain to fire and give you the all important surge coming out of the hole. Placing a pause at the bottom of the squat will build that explosive starting strength that will allow you to bust tackles.

You have to earn the right to squat full depth and taking into acount the flexibility issues that ALL rugby players have I very much doubt that a strong lordotic or arch in the back can be held, keeping the spine in neutral throughout the movement. If this is the case then again use a coach to look at your movements.

Use single leg variations for progression. Try this – put a barbell on your back and try bulgarian split squats for sets of 5 and then tell me that you NEED to do a back squat all the time.

A sample routine for the squat would be:

1 Box Squats – working up to a 1RM over 10 sets with a 180s rest interval

2a Split Squats with DB 3 x 8-10 – rest 60s

2b Chins 3 x 10-12 – rest 60s

3 Shrug with External Rotation 3 x 8 – rest 60s

3. Bench Press

I like the bench press for rugby. Why? a) if the player is lifting good loads this has a direct psychological bearing on his confidence. Everyone likes to bench b) It is a great upper body movement that allows maximum mucle recruitment allowing you to pack on size in the upper body.

Here is a tip – find a good powerlifter or strongman who can teach you HOW to bench for rugby. Technique is crucial in this regard. Your set-up and execution will translate to more loads if you get it right. More often than not it is NOT about your structural weaknesses but simply a question of your technique that can make the most immediate gains.

A sample workout for the bench press can include:

1a Bench Press 6 x 5

1b Wide Grip Chins 6 x 5

2a Press Ups 5 x 10-12

2b Inverted Rows 5 x 10-12

3 Side Bridging 3 x Hold

4. Military Press / Chins

Why have I put two exercises in? Well, alot of rugby players can’t handle overhead pressing. They are so beat up in this area that to further risk impingement around the sub acromial space is not worth it. Only if you wish to spend the time getting it fixed! Most lads don’t. In this case stick to chins and working good scapula control if you are wishing to improve your fitness 4 rugby.

During the movement focus on depressing the scapula. If you can’t get the movement then look for a coach. Use a lat pull down too to cue the movement.

If you are capable of lifting your arms above your head without any discomfort and good range of motion then the military press is an excellent tool for building mass.

A routine could include

1a Military Press 5 x 5

1b Chins 5 x 5

2a Dips 3 x 10

2b Lunges 3 x 8 each leg

3 Reverse Crunches 3 x 20

With fitness 4 rugby the basics and the simplest of tools always win out. Sure you can spend hours perfecting the angle of curl  through the long head of your bicep. This will probably make you weaker in the long run as you forget about the basics as outlined above. Keeping adding weight on the bar, keep the technique sound and be consistent.

John Lark is author of Get Fit for Rugby and the course, Nutrition For Rugby. Download your free rugby fitness course here.

www.getfitforrugby.com

What can be normally gleaned from a rugby player’s nutrition is a diet rich in beer, pies and pastries washed down with late nights and niggling groins.

Nutrition for rugby in the modern era has moved more towards high protein shakes, carb feasts the night before a match and luminous coloured sports drinks.

Now far from me to throw a spanner in the works but the game is moving forward again, This time with a focus on obtaining optimal health and good nutritional habits. It makes sense. How you can expect to thrive in any sport, not just rugby, with an internal environment that provides you with as much energy as a corpse.

So here are some tips  for you to provide a more balanced body and give your performance a kick start.

1. Eat for health rather than ‘your sport‘

Eating for health requires that you take a more holistic approach to your nutrition for rugby than just eating to ‘put on mass’ or ‘lose fat’. 9 time out of ten using such a specific approach will mean you reach your goals but at the expense of your health.

Take for instance a very high protein approach. The pros of this approach will be that you will become leaner. You may also gain muscle mass. I mean who can argue with the weekend warrior whose diet consists of boiled chicken and egg whites. The problem, however, comes when you look closer at the sheer acid load of this diet. Imflammation, acidosis, leaching of your alkaline minerals, deoxygenated blood are all side effects that will affect your overall performance. In the long run, your performance is sacrificed for your looks.

2. Consume whole foods 90% of the time

This is easy to follow. When eating for rugby, look at your plate and snacks. How many of them come from unprocessed sources? I like the one step rule. How far removed from your food’s natural source are the objects on your plate? an orange is one step. A jaffa cake is about 20 steps. A lentil stew is two steps. Keeping this rule in mind it stands to reason that eating for rugby is simple. Eat whole, unprocessed foods 90 per cent of the time. This includes (but not limited to) vegetables, legumes, beans, seeds, nuts, oils, meats, poultry, fish, quinoa and brown rice.

