Here are several sets of drills and exercises to improve your fitness for the upcoming and following seasons. These may be performed alone, or preferably, with other team members. Note that they are divided according to the various diverse requirements which are required to excel at a vigorous sport such as rugby. Always do a warm-up (an easy mile) and stretching prior to each workout.
Speed Training
Speed development is extremely important. These drills should be done twice a week (maybe Mon. and Wed.). These drills are not designed to develop staying power on the pitch. They are supposed to improve your ability to blow by the opposition. All repetitions should have ample rest in between for a full recovery (about 90 sec.). The track is probably the best place for this workout, but it could be performed on the pitch (with your boots on).
 
Bounding

• 4 x 40 m. Full long strides, springing off of each step. Rapidity of turnover is not as important as a full push off each foot.
•  High knees - 2 x 40 m. Bring knees all the way to the chest with each stride. Again concentrate on spring.
•  High knees (rapid) - 2 x 40 m. Bring knees up but concentrate on a very rapid rate of turnover.
•  High knees with kick - 2 x 40m. Bring knees up and kick foot out with each stride.
•  Butt kicks - 2 x 40m. Emphasize back kick by kicking your butt with your heels in each stride (very quickly).

• All out. Concentrate on the start and finish hard. Rest at least 90 - 120 sec (more if necessary) between each. Your heart rate should be almost completely down (below 100) before you start again. Three sets of four.

•  4 x 70 m.
•  4 x 40 m.
•  4 x 20 m.

•  5 x 5 hurdles, straight---Place 5 hurdles in a row, about 0.5 m apart (adjust distance and height for your own requirements). Two-legged leaps over each hurdle with no stop in between.
• 5 x 5 hurdles, angled---Place 5 hurdles at angles to each other. Again, bound over each with no stop in between.
• Stairs---One leg up a flight. Use opposite leg to go down. 5 sets with each leg. Both legs up and down. 5 sets.
• Box leaps---Use wooden boxes at the front of the track. Hop off to the ground and immediately pop back up. 5 sets of 5. There are heaps more, so if these get boring let me know.
• Toe touches on ball---Bounce off of each foot, touching one toe at a time to the ball. Start with 3 sets of 50 (25 each foot).
• Bounding over the ball---Stay on toes and jump back and forth over the ball. Start with 3 sets of 25.
•  Star jumps---Start in crouch position, explode up while spreading arms and legs, return to crouch. Start with 3 sets of 15.

• Each workout 2 sets of 4 x 300 m.---Initially, 90 sec each. Work up to 70-75 sec. Rest for 3 - 4 min between sets.or
• 2 sets of 4 x 400 m.---Initially, 120 sec each. Work up to 80-85 sec. Rest for 3 - 4 min between sets.or
•  Do a ladder - (i.e. 4 x 100, rest 2 min, 3 x 200, rest 3 min, 2 x 300, rest 3 min, 2 x 400).  Do a Pyramid by working back down. Start with less at beginning of the season and work up as fitness improves.
•  Another great way to do these is to use the markings on the pitch. Start at the try line, run to the 22m line, return to the try line, to the 40m line, return to the try line, to the midfield line, return to the try line. This is about 220m. Add another section all the way to the opposite try line and you can have one of about 440m.

• 2 sets of 4 x 400 m.---Shoot for no more than 90 sec per 400m.                                     Rest 3 - 4 min between each set.  Work up to 2 sets of 6 x 400 m.
• 1 set of 4 x 400 m (<90 sec each).                                                                                   1 set of 6 x 200m (35-40 sec each)                                                                                    Rest for 3 min between sets.
• 1 set of 5 x 200 m (35-40 sec).                                                                                        1 set of 6 x 150 m (20-25 sec each).                                                                                  Rest for 3 min between sets.
• 1 set of 6 x 200 m (35-40 sec).                                                                                        1 set of 8 x 100 m (15-20 sec each).                                                                                  Rest for 2:30 between sets.

Agility, Quickness and Fitness
Another important aspect of rugby. You must have the ability to quickly get from one place to the other to support your mates, get by opponents or catch opponents.
Push and runs (Clappers)
Great 'cause you get both upper and lower body work. Best on grass. Add these in with other things for variety. Concentrate on start and stop.>P> Start by setting markers (shoes work fine) about 6-8 m apart. Lie on your belly with hands behind your back and head by one marker. Push off, sprint to other marker, go down to your belly and clap your hands behind your back. Immediately leap up, sprint back to 1st marker, down on your belly, clap hands again. Repeat 6 times for each run. Each run should be 6 x 6 m (5 behind the back claps). Rest for about 30-45 sec. Repeat.5 sets of 6 x 6 m. Rest for 2 min. Repeat.
Shuttle runs

•  Set up markers about 15 m apart. Sprint from one marker to the other and back twice. Concentrate on start (1st 3-4 steps out) and a quick stop at each end. Do 5-10 of these. Rest for a good 90 - 120 sec between each.

•  x1 x2
•  x4 x3
•  The following describes one repetition:  Sprint from 1 to 2, sprint back to 1 and touch the ground. Turn, sprint to 2, cut and sprint to 3. Turn, sprint around 2 back to 1, touch the ground and turn. Sprint and cut around 2 to 3, sprint and cut around 3 to 4. Turn, sprint by 3 and 2 to 1, touch and turn. Sprint by 2,3 and 4 back to 1. Repeat going the other direction. Do 4 sets of these. Again, the idea is to work on your quickness and agility, not to necessarily cause total fatigue. Rest for a coupla minutes between each. Keep in mind, however, that during a match you will have to be quick when you're tired, so don't rest too much.A variation may be added by returning to the start backwards (also makes a great party game when you're drunk).

