Recovery Strategies for Rugby

I have always felt that the good rugby fitness coach, you know, the one that actually coaches you rather than just barks orders…the coach that actually improves your skill, knows when to push you, pull you back and take you places in your head that you didn’t know existed…are EXPERTS at managing recovery for rugby alongside the overall training methodologies that provide you with fitness 4 rugby

Think if it like this….you have your amateur rugby club players or even youth athletes coming to you after a days work with all the farts and tribulations of family, life, workplace stressors etc etc, poor diet, dehydration then you know full well that you may be starting off from a back step, before throwing in the ball and launching a HOWITZER of a training session upon them to ‘get them fit’.

Now far from me to start to turn the team into a pack of pansies that love nothing better than to face the Sun as it faces East chanting mantras and burning incense proclaiming their love for the God of Rugby. They will just end up softer than a pensioner’s turd.

You need a hand grenade every now and then, but when?

Every session will just be too much. How is this identified?

a) Jimmy with his recurring groin injury

b) Lads are shit in the skills section

c) Bitching like women

d) Lack of enthusiasm

e) Lads doing no-shows for training

The key to getting the most from your rugby fitness training sessions is to master and at least understand how flogging your guts actually makes you stronger.

Here is the science part - THE GENERAL ADAPTATION SYNDROME

So in a nutshell -

you 1)  BREAKDOWN -

2) BODY REPAIRS AND GROWS BACK STRONGER (JUST IN CASE YOU INTEND ON DOING THAT AGAIN TO THE BODY ENABLING YOU TO MATCH IT

3) YOU DO IT AGAIN

Now - see where the first dip is - that is where you have taken your players to after flogging the sh*t out of them. If they don’t know how to get out of that then they will be struggling to get back above the grey line and hey presto you will have a case of the above.

Can you see what happens then if you decide to flog them again? They haven’t even adapted yet to the previous bout you placed on them so little improvement can actually take place.

It really is an individual response that will determine how far, how often and how much you can push your team.

if you are working with amateurs (like most the readers of the this blog are) then be warned.

What can you do however to really get results and speed up the recovery process i.e. take them back over the grey line?

Here are my top 5 rugby fitness recovery methods:

1) Pool Sessions - who doesn’t feel great after doing this? A few lengths, run in the pool, nothing stressful or overaching, a few stretches. Overall session should last around 20 minutes. follow this up with either a sauna or the hot tub for 10-20 minutes.

2) Massage - hook up with a student massuer in your community and do a club deal with them or have the lads pay him/her direct.

3) Rugby Related Stretches - hip flexors, head and neck, back and lower leg ( I wil post about this later)

4) Foam Rolling - get a foam roller - 10 minutes every day in front of the box or just before bed on the key muscles. restores length to worked muscles, joints etc

5) Clean Nutrition and Good Night’s Sleep.

When you are dealing with amatuer rugby enthusiasts then a littel goes a long way. 5-10 minutes here and there particularly with the grizzly older folks will work wonders with your rugby fitness levels. Plus when it comes to training then ‘bang’ they are ready rather than YOU having to get them ready.

Tagged as: fit for rugby, fitness for rugby, recovery for rugby, rugby fitness coach