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FRONT ROW GUIDE
CONTENTS
DISCLAIMER
INTRO
SPORTING DEMANDS
ADDRESSING COMMON INJURIES
GET STRONG
GET BIG
GET EXPLOSIVE
GET FAST
GET AGILE
GET FIT
HOW TO PLAN YOUR WEEK
DISCLAIMER
THE INFORMATION PROVIDED ON THIS PAGE IS BASED ON THE AUTHORS OPINION. YOU SHOULD DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH TO CONFIRM THE AUTHENTICITY OF THIS INFORMATION ALONGSIDE OTHER RESOURCES. THIS GUIDE AND WEBSITE ARE FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DO NOT REPLACE PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVISE, DIAGNOSIS OR TREATMENT. ALWAYS CONSULT A PHYSICIAN BEFORE STARTING ANY EXERCISE PROGRAM, ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE EXISTING INJURIES OR MEDICAL CONDITIONS.
BY USING THIS GUIDE, YOU ASSUME FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY RISK OF INJURY. STOP ANY EXERCISE THAT CAUSES PAIN OR DISCOMFORT AND SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION IF NEEDED. YOU TRAIN AT YOUR OWN RISK.
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS MAY VARY. THIS IS A GENERAL GUIDE THAT PROVIDES GENERAL RECCOMENDATIONS AND DOES NOT REPLACE PERSONALISED COACHING. I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO UPDATE OR MODIFY THIS GUIDE AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE. FOR QUESTIONS PLEASE CONTACT US AT ADMIN@JL-PC.CO.UK
THANK YOU!
INTRO
SO... YOU PLAY RUGBY?
THIS GUIDE HAS BEEN BUILT TO GIVE THE ASPIRING RUGBY PLAYER ACCESS TO TRAINING AND INFORMATION OF THE SAME STANDRD AS PROFESSIONAL RUGBY. WE WILL TAKE YOU THROUGH THE STEPS TO GET:
SIZE
STRENGTH
SPEED
POWER
CONDITIONING
AGILITY
MANAGING YOUR INJURIES
AND HOW TO PLAN THIS ALL INTO YOUR WEEKLY SCHEDULE
INCLUDED ARE SOME SESSION IDEAS THAT YOU MAY USE OR MODIFY TO SUIT YOUR OWN NEEDS. WE ALSO COVER THE KEY PHYSICAL COMPONENTS THAT ARE REQUIRED TO BE AN ELITE RUGBY FORWARD AND SOME BENCH MARKS YOU SHOULD BE LOOKING TO ACHIEVE WITHIN YOUR RELEVANT AGE BRACKET.
WITHIN THIS GUIDE SHOULD BE ALL THE INFORMATION YOU NEED TO LEVEL UP YOUR TRAINING AND START PHYSICALLY TRANSFORMING YOURSELF INTO A RUGBY PLAYER. THIS UNFORTUNATELY WILL NEVER REPLACE PERSONALISED COACHING BUT THIS IS FREE. IF YOU ARE SERIOUS ABOUT YOUR TRAINING AND LOOKING FOR SOME MORE BESPOKE ADVICE, PLEASE REACH OUT TO US AT ADMIN@JL-PC.CO.UK AND WE WILL BE HAPPY TO HELP.
THE DEMANDS OF RUGBY
BEING A FORWARD IN RUGBY IS A TOUGH JOB. YOU NEED TO PACK SOME SERIOUS STRENGTH AND SIZE, ALL WHILST BEING EXPLOSIVE, AGILE AND WELL CONDITIONED. SEE BELOW SOME OF THE KEY PHYSICAL COMPONENTS WE BUILD INTO OUR RUGBY FORWARD PROGRAMS.
SPEED
POWER
STRENGTH
SKILL
FITNESS
SIZE
AGILITY
STRENGTH
WHETHER YOU ARE SCRUMMAGING, TACKLING OR LIFTING, YOU HAVE TO BE STRONG IN ORDER TO COMPETE AS A FORWARD. UPPER AND LOWER BODY STRENGTH ARE BOTH EQUALLY IMPORTANT, AS WELL AS DEVELOPING STRENGTH IN DEEP RANGES.
