Fitness for Winning Rugby

The nature of the game of Rugby - length of the match, contact element, bouts of work interspersed with periods of rest, pace in some phases - has always required an element of fitness dependent on the level played. In 1995 when the game of rugby union went professional, attitudes towards training changed drastically. This more professional approach towards preparation for the game has had an impact within the top clubs, where high levels of fitness particularly in strength, power, speed and agility are now considered a priority. This has also permeated down through the different levels of the game. It is therefore now evident that at all levels of the game, appropriate structured fitness training is intrinsic in the total preparation of a rugby player particularly from secondary school boy level up to senior amateur and professional club players. This book illustrates how the modern game of rugby union combines all the elements of fitness which are required to sustain the pace of play, with its intermittent and sometimes continuous phases, involving strength and power, speed with agility, aerobic and anaerobic endurance.Attention to detail during training and when preparing for a game can help to reduce the risk of injury.
" Warming - up " the body properly is therefore crucially important and must be well planned and relevant to each player and groups of players. Muscular strength for rugby involves following different training regimes that incorporate single and multi - joint exercises. Increasing strength is the result of muscles adapting to ever increasing resistance they work against. This increase in strength as the body physically matures is of paramount importance to cope with mauling, rucking, scrummaging as well as the many other skills that demand strength such as tackling, securing possession and defending effectively. Power on the other hand involves the combination of strength with speed of movement in order to generate an explosive action that is involved in sprinting, tackling, lifting at the line-out, dodging to avoid a tackle, etc. The fitness training pathway illustrates on a pyramid the process of fitness training through the "playing stages" from 9 years of age where the fitness foundations for rugby are built, up to fitness training for elete professional players.However it is important that the players of the future need to be much more than just "battering rams"regardless of their gender, age or competitive level.
Whether it is at school, college, community club or at elete premiership level, managing and caring for the players with regard to their fitness and well being requires a co-ordinated approach from the medical, coaching and fitness personnel in order to ensure the correct training programmes are followed especially during injury rehabilitation.This book with its range and depth of information attempts to provide that individuality, that balance, that caring, that development which will produce an athlete and a rugby player capable of making an efficient, effective and total contribution to the game of rugby football." Fitness for Winning Rugby " is a very interesting book written with great insight. It covers the development of the components of Fitness, through to the structuring of the training programmme and the importance of nutrition. Improving your fitness is not something that is going to happen overnight - it has to be a behaviour change, often a lifestyle change.However by following the key steps highlighted in this book it will certainly help in winning the challenges ahead." - Andy Robinson OBE - Director of Rugby at Bristol RFC.
" The book sets out very clearly the theory behind the acquisition of fitness for the game, together with a full range of practical approaches which are well explained and excellently illustrated. This book will certainly appeal to all who coach and play the sport of rugby at all levels of the game - a must read." - Maggie Alphonsi MBE - England International Rugby Player (2003 - 2014) and member of the England's World Cup Winning Squad 2014.