3. Eat more alkaline fruits and vegetables overall

Electron rich, alkaline vegetables will provide you with energy for rugby and for life in general. Key veggies are anything green alongside the uber fruits such as avocado, tomatoes and low sugar varieties including blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. Rich in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals these powerhouse of nutrition will turbo charge your rugby performance by keeping imflammation at bay, hormones fully active and in balance and your muscle building potential in full swing. Look at gorillas!

4. Boost Your Oil Intake

Adding 1-2 tbsp of oil to your feedings will significantly enhance your health and well-being giving your rugby fitness a boost along the way. It stads to reason that the trillions of cells that make up our body are largely made up of fat, particularly the cell membrane that stands as a gatekeeper to nutrients coming in and nutrients coming out. Oils such as plant based oils, hemp, avocado and olive alongside pharmacy grade fish oil will reduce imflammation too allowing you to recover faster and maintain and much healthier condition of your body.

5. Up Your Water Intake

It stands to reason that if you follow the 80-20 rule when it comes to health (80 per cent of your results comes from 20 per cent of your efforts) that consuming far more water is top of the list. Upping your water intake to 3-4 litres of filtered, ionised and alkaline water will send your rugby fitness through the roof. Start by including some lemon juice in your water alongside using a good filter jug and some pH drops. Your energy for training and matches will be right up there.

Take one tip and implement one a week. Watch your training and match performances flourish alongside just being a healthier individual. Not a bad trade off!

John Lark is author of Get Fit for Rugby and creator of the Nutrition for Rugby course. Sign up for your free rugby fitness course now.

www.nutritionforrugby.com

Is there a right way to obtain rugby fitness? Many would argue that you need to focus on speed, getting stronger, strongman training for rugby, power, training for set periods of time etc etc.

The truth be known there is no right way. Yep – you heard me. There is no right way. To focus exclusively on one element at the expense of another would be rugby fitness suicide but that is where it ends.

Take the amateur rugby player who find the best way to get strong for rugby. For weeks upon weeks, he focuses on this only to find that as soon as he sets foot on the pitch his conditioning sucks. He his gasping for wind after 5 minutes. That defeats the purpose.

Getting fit for rugby DOES include a multi-faceted approach consisting of the following:

1. Strength

All rugby players need to get stronger. During the off-season  sessions a week (2 upper and 2 lower) will work terrific moving to 3 during the season with the bulk of your lifting performed Monday to Thursday AM. Keep the reps between 3 and 8 reps all year round with a massive emphasis on getting better in the big 4 – squats, deadlifts, bench press and military presses.

2. Speed

This should be trained the majority of the time in the off-season with the amaeur rugby player using the warm up to include speed drills and flat out work in the session. Nothing more than 40m though.

3. Power

For rugby players this can be trained in cycles during the season and use of contrast methods (heavy squat followed by hurdle jumps) can be utilized for power production. No equipment – no problem. For rugby players hopping, skipping and bounding usually suffices. Unless the players are adequately strong enough there may not be too much point in over-complicating the whole ‘power development’.

4. Conditioning

From prowler pushes to sled, tyre flips to sled drags, sandbag carries to partner carries this needs to be worked on! Without it you are nothing on the pitch and terms such as chocolate tea-pot etc will be commonly used. A good coach will be experienced enough to see when and if the squad needs it. As a rule of thumb conditioning specific to the demands of the game should be done every 3 weeks.

5. Mobility

Daily, Do it. Stretch, mobilise and foam roll. This is so overlooked and can really keep niggles and injury prone sites at arms length.

6. Flexibility

Static stretching is great OUTSIDE of the training window. Long static stretches for up to 90s will do wonders for restoring muscle length. FOcus on the hip flexors and the ITB, lower back and upper back

7. Nutrition

This is often overlooked and as I tell my rugby players ‘one of your training sessions should be in the supermarket’ or at least learning how to cook decent nutritious meals in minutes. Most of your team will feel a huge benefit if they even consumed more water and ate a decent breakfast. Nutrition for rugby is crucial.

8. Recovery

The nature of this will be detemined by how much time you have as an individual. If you are short of time then a good bath, stretch and foam roll will usually suffice. As will eating the right foods. If you have more time then hit the pool and the hot tub for a chance to lower your stress response to exercise and give your body an accelerated ability to recover and therefore hit the training again.