YOU SHOULD BE HEAVY STRENGTH TRAINING 1-2 TIMES PER WEEK IN SEASON OR 2-3 TIMES PER WEEK OFF SEASON. THIS IS DEPENDANT ON YOUR TRAINING AGE (HOW MANY YEARS OF QUALITY STRENGTH TRAINING YOU HAVE DONE) AND YOUR TRAINING SCHEDULE.
YOUR STRENGTH TRAINING SHOULD INCLUDE:
- BOTH LOWER AND UPPER BODY
- KEY MOVEMENT PATTERNS YOU USE
- SINGLE LIMB/UNILATERAL WORK
- DIRECT CORE/TRUNK WORK
SIZE
EVERYONE ASSOCIATES FORWARDS WIH BEING THESE HUGE UNITS THAT STEAMROLL ANYONE WHO GETS IN THEIR WAY. AND WHILE THIS CAN DEFINATELY BE TRUE, YOU NEED TO ENSURE YOU ARE PUTTING ON SIZE IN THE CORRECT WAY TO ALLOW YOU TO STILL MOVE AND PLAY RUGBY TO A HIGH LEVEL.
WE GAIN SIZE THROUGH HYPERTROPHY TRAINING, MORE ON THIS IN GET BIG, AND WE SHOULD BE AIM TO TRAIN HYPERTROPHY 1-2 TIMES PER WEEK IN SEASON AND 2-3 TIMES PER WEEK OFF SEASON. THIS IS DEPENDANT ON YOUR TRAINING AGE (HOW MANY YEARS OF QUALITY HYPERTROPHY TRAINING YOU HAVE DONE) AND YOUR TRAINING SCHEDULE.
YOUR HYPERTROPHY TRAINING SHOULD INCLUDE:
- BOTH LOWER AND UPPER BODY WORK
- SINGLE LIMB/UNILATERAL WORK
- DIRECT NECK & FOREARM WORK
- A FOCUS ON KEY INJURY SITES SUCH AS SHOULDERS
- DIRECT TRUNK/CORE WORK
AGILITY
YOU NEED TO BE LIGHT ON YOUR FEET AS A FORWARD. RUNNING STRAIGHT ONLY WORKS SO OFTEN AND CAN REALLY TAKE A TOLL ON YOUR BODY LONG TERM. IF YOU CAN ALSO LEARN TO SHIFT YOUR WEIGHT AROUND AND HIT GAPS WITH MINIMAL CONTACT, YOU BECOME FAR MORE DANGEROUS AND UNPREDICTABLE AS A FORWARD.
YOU CAN IMPROVE YOUR TECHNIQUE 4 OR 5 TIMES PER WEEK WITH LOW FATIGUING DRILLS; IF YOU ARE DOING INTENSE, HIGH SPEED AGILITY SESSIONS, KEEP THESE TO TWICE PER WEEK.
YOUR AGILITY SESSIONS SHOULD INCLUDE:
- LOW INTENSITY TECHNICAL WORK
- HIGH INTENSITY TECHNICAL WORK
- AGILITY AT SPEED
- AGILITY IN GAME SPECIFIC SCENARIOS
- SMALL 3V3 TO 5V5 DRILLS
SPEED
MOMENTUM WINS COLLISIONS, ITS SIMPLE PHYSICS. AS WELL AS BEING BIG, YOU HAVE TO BE FAST. THIS COMBINATION GIVES YOU ONE HELL OF A CARRY THAT TEAMS SHOULD BE AFRAID OF.
THERE IS MORE AND MORE RESEARCH COMING OUT TO DO WITH SPEED TRAINING. YOU SHOULD BE AIMING TO SPRINT AT MAX VELOCITY 2-3 TIMES PER WEEK. WITHIN THIS, YOU SHOULD BE PERFORMING 6-10 MAX VELOCITY EFFORTS WITHIN THE WEEK. FOR EXAMPLE THIS COULD BE 4 ON TUESDAY AND 4 ON FRIDAY. THIS CAN ALSO INCLUDE MAX SPRINTS DURING A FIXTURE IN THAT WEEK.
