Your own Training methods...

Im massively into my training...rugby...but i also take part in and love Thai Boxing. The training can be very different..

So i tend to mix it up with Weights, Running...but also with lots of circuits...using Burpees, pull ups, handstand press ups...etc

What sort of training methods do (or did) you guys use when you were playing....and did you just play rugby or did you do other sports...

Im just looking for ideas of new interesting training methods...

I do loads of compound gym-based stuff, followed by circuits or sprints.

I think power:weight ratio is the key.

Generally I supplemented what we did at training with clean and presses as it uses the same muscle groups as lifting in a line out. As well as 10-15m sprints. Generally me and a few mates would take a ball out and play some quick hand games to get our passing on point, was good for a while. Quickly descended into one handed beyond the back passes though.

train 2 times a week with rugby, which obviously is alot of cardio, but then i am currently doing a bit of rock climbing which is good for strength and obviously weights on other nights) also want to get back into skiing- nothing rugby related but love it and havent been able to do it for past few years

I used to do Boxing during the summer. Some intense fitness work involved.

Off-season, I do 3 weight sessions a week with all compound movements which target the whole body, with power cleans included for explosiveness.

I also do 2 high intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions, to increase my speed and anaerobic fitness.

We had a guy take us for kick boxing sessions in pre season - hard as hell but really good to do.

Used to run about a bit in the rain two nights a week, practice set piece and play a bit of rugby league and had a bit of a warm up before the game on a Saturday. Don't know if it counts as a sport or training, but did a bit of farming.

Glas a du wrote:Used to run about a bit in the rain two nights a week, practice set piece and play a bit of rugby league and had a bit of a warm up before the game on a Saturday. Don't know if it counts as a sport or training, but did a bit of farming.

Depends on what you did to the sheep!

Hey, this isn't Clackmannanshire...

"hey, hey, McCleod, McCleod, get off of ma ewe..."

Haha used to be well into training when i was younger and playing at decent level...now my training involves quite a few currys, pints and the odd cigarette....mixed in with heavy weights low reps in the garage when i find time.

I had a training programme form teh Leeda academy a few years back. Lots of shoving around medicene balls, balance work, jumping lunges, squat jumps, power cleans that kind of thing. Then a ton of sprint-recover drills
Its focus was on building explosive power, functional strength and a solid base of fitness to ready people about to enter a full professional training programme.

Seems martial arts and wrestling is a quite popular as a cross training tool, I guess Matt Stevens and SBW would be the most extreme examples of that . I beleive the Tigers have had regular sessions with a wrestling coach for some time now, and Ollie Richardson ended up working with him training UFC fighters.
Grappling would certainly make sense as a second sport, its utilises the same kind of fitness and a lot can be transfered to tackling and ground skills.

Some of the Tigers guys also go to that ridiculous Bikram yoga thing where you sit in a sauna and stare at middle aged women in ill fitting lyrcra. Im not convinced at all.

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:
Some of the Tigers guys also go to that ridiculous Bikram yoga thing where you sit in a sauna and stare at middle aged women in ill fitting lyrcra. Im not convinced at all.

I recently started Ashanga Yoga and although I don't play rugby anymore I'd be surprised if it didn't have some benefits. In fact I'd recommend it to any athlete in any sport. It's great for balance, core strength, flexibility and it certainly teaches you to suffer

I also rock climb a bit which is great for upper body and grip strength. I believe it helped me with my tackling and also retaining the ball in contact.

When I played I did 2 or 3 weights sessions per week, mainly upper body work, high weight(for me ) and low reps (<6).

I've always ran a bit too, 45- 60 mins mostly, 1-3 per times week, and I believe this always helped me when I played, in terms of recovery and feeling strong at the end of games.

I was speaking to a wrestling coach recently and he was saying that he does a lot of work with rugby teams and that the training techniques and drills they use for building upper body strength, grappling strength and endurance are really useful for rugby and more advanced than what rugby players are used to. He was a big guy so I took his word for it

roddersm wrote:

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:
Some of the Tigers guys also go to that ridiculous Bikram yoga thing where you sit in a sauna and stare at middle aged women in ill fitting lyrcra. Im not convinced at all.

I recently started Ashanga Yoga and although I don't play rugby anymore I'd be surprised if it didn't have some benefits. In fact I'd recommend it to any athlete in any sport. It's great for balance, core strength, flexibility and it certainly teaches you to suffer

I also rock climb a bit which is great for upper body and grip strength. I believe it helped me with my tackling and also retaining the ball in contact.

When I played I did 2 or 3 weights sessions per week, mainly upper body work, high weight(for me ) and low reps (<6).

I've always ran a bit too, 45- 60 mins mostly, 1-3 per times week, and I believe this always helped me when I played, in terms of recovery and feeling strong at the end of games.

I was speaking to a wrestling coach recently and he was saying that he does a lot of work with rugby teams and that the training techniques and drills they use for building upper body strength, grappling strength and endurance are really useful for rugby and more advanced than what rugby players are used to. He was a big guy so I took his word for it

Well to be fair on that yoga stuff I just get annoyed with all the BS spirtual nonsense and outrageous claims that go with it. What I do beleive about these new fad ones is that to get through a session you have to be abel to relax and control your mental states infleunce over your physical one...kind of like as a player of any sport being abe to switch off extrernal stress and perform without trying to force it....although you could get that from just sitting in a sauna without the silly poses. I would bnever be happy putting myself ina situation where i could suffer from serious dehydration, as I understand it most of these classes are long sessions with no water inatke allowed..to me that stinks of the old school "Rocky" arduous for the sake of it training methods that went out in the 80's. The flexible strength side of things cant be bad , although some of the movements that some practioners use have the potential to cause or worsen injury.

