Rugby Fitness Tips

Key Areas and Muscle Groups

• Rugby is a game of endurance. However, power, speed and strength are keys areas to train in order to survive the ordeal that is a rugby game.
  The important muscle groups include:
  Shoulder and neck muscles. Those muscles take a lot of impacts from tackles and scrums. You will also be using them if you lift other players during line-outs.
  Lower back muscles. Those muscles are vital because so much pressure is put on them. When you're in a scrum, maul, bridging, lifting or tackling, a lot will rely on these muscles. Having strong legs is good, but if your lower back can't stand the pressure of you pushing forward then you are going to lose all your momentum.
  Abdominal muscles. Your core is important because of the stresses you are going to put your body through.
  Gluteal muscles. Also known as your butt, those muscles give you a surprising amount of power. A flat rear does not make a good rugby player, but it will prevent you from improving your power.
  Alternate your workout between cardio and strength training. For rugby, this means build endurance but also build strength, though not just through going to the gym. Drills and skill work will help. They will also train those muscles until the actions associated with rugby become second nature.

Other Tactics

• It's a common sight these days for men to take yoga or Pilates. In some cases, men have taken ballet to work on their speed, balance and agility. Incorporating different types of activities into your workout can only strengthen you.
  Other sports that are helpful to rugby training include basketball and water polo. Wrestling, judo and other contact martial arts that focus on placing your opponent on the ground are fantastic for rugby players. Training in such sports will help you learn how to leverage your weight, as well as improve your balance.
  For those doing individual drills, the addition of weights strapped to your ankles or wrists is never a bad idea. Just remember to take them off if there is going to be contact. A few minutes throwing a ball with an extra pound or two strapped to your wrist and in no time you'll feel like you can throw that thing the entire length of the pitch.

Exercise

• Endurance will come, particularly the more you play rugby, but that doesn't mean you should neglect it when it comes to working out.
  Strength, speed, agility and balance along with the various skills such as passing, kicking, tackling and running are all necessary for rugby, but these are also things that will come in short spurts. So when it comes to training, work on building up the ability of your muscles, not the size. Bigger in rugby doesn't always mean better.