YOUR SPRINT TRAINING SHOULD INCLUDE:
- 6-10 MAX VELOCITY EFFORTS PERFORMED 2-3 TIMES PER WEEK
- STRAIGHT LINE RUNNING
- CURVED RUNNING
- GAME SPECIFIC SCENARIOS
- SPRINTING FROM DIFFERENT STARTING POSITIONS
POWER
POWER AND EXPLOSIVENESS MIGHT BE THE MOST TALKED ABOUT PHYSICAL QUALITY WHEN IT COMES TO A RUGBY FORWARD. WHETHER IT'S TACKLING, CARRYING OR JACKLING, YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO PRODUCE EXPLOSIVE POWER FROM ALL KINDS OF LOW AND AWKWARD POSITIONS DURING THESE SKILLS.
POWER IS DEFINED AS STRENGTH X SPEED, AND BEING A HIGH INTENSE TRAINING MODALITY MEANS THAT YOU SHOULD ONLY POWER TRAIN 1-2 TIMES PER WEEK. TRUE POWER COMES FROM BALANCING A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PIECES IN YOUR TRAINING INCLUDING:
- STRENGTH TRAINING
- JUMPS AND PLYOMETRICS
- THROWING AND PUSHING HEAVY AND LIGHT
- AGILITY AND SPORTS SPECIFIC WORK
CONDITIONING
WHILE NOT TALKED ABOUT ANYWHERE NEAR ENOUGH, CONDITIONING MIGHT BE THE MOST IMPORTNAT SKILL FOR ANY GAMES PLAYER. IF YOU ARE NOT FIT ENOUGH, YOU WILL BECOME A LIABILITY DURING THE LATTER STAGES OF A MATCH. YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO PERFORM AT YOUR BEST RIGHT UP UNTIL THE FINAL WHISTLE, AND THIS REQUIRES ELITE LEVELS OF CONDITIONING.
AS A RUGBY FORWARD, YOUR CONDITIONING SHOULD INCLUDE BOTH AEROBIC AND ANAEROBIC WORK. AEROBIC WORK CAN BE DONE 2-5 TIMES PER WEEK. ANAEROBIC WORK SHOULD ONLY BE DONE 1-2-3 TIMES PER WEEK, BOTH DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU ARE IN THE SEASON
YOU SHOULD ALSO BE TACTICAL AND INCLUDE BOTH ON FEET AND OFF FEET CONDITIONING SESSIONS TO MINIMISE THE LOAD ON YOUR BODY.
KEY ADVICE:
ALL OF THIS IS IRRELEVANT IF YOUR SKILL LEVEL IS NOT HIGH ENOUGH. ENSURE YOU ARE PRACTICING YOUR RUGBY SKILLS AS A PRIORITY IF THEY ARE LACKING
PHYSICAL QUALITIES WILL NOT MAKE UP FOR POOR RUGBY ABILITY
ADDRESSING COMMON INJURIES
IMPORTANT READ
IT'S NO SECRET THE INJURIES THAT CAN OCCUR WHILST PLAYING RUGBY. YOU NEED TO BE AWARE OF WHICH INJURIES ARE COMMMON AND WHAT STRATEGIES YOU CAN USE TO HELP REDUCE THE LIKELIHOOD OF THESE INJURIES OCCURING.
UNFORRTUNATELY, WE CANNOT PREVENT INJURIES FROM OCCURING, IT IS JUST NOT POSSIBLE. ANYONE THAT TRIES TO SAY THEY CAN IS LYING. HOWEVER, THERE ARE EXRCISES WE CAN DO TO HELP REDUCE THE LIKELIHOOD OF CERTAIN INJURIES OCCUING. THIS SECTION WILL GO OVER SOME OF THE MOST COMMON INJURIES IN RUGBY, AND WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP REDUCEE THE CHANCE OF SOME OF THESE INJURIES FROM HAPPENING.
JUST A DISCLAIMER, THE LANGUAGE IN THIS SECTION IS CHOSEN CAREFULLY AS I AM NOT ABOUT TO PROMISE YOU THAT DOING THESE EXERCISES WILL STOP YOU GETTING INJURED EVER. THEY WON'T, YOU STILL MIGHT GET INJURED, THESE EXERCISES ARE STILL 100% WORTH ADDING TO YOUR TRAINING REGIMENT.
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