The Physical Strength of Australian Players

[Inside Shoulder]

I got my sight back within hours

 

[Schadenfreude]

You don't train for a pointless exercise - you train to build strength, which makes you more effective at Rugby. The inevitable consequence of more strength is bigger muscles.

Except a massive component of the force you generate on any given task is technique. I never see anyone stop a rugby game to do a bench press.

Building muscle size is fine, but you will always gain MUCH more benefit from proper technique.

 

[rugbyskier]

Except a massive component of the force you generate on any given task is technique. I never see anyone stop a rugby game to do a bench press.

Building muscle size is fine, but you will always gain MUCH more benefit from proper technique.

I can relate to that, being an instructor in another sport who is a relative newbie to rugby. I think I'm driving my coach crazy asking technique questions. I've also found I apply the body self-awareness skills I've picked up through ski instructing to my play - thinking where my shoulders or hips should be. I probably over-analyse things, but hey that's the way I roll.

At the risk of channelling Captain Obvious I would add that attitude combined with technique can achieve so much. I have a saying that skiing is 20% in the legs and 80% in the head and I've gained a lot of satisfaction seeing people overcome their fears and make a technical breakthrough in their skiing. In the rugby perspective, how many times have you seen a scrumhalf nail a forward with a great tackle? That's a combination of good technique and positive attitude.

 

[Karl]

Except a massive component of the force you generate on any given task is technique. I never see anyone stop a rugby game to do a bench press.

Building muscle size is fine, but you will always gain MUCH more benefit from proper technique.

Of course technique is important. Strength is useless if you're applying it all wrong and a simple thing correct body position can make a huge difference to the force transmitted. However, all things being equal, the same player with the same technige is going to be better if he's stronger - particularly in the forwards.

 

[AngrySeahorse]

So do you build them first and then do the sprint specific training or do you do both at the same time?
Also having read the link you (seahorse) posted I am intrigued as to acceleration: you may have guessed I have a familial interest in this.
One of my offspring is fast enough over anything from 20 to 100 that no one catches him - but he seems slow off the mark: so in a 100m sprint when he comes 2nd or 3rd he does so by the margin established in the frist 20 metres. Can you train this - cos I think the first 10m is the most important in rugby.
BTW he's not the same kid mentioned in my earlier post - who is one the few who can catch him from 20-100 but who is not much interested in rugby.

Hey IS I'm putting a sprinting thread up in 'everything else', I can comment on this there as I'm kinda going a bit away from what this thread originally intended.

 

[Buckhard]

You know who would pick the deadlift as being the best test of strength for rugby...

Jerome Kaino =P