as a rugby player i need to be 67% aerobic, i`m not at the moment as i do get tired quite a while into the game, my anaerobic is perfect though, as i can do 30 x 25yard sprints fine, but i cant complete a 1km jog in less than 5 minutes, which i know is pathetic, i feel good after the sprints, but terrible during and after the 1km jog, now would doing more cardiovascular work improve my aerobic capacity? are the exactly the same thing? What would be the fastest (ie toughest) way for me to improve my aerobic capacity?
The toughest and most effective way to improve your aerobic fitness is to do intervals. Either running or biking.
would using a stationery bike or a treadmill in intervals help as much as doing the running / cycling outdoors?
which would be the optimal, running i presume? would 100m jog, 100m sprint, 100m walk work? or jog & sprint only? how often can i do it? would i be able to do it on the same day as my rugby practice/ gym work?
Yes I think it has the same effect, outdoors and indoors. Running is probably better because you dont bike during games. One type of intervals: 30 sec of about 80 % of max speed, then 30 sec rest, then over and over again. repeating this cycle 5 reps, 2 sets would be a good start.
How often you are going to do it depends on how much emphasis you would like to put on aerobic training for that given phase
But before you are start doing anything I would like to hear other members opinions
Rugby 67% aerobic? Rugby teams are looking for sprinters these days, and although they also need good aerobic capacity, how do you quantify 67% aerobic?
Before going further, we already know how you feel you “test out”, but how do you do in the games? Any problems? (Does anyone ever run1k continuously in a game?)
What position do you play. I don’t know much about rugby (as in union?)
But I guess forwards would tend to run shorter distance at any one time while wingers and backs would run greater distance. i still can’t imagine many runs over 30m though.
Charlie asked how do you go in games. Probably the most important aspect.
I can remember being aerobically as fit as goal keeper (I played field hockey) but always played on the oppostions quickest player.
Richard, i quantify it that, no matter how fast you are, if you cant keep up to the ball, you cant get the pass, ie you cant sprint with it, so 67% is actually the low spectrum of a rugby players aerobic capacity, and the tackling aspect of the game requires aerobic capacity, imagine a sprinter doing a 100m sprint, but having to fall down every 10m, getting back up again, then running the next 10m, hell get very tired, very quickly, and then he has to do it for 80minutes!
Charlie, in games, i feel great & fast the first 20minutes of each half, i then start to fade slowly, i start to feel sluggish, it seems the 10minute half time break helps me out, because the start of the second half, i feel great again, i can do the short sprints / tackles fine, but if the rest period between play lasts longer than say 1 minute or if the ball really moves fast up and down the field, then i start to feel it the most, plus i play in the forwards, I play tighthead prop, flank & eight man, which calls for alot of contact, i guess what i need to really improve is my recovery between ball phases, and interval training seems to be the best?
I believe on average we jog about 5km in a rugby game, and sprint just under 1km all together during a game, i`ll try get you the full statistics this week.
DMA, we do 10m, 30m & 80m sprints at the moment, then we do something called pyramids (which i suck at) where you stand on the try line, sprint to the 22m line, then jog back, when u get back to the try line you sprint to the half line, then jog back, etc, i can see something of an improvement in this event, but like i said its tough because we only do this during winter training.
Biking is fine for interval fitness - for biking.
… but for sprinting on grass in a rugby or soccer game - it’s not worth a ball of blue!!!
Too much cycling has been known to cause a tightening of the hamstrings - so be careful.
Interval training is important but for games such as rugby and soccer fartlek resemblies the game a lot closer.
Charlie might dissagree with me - but I would incorporate fartlek as part of or instead of the ‘Tempo’-type sessions.
Re: Forward play
Rugby players need to simualte the conatact of a game.
Lebeau I would also use up and down drills to simulate the conatact and ‘up-and-down’ nature of the game.
In these drills (with a partner) you run at 60-75% take a light ‘shoulder’ to simulate a tackle and fall to the ground - rolling on to your left/right side and get up again and sprint 80-90% for 10 ms.
If you can’t roll to the ground and get up fast in training - forget about playing the game.
There is also thw whole concept of ‘Playing the game’ …
What I mean here is - are you using your fitness to the best of your ability?
Are you playing the game intellingently and conserving energy when you can or sprinting around like a headless chicken?
Many players - especially younger players - waste energy making foolish runs - rather than watching and timing runs - therefore conserving energy and playing better games.
well my problem is that i was drafted into the team coming back from a 2 year lay off, so my fitness wasnt good, did only 2 sessions of fartlek, can i do this in season? when would be the best time of day? We do practice alot of contact between the 22m and the tryline so thats not too much of problem, i learnt at the u/19`s that you cant run around like you said, a headless chicken.
I also have a question concerning this. If you have a practice for something (you play basketball, soccer, etc.), if you were to do a workout afterwards, would this be counterproductive in anyway?
Depends on the Intensity of the practice work. If it is purely technical/ tactical, short working times, long recoveries there may be room to include another training elements. Have you a specific session in mind?