•  Again use markers. This time set up two parallel lines of staggered markers. Like below:

• Go hard and concentrate on your cutting and balance. This is a good drill to do with a ball. Repeat 10 times. Again rest can be variable.
• Note that by doing any of these drills with less rest between repetitions, you could add these to Section II, short-term endurance. This drill could be put in the previous section on short term endurance, along with the push and run drill. Simply do more reps and take less rest. Betcha a beer you will get plenty worked out if you work hard enough.

Strength Training Tips and Suggestions

Get in the gym. Or, if you don’t have access to a gym, then there are many resistance exercises that can be done anywhere, including home. It is well worth your time and money to join a gym, since strength is obviously a very important component of rugby.

There are heaps of exercises for each body part and you probably know plenty. If not then go to your favorite gym and get an instructor to help you. It would probably be wise to have some instruction on how to do each exercise properly. If your form is not spot on, you risk injury and you won't get the most from the workout. Below, I have written out a suggested routine that will hit all the major muscle groups. Do this workout twice a week or you could split it into upper and lower body routines and do each twice a week. Don't do legs too close to match days, especially around tourney time. Do 3 sets of each exercise with 1.5-2 min rest between sets. Remember this is a minimum routine. More would be better.

Use a weight that allows you to do no more than 12 reps (with good form) per set, but allows you to do at least 8 reps per set. That is, if you can properly perform 13 reps the weight is too light, if you can only get 7 reps, it is too heavy. Use this rule of thumb and you can always keep the proper weight as you progressively get stronger. However, if you have no real weight training experience, it would be wise to start off with lighter weights for the first coupla weeks.

Multi-joint exercises are excellent for rugby. Squats, deadlifts, and power cleans are good choices for power development and are the key elements to any rugby oriented strength training. Be sure and have someone instruct how to do each of these properly, as the injury potential is very large with these. Also be sure to have a spotter whom you trust (I realize that leaves out most of the club, but you can find someone).

Since this is only one aspect of rugby fitness and you must spend time on many other things, I suggest a pseudo-circuit, superset routine 4 times per week. Choosing pairs of two exercises that do not work any of the same muscles (for example squats and pullups, or incline press and biceps) will get this accomplished. Superset each pair. That is, do one set of pull-ups and immediately do one set of squats. At 2 minutes from the beginning of the 1st pull-up set begin pull-ups again. Repeat a total of 3 times. This allows each body part to rest and really cuts down on total time spent, especially if you don't flirt with the boys in the gym for too long.

If you can do a split routine, then remember that when you work one body part on a particular day, rest that body part for at least one day (for example, if you do chest on Mon., don’t do chest again until Wed. or Thurs.). During the season this will probably mean you will only work each body part twice a week. This is fine for in-season lifting. Off-season you can do more.
Start with a short (5-10 min) warmup on the cycle, stairmaster, treadmill, etc. Then do a bit of stretching and you are ready to go. Remember that we are doing pairs of exercises and these are minimum suggested workouts. The exercises suggested here are designed to hit each body part with emphasis on the parts most important to rugby. There are heaps of other exercises that can be substituted at any time. In fact, for variety sake, why not switch each week or two. For example, switch in lunges or power cleans for squats, incline bench press for straight bench press, upright rows for seated rows, use dumbbells or machines instead of barbells or vice-versa, etc.
 
 
 
 
 

One-Day, Whole Body Routine

Group 1. Squats – lat pulldowns

Group 2. Leg curls – bench press

Group 3. Leg extension – seated row

Group 4. Leg press – shoulder press

Group 5. Calf raises – bicep curls

Group 6.  Seated calf raises – tricep pushdowns

Group 7. Lower back extensions – crunches (sets of 20-30)
 

Two-Day Split Routine

DAY 1 – Upper Body

Group 1. Lat pulldowns – bench press

Group 2. Seated row – incline bench press

Group 3. Shoulder press – bicep curl

Group 4. Lateral raises – tricep pushdowns

Group 5. Lower back extensions – crunches (sets of 20-30)

DAY 2 – Lower Body

Group 1. Squats – calf raises

Group 2. Leg press – seated calf raises

Group 3. Leg curls – leg extensions

Group 4. Hip adduction – hip abduction

Group 5. Lower back extensions – crunches (sets of 20-30)

Try to do your training in the heat of the day as often as possible. Training in the heat allows your body to adapt to the heat and makes playing in the heat that much more bearable and improves performance. Always stay hydrated. Drink plenty of fluids before, during and after training, especially in the heat. Train hard. Quality of workouts is a key. If you concentrate on the particular aspect of fitness that is the goal for that particular workout you shouldn't have to spend an inordinate amount of time training for fitness. This allows plenty of time for the equally important work on ball skills, tackling, etc. Fitness is no substitute for skill, but if you can't get to the ball, you can't win any matches.

Good luck
Kevin Tipton, Ph.D
If you have any questions you can call me at (409) 762-0707 or email me ktipton@utmb.edu