Mastering In-Season Rugby Strength and Power: Insights from Britain’s Strongest Man
For rugby players, maintaining peak physical condition throughout a demanding season is a critical challenge. The constant cycle of matches, training, and recovery often leaves little room for significant strength gains, yet preserving power and robustness is paramount. The strategic implementation of an in-season rugby strength training program becomes essential, not just for performance, but also for injury resilience.
The accompanying video offers a direct look into the methodologies employed by Adam Bishop, Britain’s Strongest Man and Senior Strength Coach at Harlequins Rugby. His approach emphasizes a balance of explosive power, foundational strength, and crucial injury prevention tactics, all tailored to the unique demands of in-season play. This guide expands on the principles demonstrated, offering deeper insights into optimizing your rugby performance and safeguarding your body.
Explosive Power: Driving Dynamic Performance
Explosive power is the cornerstone of rugby athleticism, manifesting in powerful scrums, dynamic tackles, and rapid changes of direction. Incorporating movements that train the body to generate maximum force in minimal time is crucial, particularly when managing the fatigue of a competitive season.
Box Jumps: Joint-Friendly Vertical Power
Box jumps are often considered a staple in power development, and their inclusion in a rugby player’s routine is highly beneficial. A key advantage of the box jump, as highlighted by Bishop, is its capacity to deload the joints at the top of the jump. This means that instead of landing from a high jump back onto the floor, the athlete lands on a raised surface, significantly reducing the impact forces on the ankles, knees, and hips. For larger athletes, especially rugby forwards, this reduced impact is invaluable for injury prevention and joint health throughout a long season.
Furthermore, the nature of a box jump inherently forces explosiveness. It is simply not possible to successfully jump onto a box without generating a quick, powerful drive. When performing box jumps, emphasis should be placed on a fast, shallow dip before driving upwards, landing softly and safely on the box. Stepping down, rather than jumping back down, helps preserve the joints and focuses each repetition on the concentric, explosive phase of the movement. Typically, these are performed for low reps (3-5) and multiple sets, ensuring quality over quantity.
Forward Med Ball Throws: Total Body Explosiveness
While often categorized as an upper body explosive movement, the forward medicine ball throw engages the entire kinetic chain. This exercise involves loading into a squat position with the med ball held at the chest, hands positioned behind the ball. The subsequent action is a powerful projection of the body forward, launching the ball into the air with maximal force.
Imagine if your tackle power or offload ability could be directly enhanced through a simple, yet potent, gym exercise. The med ball throw cultivates those fast-twitch muscle fibers vital for such explosive rugby actions. Its simplicity allows for high-quality, high-velocity repetitions without complex technique, making it an efficient tool for developing power in season.
Speed & Acceleration: Prowler Sprints for Rugby Forwards
Even when maximal outdoor sprinting may not be feasible due to space or time constraints, short accelerations can still be trained effectively in the gym. The loaded prowler sprint offers an excellent solution, especially for forwards who require powerful, short-burst speed.
The prowler sprint naturally positions the body into a forward projected lean, mimicking the acceleration phase of a sprint or the drive in a ruck. It is an exercise that requires minimal equipment—a sled, weights, and a stretch of turf or even concrete. This controlled, loaded movement helps develop the critical power needed for breaking away from a scrum, driving through a tackle, or quickly repositioning on the field. The resistance ensures that the muscles are working hard to overcome inertia, building both strength and the capacity for repeated, powerful efforts.
Foundational Strength: Barbell Squats and Military Press
Core strength movements remain indispensable, even during the competitive season. They serve as the backbone of a rugby player’s physical preparation, maintaining muscle mass and overall strength that translates to robustness on the field.
Barbell Back Squat: The Lower Body Powerhouse
The barbell back squat is rightfully considered a staple in nearly any comprehensive strength program. For rugby players, it is the primary lower body stimulus, building strength in the glutes, quads, and hamstrings—muscles crucial for scrummaging, tackling, and jumping. When a high bar squat is chosen, the bar is rested on the traps, providing a more upright torso position which is often easier to learn and has excellent carryover to athletic movements.
During the setup, a stable base is established, and the lats are engaged by pulling down on the barbell. This engagement of the lats is critically important for spinal stabilization, ensuring safety and efficiency throughout the lift. As the descent begins, the hips are shifted back and the knees are pushed out, tracking over the toes, aiming for parallel or slightly below. Prioritizing technique and range of motion over maximal load, especially in-season, helps prevent injury and ensures consistent performance. Reps are typically kept within the 3-8 range across multiple sets, focusing on controlled, powerful execution.
Military Press: Overhead Strength and Stability
The military press, or standing overhead press, has gained prominence over bench pressing for many rugby programs, particularly for forwards. This is largely due to its direct application to movements like lineout lifting, where overhead strength and stability are paramount. The ability to press a weight overhead while maintaining a rigid core and stable shoulders is a powerful indicator of functional strength.
When performing the military press, a grip around shoulder width is typically taken, often slightly narrower than the rings on a standard barbell. The elbows are pulled in, and the lats are set to create a tight, stable torso. From the bar positioned just below the chin, the weight is driven straight up, with the head slightly moving back to allow the bar to pass, then pressing through to a full lockout. Control is maintained as the bar is lowered back to the starting position, ensuring it remains slightly off the deltoids. This exercise not only builds overhead strength but also significantly enhances core stability, which is vital for absorbing impact and maintaining balance in contact situations.
Injury Prevention: Crucial Neck Training
Given the high-impact nature of rugby, neck conditioning is a non-negotiable component of any player’s training regimen. All players, regardless of their position, benefit from robust neck training to protect against the forces encountered in collisions, scrums, mauls, and rucks.
Isometric neck training is a common and effective method, especially for the general squad. A simple band setup in a power rack allows for controlled resistance. The band is placed around the forehead, and the athlete takes small steps forward to create tension. The neck is held in a solid, neutral position—neither over-flexed nor extended. The typical protocol involves three five-second holds, repeated in all four planes of motion: flexion (forward), extension (backward), and side flexion (left and right). This comprehensive approach ensures that the neck musculature is strengthened from all angles, providing critical protection against the dynamic forces experienced in a rugby game. This dedicated attention to neck strength is a proactive measure against potential injuries, ensuring players remain resilient through the rigors of an intense rugby season.
Adam Bishop Tackles Your Rugby Training Questions
What is the main goal of Adam Bishop’s rugby workout during the season?
It focuses on maintaining peak physical condition, preserving power, and preventing injuries for rugby players throughout their competitive season.
Why are ‘explosive power’ exercises important for rugby players?
Explosive power helps rugby players with dynamic actions like powerful scrums, strong tackles, and quick changes of direction on the field.
What are some examples of exercises for developing explosive power in rugby?
Two key exercises for explosive power are Box Jumps, which reduce joint impact, and Forward Medicine Ball Throws, which engage the whole body.
What kind of strength exercises are considered ‘foundational’ for rugby players?
Foundational strength exercises include the Barbell Back Squat for lower body power and the Military Press for overhead strength and core stability.
Why is neck training included in a rugby strength program?
Neck training is vital for rugby players to protect against injuries from the high-impact collisions, scrums, and tackles experienced during a game.