Strength For Rugby

If players are clear about their values, the team values, and where their sport fits into their life then there is a stronger foundation for performance.

Some players will battle with this.

Some

Health is the foundation for performance. Gut, mental, immune, musculoskeletal health are all going to influence performance. Addictions to recreational drugs, alcohol, sleeping or pain medications as well as anti-inflammatory medications can all have a big impact on performance.

When 18-year-olds play against 13-year-olds the 13-year-olds get hurt and lose.

Strength matters.

Gender and puberty impact performance.

Strength training is an extension of that.

Around 100 is where most rugby league players will need to be to play professionally. Some skill players are exceptions. Some players will be significantly over 100 which can be because they have higher body fat or because they are gifted/enhanced.

There is no endurance without a power to weight ratio. Weight is a great place to start if it is excessive.

Everyone will do worse on an endurance test when carrying 5kg of dead weight. The fastest way to increase endurance is to drop the dead weight. The next fastest way is to increase the power to weight ratio. Diet and strength training volume will have the biggest impact on body fat.

You're looking for most players to be in the 10-15% range on a Skulpt.

Under 20% being a soft upper limit.

If your team has more muscle and less fat at the same weight than the opposition you have a competitive advantage.

Where have they had acute injuries in the past?

Where have they had chronic injuries in the past?

If they are a running athlete are they GROUND STRENGTH DOMINANT?

Injuries in Rugby are very common because of the heavy bodies, high forces, and often imbalanced strength training. Building a muscle balance foundation will help your team to have a competitive advantage.

What is the Dip + Weighted Chin-up VS Front squat + RDL?

What is the Power Clean to Front Squat Ratio?

Power is a function of maximal strength. Specializing in powerlifting isn't going to improve performance as much as building position-specific strength.

Extreme hand & foot dexterity, as well as spatial awareness, is a great foundation for every sport.

Multi-sport athletes do better in the long and short term.

Once athletes have made it to the pros they shouldn't decrease their skill/performance base.

Develop hand, foot, and spatial skills together with strength and speed training to gain a competitive advantage. For athletes with poor skills, this could make or break their careers. For those that built a massive foundation as kids, it will keep them sharp and show the difference between them and middle-of-the-pack players.

This also almost guarantees a growth mindset approach to sports-specific skill development.

The skill foundation creates the physical and mental foundation to take in-game skills to new levels. Still, we have to practice the game. Some players will have done massive amounts of work on some parts of their game but not on others. Other players will be average across the board. Building skill rapport in the gym will open the door to bridge the gap between gym work and fieldwork.

Being able to interact on the field and develop your understanding of the game and specific skills will help your relationships with players and staff. Often there is an opportunity to try things with young, fringe, or injured players. Becoming more connected to on-field performance also gives you more control over your destiny as you can impact individual players’ games more and therefore team performance.

Most Rugby League players enjoy their strength training if you set it up well.

If you're in a place where players dread the gym either you're really unlucky - highly unlikely - or it's being done wrong.

1. Love the gym

2. Love your program

3. Love coaching your program

4. Look for a competitive advantage

5. Know your key numbers

6. Track and report progress

7. Adapt the team program

8. Take the opportunity for gains when they come - injured players, etc.

9. Choose the right movements

10. Get the volume and intensity right

11. Players feel individually engaged

12. Collect data every session

1. Nobody cares about the outcome

2. Generic - squat bench deadlift

3. Alternative - nothing over 10kg or all cables or all sports-specific movements etc.

4. Too long

5. No team vibe/structure

6. No time management within sessions

7. Upper-body dominant

8. Test at the start and end of the pre-season only

9. No speed/power testing (becoming easier with GPS on-field speed data)

Option 1: 4 sessions per week

Option 2: 3 sessions per week

Option 3: 6 sessions per week

2 Upper Body

2 Lower Body Sessions

Field training makes this a lower-body dominant program overall. Some players will complain about heavy legs initially. In season the volume will drop. I always wanted the last sessions before time off to have the least risk of injury directly after my sessions. Looking back it may have also had a positive neurological impact. The idea is to "let the paint dry" on the stimulus for it to be "learned" by the nervous system.

Get 2 near max efforts per week.

One session would be more of a speed day, the other more around maximal strength. If the group has little experience with singles then you might be able to use them twice per week with less absolute load movements like front squats or split squats on the second day.

Cleans on one day, snatches or push press/jerk 3 sessions per week.

1-2 key strength movements

Use concentric dominant movements when inflammation and soreness are high.

Use big range movements when neural fatigue is high.

1-2 key power movements on the speed day.

3-5 Muscle Balance Movements In Pairs or Triplets.

Push - Dips / Push Press / Standing press / Bench Press

Pull - Chin-ups / Pull-Ups / Pendlay Row (weightlifting also adds to upper body volume)

3-5 Muscle Balance Movements In Pairs or Triplets.

Having 3-4 movements that players are doing extra work on to overcome their weaknesses or to increase their strengths helps each player to feel engaged with the program and to build a personal connection.

Skills

Muscle Balance / Activation

Range of Strength

Eat well in the morning - protein focus.

Eat minimally in the last 4-5 hours before the game.

Slight hunger is a good way for most players to go into a game.

Ultimately it's an individual preference but it's good to experiment during pre-season and off-season

Pool. Gentle heat or hot contrasted with cool water.

The best time of the week to be a carnivore for fat-adapted athletes is in the 1-2 days post-game.

Minimize fatigue while maximizing performance.

Keep enough volume and intensity to finish the season with a higher power to weight than in pre-season.

Most sessions should be under 30 minutes of work time.

Using more single joint or concentric dominant movements will allow a little more total volume.

Train lower body as soon as possible after a game. Training hamstrings directly after the game is an option some teams use. 1-2 days after the game is best in most circumstances. Even though players are sore getting blood flow to the muscles and restoring range of motion

Constantly selling the program to the players and also having an individual connection with each player increases the chances of success.