I climbed for a bit too. What I found really hard was not relying on brute stregth all the time to haul myself up but instead go for short explosive movements followed by a relaxation. It does require a lot of strength thats for sure, but I cant see many rugby players having the right physique for it. Most props would probably struggle to even reach the rock/wall with their T Rex arms.

The running...if youre just running a a flat speed that youd want to back that up with interval training too for your anerobic system. Thats what enables you to output high intensity work, and its those sudden accelerations/exploisions that tend to be the most important moments for a rugby players.

Absolutely climbing and rugby do not combine well, if you are taking both fairly seriously that is. However if you are just climbing for a bit of craic or some cross training then there are worse things to do and it can be a real eye opener in terms of power to weight ratio.

I agree re the running. Anecdotally I've always felt that a bit of regular running is beneficial, particularly if you take in a few hills, even if the science doesn't support that. I've never found it determental to my speed either. Bruce Lee used to say running was the foundation of everything, mind you I don't think he played rugby .

In terms of yoga, good points re the potential for injury and I believe the intensity of the sessions can vary a lot depending in the instructor and type of yoga. I can honestly say I've never tried anything as brutally hard and that includes running, rugby union/league, thai boxing and climbing. The OAP ladies in the class seem to find it easy enough though

I wouldn't recommend any of these in terms of directly helping with rugby but for cross training they are good things to do imo and maybe there are some indirect benefits as well.

My training and pre match warm ups are very regimented - I do like my routine. Before a game I always start with basic stretching then I psych up.

When I finally settle down I always make sure the remote is within easy reach.

offload wrote:My training and pre match warm ups are very regimented - I do like my routine. Before a game I always start with basic stretching then I psych up.

When I finally settle down I always make sure the remote is within easy reach.

roddersm wrote:Absolutely climbing and rugby do not combine well, if you are taking both fairly seriously that is. However if you are just climbing for a bit of craic or some cross training then there are worse things to do and it can be a real eye opener in terms of power to weight ratio.

I agree re the running. Anecdotally I've always felt that a bit of regular running is beneficial, particularly if you take in a few hills, even if the science doesn't support that. I've never found it determental to my speed either. Bruce Lee used to say running was the foundation of everything, mind you I don't think he played rugby .

In terms of yoga, good points re the potential for injury and I believe the intensity of the sessions can vary a lot depending in the instructor and type of yoga. I can honestly say I've never tried anything as brutally hard and that includes running, rugby union/league, thai boxing and climbing. The OAP ladies in the class seem to find it easy enough though

I wouldn't recommend any of these in terms of directly helping with rugby but for cross training they are good things to do imo and maybe there are some indirect benefits as well.

All seems perfectly sound thinking to me.

At the end of the day most of us arent elite level athletes or even pretending to be. Its ridiculous to try and ape the exact routines of those who are. Also when we see published workouts of star athletes they are almost without exception pure BS, even if it is a real sesion plan that guy used it is taken out of context of their overall plan, fitness aims, and current condition.

I was the same with climbing, I did it for recreational fun which may have had some benficial side effects.Im sure iits equally valid as part of a balanced routine as dwarf tossing, bungee jumping, boat diving and walkie talkie theft.

My approach to any exersize size has always been if its not comforatable its not right. The only bad injuries Ive had was from sledging into a wall and then trying to run too far too fast too soon after recovery when I wasnt flexible enough.

Nowadays Im skating 3-4 sessions a week, doing a high intensity weights workout once a week, 2 sessions of core strength, and 3 running sessions. I want to go back to climbing again its just an arse finding the time at the minute. Wouldnt catch me near a rugby field or a wrestling gym again, Im just not agressive enough for it all.

My training and pre match warm ups are very regimented - I do like my routine. Before a game I always start with basic stretching then I psych up.

When I finally settle down I always make sure the remote is within easy reach.

Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler wrote:
At the end of the day most of us arent elite level athletes or even pretending to be. Its ridiculous to try and ape the exact routines of those who are. Also when we see published workouts of star athletes they are almost without exception pure BS, even if it is a real sesion plan that guy used it is taken out of context of their overall plan, fitness aims, and current condition.

Speak for yourself Peter!

No seriously that is a good point. For full time athletes it is a given that they will have a very high general fitness and strength base (or should) so most things they will do are very specific to their sporting requirements.

However if you are playing recreationally and have a fairly sedentry job then some general aerobic activity like running or cycling or X-training can have a real benefit to your rugby and sport specific training I think.

Yeah thats a good point....

But like Rodders says....speak for yourself...

apparently karate and other martial arts are good for tackling, as it teachs you to only set yourself at the last minute and reactions and stuff

I'm a prop so my training regime consists of beer and television.

The good thing with that regime Looseheaded is that you can continue with it until you are in your dotage and in fact even improve with age

In Aus they take a very different approah though. Youll see the young props spending hours on the training field doing backwards walking drills.