CLICK THE PICTURE BELOW TO WATCH THE CLIP OF A 320KG DEADLIFT by Ulster man Jamie Burke current world champion powerlifter then read Jamies’ blog below because the knowledge that goes into making lifts as big as this is here in Ulster, a local guy coaching teams on how to do what he has done himself.
My training processes will allow you to become FITTER, STRONGER and more RESILIENT against injuries than the game requires…… your conditioning levels can be progressed to a level whereby you are not hampered in your game by making or taking hits, the continuous running, or any other physical aspects of the game…. so you can focus on playing more SKILLFUL rugby- and isn’t that the
whole POINT?
How can you play the best game you have if you are struggling to control your
breathing, nervous to make or take a hit, not confident that you will last the
duration of the match etc- due to your physical condition?
You can’t. SO lets get you into shape!
Lets break down WHY you want to be in SHAPE:
Because your body in its NORMAL state, is designed to to ordinary things-
walking, sitting, eating, driving etc RUGBY asks MUCH more from your body than
this! Why not prepare it accordingly?
Asking an ordinary body to do extraordinary things is asking for TROUBLE! Now
i’m all for getting into a little trouble folks, but this kind? Not so much!
SO WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF BEING IN GOOD CONDITION?
STRENGTH-
Its not just about who can bench press ‘x’ amount of weight and curl ‘y’, its
about having FUNCTIONAL strength that will aid your game- e.g. if the heaviest
man your against weighs 20st, or around 120kg, then it would be useful if your
body could comfortable move this (or preferably more!) in a variety of movements
on a regular basis- Then you will have both the physicality- and confidence- to
move a 20st guy around where necessary and be ready to absorb and rebound when
said player is about to tackle you, without injury.
SPEED-
An increase in fitness will help all aspects of your game by freeing you up to
focus on them and not panting for breath! however, like strength training, it
has to be SPECIFIC- no point in running 10 miles in a low heart rate- what use
will that be when you are required to sprint and tackle repeatedly during the
game, with reasonably short rest periods?
INJURY RESISTANCE/ GENERAL RESILIENCE-
A body that is functionally prepared for the game will be, as a direct result,
MUCH less susceptible to injury, esp in the normal prone areas including, but
not limited to, lower and upper back, neck, shoulder rotators, knees, hamstring
attachments, ankle flexors…..the list is long. But, just like anything that
has been purpose built, a PURPOSE trained athlete will last much longer in a
game at peak levels of output and with a significantly lower incidence of
injury.
WHAT IS NEXT?
Well i’m going to show you how to make your training work continuously, but
first, i’d like to dispel some of the myths surrounding strength and
conditioning training, and weight training generally!
SEE YOU NEXT WEEK, WHERE WE DISPEL THE MYTHS AND SEPERATE THE BULL FROM WHAT
REALLY WORKS!