All of these components make rugby the sport it is pulling the athleticism out in all shapes and sizes of human bodies. Props are props. seconds rows are second rows. fly halves are fly halves wingers are wingers and never the two shall mix! In terms of physical capabilities this is true.

To train like a winger would be equally as futile if the demands of your position meant a static conraction of 10s followed by 5 rucks and a tackle, one ball carry and a lift (prop cycle of play).

What can be gleaned is that all players to get fit for rugby need to train ALL the basic elements. SOME specific work should focus into the equation but at the end of the time there is no right way, only a way that encmpasses all eight elements done with intensity, a goal and purpose. In essence there is no RIGHT way only a puzzle of merging elements that needs equal attention.

John Lark is author of Get Fit for Rugby and creator of the course, Nutrition for Rugby. Download your Free Get Fit for Rugby Course that addresses all components of rugby fitness at

www.getfitforrugby.com

Rugby Fitness is largely dependant on not one method of training but several. as one famous strength coach once said ‘what you don’t train, you lose’. So ignoring working on one method at the expense of the other is a mistake. Here are 5 ways of getting rugby fit that have no order of priority but work more as a checklist.

1. Strength Training for Rugby

Hit the weights room and hit it hard. This is where the battle is won and lost. Rugby is a power event and for that large base levels of strength are required. 3-4 sessions in the off-season should hold you up well. Depending on your time-table during the season keep sessions to 2 a week.

2. Conditioning for Rugby

You will need to be able to sustain and express your strength levels in every minute of the 80+ that you will be exposed to. Strongman training, sled pulling, interval running, hill sprints are all excellent ways of conditioning for rugby. Mix them up, use variety and perform them in the off days or alternatively at the end of your strength sessions if you are short on time.

3. Speed Training

Speed kills it. The biggest mistake people make with speed training is, is not running fast enough or not with enough intent. Quality is paramount here. You must run with 100 per cent intensity to make improvements. Any less than this and you are pissing in the wind – so to speak.

4. Mobility

I heard a great coach say ‘If you can’t get there, someone will put you there’. So if your joints are stiff and immobile then think of that next time you are asked to drop your scrum height or dive into a ruck. Work on this as much as you can

5. Recovery and Regeneration

We have a fancy term ampngst strength coaches called ‘supercompensation’. It basically means ‘coming back stronger after stressing the body’. For this to happen though, you need to learn how to relax and recover using methods such as good nutrition, workout nutrition, baths, massage, stretching otherwise the stress you place on your body is just compounded. Your hard work really doens’t get out of 1 st gear.

So mix it up and learn how to get fit for rugby using all five of these elements

When you think about it – it is the most obvious and logical step to take when one embarks on any performance ‘Get Fit for Rugby’ related programme.

Drink more water.

Everyone harks on about it. And to all of us it is common sense that doesn’t need a genius to figure out.

We are 70 per cent water. At 4 – 5 % below optimal fluid intake, you could experience a 20 – 30% decline in cognitive function or encounter episodes of ‘brain fog’.

The decline in blood volume that occurs with even slight dehydration impedes the transport of oxygen and nutrients throughout the body, which drains energy hence your afternoon slump.

Even your bones are 25 per cent water.

The muscles that drive your performance are 75% water.

The brain that steers your limbs is 76% water.

The blood that carries your nutrients is 82% water.

The lungs that provide your oxygen are nearly 90% water.

So before you even worry about your calorific intake, how much protein you are consuming and even your fruit and veggie intake you need to drink up.

It is the most potent fat loss trick that you can deploy immediately. Why? Your body thrives on water. Can you imagine your car running without oil?

Your fat cells are particularly active if they are hydrated and bathing in a sea of good quality water. If they aren’t then trying to get the fat out of their comfy havens within your hips is hard work.

Unfortunately, a lot of what we drink is anti-water too. Fruit juices with their high sugar content force us to use up our vital water resources. Coffee, tea and sodas also send us in to a state of chronic dehydration.

As a guide we should be drinking good quality clean filtered water. I strongly recommend getting a reverse osmosis filter fitted.

A sharp rise in the number of men requesting breast- reduction operations is being blamed by surgeons on the effects of excess female hormones in tap water and food reported The Sunday Times in July 2005. So, yes the quality of your water is important.

