Hey guys,
So ive decided to try out for my college mens rugby team again come Fall. I played for a season my first year and have since sat out the past 2 seasons as well as club. Any recommendations for programming/program recommendations anyone can suggest? Ive stayed active but I can fully admit I am no where near the level I was 3 years ago…so I’m looking for any good advice on what I can do to prep!
what level are you currently at in terms of your strength, athleticism, etc?
Ill be totally honest…weak and slow lol.
Ashley Jones in a rugby strength and conditioning guy. He has a bunch of articles on the Elite Fitness Systems site. Articles like “Off Season Running Plan” or “Off Seaon Strength Training for Amateur Rugby Players.”
Less rugby specific, Here’s a simple routine from strength coach Dan John.
Another Dan John article, specifically about getting ready for contact and to get tackled.
Also, the Just Do 5/3/1 option
I’d do some basic lifting and spend most of your time on the track. I think your best bet is to show up to camp in great shape because it’s easy to see Andy will earn the coaches’ favor.
I agree with @TrainForPain. Your weight lifting stats don’t really matter if you’re out of shape. Put all of your effort into conditioning. If you show up in great shape then you’ll be able to give full effort on everything. Coaches will see that you prepared and you have a good work ethic. Coaches love guys who work hard. They can teach you what they want as long as you put in the effort.
On the flip side coaches don’t want to spend their time getting you in shape to the point where you can start doing what they want. Showing up out of shape sends the message that you didn’t take things seriously and you’re possibly lazy. That’s a bad message during a tryout.
I’ll be totally honest… you should quantify that for us. Relative terms like weak and slow are pretty useless in this conversation.
I’ll also agree with everything the 2 posters above me said.
What position/s do you typically play? As you know from playing at least a year, your cardio stuff needs to be upped, no matter the position (as has been addressed). Work legs man, they drive the scrum, they drive your hitting, they drive your running. 5/3/1 for Hardgainers, placing special emphasis on the the days you squat (Would recommend pairing heavy squat with lighter trap bar and heavy trap bar with light squat) will put you in a good place if you hit it hard for 8 weeks (with the assumption that you have some athleticism hidden in there somewhere as well.)
Well current update: im currently injured with a hip and neck/trap pain so now my future for trying out is in doubt…
how did that happen?
EDIT: and how extensive is it? As a competitive athlete, I play through pain all the time. It’s rare for me to compete without dealing with at least a couple injuries. I’m not saying you should, but most athletes are never 100% healthy
Gonna agree with @flipcollar here. I played college rugby, its a tough sport. Playing with a couple aches and pains is pretty much par for the course. Broken toes, black eyes, etc, all were just part of the sport.
If at all possible, go for it. If nothing else, the coach will appreciate your moxy for trying out while being a bit banged up. obviously if it is a serious injury, don’t be stupid, but if its small I would push through
Try this below and watch a bunch of vids on the channel -unless you have major tears/broken bones etc there are loads of great solutions out there to get you up and running. John Rusin articles here on Tnation wortha read also.
I’m not saying this is what you’re doing at all, but I used to “convince” myself I was injured all the time before a selection or a school. At the end of the day, I either got where I wanted or I didn’t - the only way to get what I wanted was to go through the school, so the injury (real or imagined) didn’t matter. I decided to never give myself a “Plan B” - it’s way too easy to go to Plan B when Plan A gets hard. When Plan A is the only plan, the injury has to be real to keep me from getting what I want (and the great news is I don’t even have to think about it; my body will take care of deciding when I can’t).
My $0.02