Pre season guidelines
Rugby is a demanding sport which requires a variety of physical requirements due to its high intensity, intermittent, full contact nature. Our sport requires us to be efficient in repeated bouts of high intensity work, interspersed with durations of low level capacity. We also need to be able to withstand blow after blow with both body and floor.
The pre season phase presents us with an opportunity to ready ourselves for these demands. The few months preceding the season is our best chance to develop ourselves physically (and mentally) because it’s an uninterrupted period where games aren’t played and therefore all the focus can be on development, rather than recovery.
Pre season aims
We can categorise training into the following FOUR PILLARS OF PERFORMANCE:
The purpose of the pre season phase is to develop the following attributes of our four pillars:
1) Strength component:
functional hypertrophy to convert to strength to convert to sport-specific and position specific power
2) Speed component:
develop posture, technique, and spring to convert to acceleration, change of direction, and top speed
3) Power component:
build tendon and joint robustness and spring. Develop position specific power attributes
4) Fitness component:
base endurance and high intensity repeatability to convert into sport-specific and position-specific fitness
5) Foundations component:
build coordination, rubustness and resilience through prehab, muscular endurance and movement
Hypertrophy and strength
During the hypertrophy phase of preseason is where size and strength are key. However it is important to remember that these adaptations need to transfer into performance down the line. Training without focussing on transfer will leave you open to injuries and it won’t help you get around the pitch quickly - the sole aim of rugby being move quicker than your opponent.
Here are a few principles to be apply to your weight training for this block:
- develop joint mobility by performing exercises through their full range of motion and stretching well afterwards.
- develop ligament and tendon strength by controlling the tempo of the eccentric and concentric phases. 3s down, 2s up is advisable. Once you’re in the next phase of training this can change to quicker tempos to develop elasticity and maximal strength.
- develop core strength so that the working limbs are well supported during any activity. Incorporate core work which targets all trunk actions - sideways, forward and back, and rotation.
- develop joint stability by incorporating sport specific movements that require balance and proprioception.
- train movements as well as muscles. Develop all the movements of the body in relation to the sport. As rugby players you need to be competent and strong in movements that transfer to the pitch. FEEPO defines this as Movement Proficiency.
- balance is key. I’m not referring to your ability to stand on one leg (though that’s important). I’m talking about the balance of strength between the agonist and antagonist muscles of a limb; opposing muscle groups. To avoid imbalances and faulty movement patterns it is important to strengthen ALL muscle groups over the course of a training programme.
Over this training period you want to lift maximally for relatively high volumes. After a block of hypertrophy which lasts 4-6 weeks, progressively decrease the volume and increase the intensity to prepare for a shift in goal; pure strength.
When this shift occurs your aim is to lift your heaviest loads and gain the biggest transfer from the gym to the pitch. The level of strength you are trying to achieve here is high and so dedicate a large portion of your preseason to strength training. 4-5 weeks is a good bet related to the average women’s preseason.
Read more about hypertrophy training here.
Power conversion
This is the really fun part that follows a maximum strength block. The type of power we want to achieve in rugby is a combination of pure power and power-endurance. How explosive can you be? And are you able to repeat this multiple times?
During this phase we need to make our training sport-specific as well, i.e. developing power which directly transfers to the movements we perform in rugby and in our position. We can do this by balancing the gym exercises with pitch based plyometrics, speed, and agility drills. For example the use of medicine balls and prowlers are especially good in this block.
The power endurance element comes in to play when we are asked to repeat power-based moments. For example performing back to back scrums, or getting up from a tackle and making another. The time between efforts may be short or long but your ability to repeat the same level of power for 80 minutes is what wins games.
Endurance and repeatability
The energy systems to develop during preseason for rugby are the aerobic and anaerobic lactic systems.
Aerobic refers to the system we use for long bouts of low/moderate intensity effort, like the jogging you do to maintain the defensive structure. This is the bit of activity that leaves you out of breath but you can usually keep going.
To test your aerobic fitness, complete the infamous BRONCO test. Here's a guide on how to complete it and how to interpret your results for training.
Anaerobic lactic refers to the system we use to perform intense exercise lasting between 10-40s, like performing a tackle followed by getting back on to your feet, holding your ground, then clearing someone out. This is the bit of activity which gives you that lung and leg burn and you will struggle to maintain the effort for long.
As you move through the weeks and months leading up to the start of the season and your first game, conditioning sessions should become more speed and intensity focused to accommodate gains in maximal strength and then power and to help you peak at the right time.
Read more about energy systems here.
Speed, acceleration and change of direction
Every player's goal should be to get faster. Speed ultimately wins games - who gets to the ball quickest wins, who gets off the floor quickest wins, who gets the first shunt in the scrum wins. Speed is queen.
When developing 'speed' what we really mean is improve in the following areas:
- greater relative force
- shorter floor contact time
- better running mechanics
- stiffen your spring
- greater ability to stop
When setting out your speed programme, seperate your objectives into acceleration, top speed, stopping speed, and change of direction.
Periodisation - pre season mapping
Periodisation is the foundation of all S&C programmes and often makes the difference in an athlete’s long term development goals. It's the method of breaking a training phase into blocks, or micro-cycles. These can be broken down further and this involves your weekly plans. The differing training focuses within the blocks are progressed week on week by altering training frequency, intensity, and volume.
ROUND-UP
Act now to get your body in the best shape possible to withstand the demands of the upcoming season. Once the season starts you’ll be required to manage your body through weekly matches and as such it’ll become difficult to make significant athletic gains. This is why preseason is such a fundamental part of your training year; if you put the hard work in now you will reap the rewards later.