1 litre for every 18kg of body weight (which seems a lot) can be managed if you chunk it down into steps. Begin with two litres a day and a plan. Have a large glass before leaving the house in the morning. 500 ml between meals and sip at a night. Drop some freshly squeezed lemon juice into the mix.

You will develop a tolerance to this. When you do, crank the volume up.

Focusing on your water intake will take a few baby steps but like all journeys they begin with a single step.

People look at me with a blank stare when I point out that the first most blockbusting fat loss strategy we will put into action is to drink up.

So use the 80-20 rule when it comes to fat loss. 80 per cent of your results will come from 20 per cent of your efforts. Stick to the nutritional strategies that will yield the most results.

That is why drinking your water is the first step. What is the most abundant nutrient in the whole body? Water. What do all of our body cells need in abundance? Water and Oxygen. What do you think will accelerate your fat loss efforts with the least effort? Drinking more water.

You should forget about chopping your portions and finding your next magic bullet until you try a good old-fashioned glass of nature’s finest.

John-Lark is author of Get Fit for Rugby

A question that is often fired at through the email is ‘why do I not get any results?’ and it is key in attempting to implement a sound rugby fitness programme.

Good question – a great one in fact. It shows that you are not going through the motions and thinking about what you are doing.

There are three over-riding reasons:

1) Wrong Training System.

A rugby player came to me looking to boost his rugby fitness particularly his rugby strength. It read like most training diaries. 3 sets of 10 for all the big lifts with a few curls etc.

What is your goal? If it is strength for rugby then train for that. If you are looking to lean up then do so. Try not to chop and mix goals during a training cycle. Work at 3 weeks for increases in rugby strength before maybe dropping to a more ‘accumulation’ or volume based cycle. Or work at getting lean and improving growth hormone response over relative strength work.

Similarly is your nutrition training system in line with your training?

Boozing away whilst trying to lean up will lead to near suicidal binges on lettuce leaves in a vain attempt to ‘carve up’. Likewise leave the almighty pasta feeds to ‘bulk up’ to the victims of the 1970 body building community.

It is possible to put on mass without eating like a pig – and I mean lean muscle – the stuff that is acutally used on a rugby field.

2) What are your goals?

This goes back to writing down what you want to achieve. Do not overlook this. I always use to skip over this section. Some new age stuff. But in reality this is what keeps you coming back for more. your fitness 4 rugby will be out on supercharge as a result.

A simple task really. You are FAR more likely to achieve your rugby fitness goals by writing them down. Any less than that and it is a wish.

3) Compliance

Think you are eating 5 good clean meals 7 days a week. That amounts to 35 meals a week. Compliance means hitting 90% week in week out. When you boil it down to figures then look long and hard at your compliance scores. Hitting every scheduled workout?

Get this right and then, and only then will we worry about the intricate details.

———————————————
JL

p.s. Stoppped being pussy whipped around the ruck. Now.

Trying to obtain fitness for Rugby through the Summer months can wreak havoc with your season in the long run.

I know.

I have been there.

What’s your contingency plan?

Or do you not have one?

As a player this may be the time you can put on some serious mass. But most of us over-eat at this time of year to help up with thi. Couple this with a good resistance training programme and you will find it easy to put on 4-5lbs in as many weeks.

For most of though, keeping the body fat levels maintainable is crucial. After all there is little point being fit for rugby and a dough boy – unless you play in the front row.

So use this period well.

If you are looking to keep you and your players at a healthy ‘fighting weight’ for your season and not blow your results over the beers then try this:

1) Up the Intensity of Your Training Sessions to include a 10-15 minute block of Rugby Specific Fitness at the END of the session.

2) On non-game weekends organise some 5-a-side or some fun rugby games. Great for keeping the team fresh yet fit.

3) Go easy on the sugars! This piles on the weight by disrupting your insulin levels. High levels of insulin levels pre-dispose you to putting on fat rather than shifting it. If you and your players are not following a diet high in complex carbs, protein and Omega 3 fats then START NOW!!. Drop the reliance on pastas, white breads, bagels, muffins etc to help you with your energy.

They key to sustainable energy is small regular feedings NOT the ‘white devils’. A great book I am reading lately is Jonny Bowden’s 150 Healthiest Foods (you can find it on Amazon)

John Lark is a strength and conditioning coach based in Kildare,ireland. You can visit his web site and pick up your free get fit for rugby fitness course here

http://www.getfitforrugby.com