Rugby League Training

[langpark]

Hi guys, altho I've been a league fan my whole life, I've never actually played it (always been too small, skinny etc).

But now I'm pretty serious about playing next year, I've been going to the gym for about 6 months now and am now 78kg (was 70 when i started). I play soccer about once a week so i'm getting a tiny bit of cardio in atm.

Anyways, I was hoping anyone here could tell me wat specific excercises/weights etc i should be doing that would help me when playing league. And also, it is off season, but wat would be a good amount of jogging or something and for how long?

Or better yet, does anyone have a link to any possible sites that have Rugby League training programs?

Cheers.

 

[ghoti]

It depends largely on what position you're planning to play in..but as a general guide, work on a lot of speed, agility and power work.

Having put 8 kilos on, I'd assume your overall strength is quite high, but as is common with most, you could have neglected your core (abs and lower back.) Work this area a lot, next time you go to your gym, speak to a trainer about working with swiss balls in your normal weight program which is excellent for developing core stability which is very important in Rugby League.

As for your weights program itself, keep working as you are now for now, but come January start power work. That is high weight allowing you to do about 6 - 8 reps with an explosive up phase and very slow down phase. For example, on a bench press, push up as quickly as possible and let the bar come back to your chest over about 3 seconds before you push up again. Make sure you don't neglect your legs.

With your cardio, build up your endurance base through to January...that is a lot of long distance running, swimming, etc...maybe three times a week, weights training the three days a week in between and one rest day.

Once January hits start working on a lot of speed and agility. Sprint sessions and the like...I used to have some lying around the place, but I'm not sure where they are. Speak to a trainer at your gym and they should be able to help you out with a few training sessions.

With all this training, make sure you don't overtrain. If you start feeling unusually tired or depressed without reason, or your heart rate is particularly high in the morning, then take a day off. Rest is one of the most important parts of any training programme.

Good luck with next year, hope you go well.

 

[langpark]

Wow, thanks heaps for that man, I'll bookmark this, it's helpful stuff.

One other thing if you don't mind, what should i do as far as my diet goes?

 

[Cupid Stunt]

Being summer the most important thing in diet IMO is hydration. I run in the mornings mainly & even at 5am you will sweat like a whore in church so if you aren't juiced up expect trouble. And not to be patronising but hydration starts around 3 days prior to any strenuous activity. 2L of water a day seems to be considered the good measure & although you will probably struggle at first, spread over a day it can be done with ease.

 

[Stranger]

Wow, thanks heaps for that man, I'll bookmark this, it's helpful stuff.

One other thing if you don't mind, what should i do as far as my diet goes?

For Training eat more complex carbs - energy (eg. Breads cereals pasta) more protein - muscle re-building (Fish, Tuna, Nuts, Meat) less simple carbs (jelly beans Gatorade), and less fats. You want to make sure you do have some fats and some simple carbs though.

To make it simple Protein = Muscle re-devolpement
Complex Carbs = Energy used over a longer period of time (lo GI)
Simple Carbs = Energy that gets used up fast

After training your body will have used up a sufficient amount of the Glycogen so within 20mins of training its advised you get some simple carbs and within at least 2 hours have a meal consisting of high complex carbs and Protein.
If you are doing weights you will need a considerable amount of Protein, and if you aren't eating a can of tuna a day you ain't eating enough.

Water is very important. If you are hitting the gym 3 times a week and doing cardio twice you need more than 2L of water per day.

 

[ghoti]

As far as protein goes, if you're doing regular weight training you should be consuming approximately 2 grams of protein to every kilogram of body weight per day...so for you, thats 156 grams of protein per day.

Remember the food pyramid from primary school? For a non-elite athlete, that's all you need to know. Make sure you have a balanced diet, consume plenty of fruits and vegetables, focus your diet around complex carbohydrates as mentioned before and consume close to the amount of protein as above.

As for protein shakes, supplements, etc...that's up to you, however, I strongly believe that they're unnecessary if you have a capably balanced diet. They're far too expensive and put far too much pressure on your liver if you can consume the same amount for fractions of the price in your regular diet.

 

[Stranger]

As for protein shakes, supplements, etc...that's up to you, however, I strongly believe that they're unnecessary if you have a capably balanced diet. They're far too expensive and put far too much pressure on your liver if you can consume the same amount for fractions of the price in your regular diet.

Exactly. You can get the same amount of protein from Milk,meats and fish and it cost alot less.

 

[Fatdog]

langpark if you want to private message me your email address i can send through a cardio training plan from one of the NRL teams (tigers i think) it is about two years old (pre-season2005) but does give some basic info. it is a hard program but it may give some direction in your training program.

 

[langpark]

Thanks for all the advice guys, it's great, and will help me heaps.

As far as protein goes, if you're doing regular weight training you should be consuming approximately 2 grams of protein to every kilogram of body weight per day...so for you, thats 156 grams of protein per day.

Remember the food pyramid from primary school? For a non-elite athlete, that's all you need to know. Make sure you have a balanced diet, consume plenty of fruits and vegetables, focus your diet around complex carbohydrates as mentioned before and consume close to the amount of protein as above.

As for protein shakes, supplements, etc...that's up to you, however, I strongly believe that they're unnecessary if you have a capably balanced diet. They're far too expensive and put far too much pressure on your liver if you can consume the same amount for fractions of the price in your regular diet.

I know wat you're saying there, but i think i still may need it for a while so i better stay on it for a bit longer. I'm aiming to be at 85kg by March, which is a bit drastic, but I think it can be done.

 

[langpark]

langpark if you want to private message me your email address i can send through a cardio training plan from one of the NRL teams (tigers i think) it is about two years old (pre-season2005) but does give some basic info. it is a hard program but it may give some direction in your training program.

That'd be brilliant, thanks man.

 

[TooheysNew]

Thanks for all the advice guys, it's great, and will help me heaps.


I know wat you're saying there, but i think i still may need it for a while so i better stay on it for a bit longer. I'm aiming to be at 85kg by March, which is a bit drastic, but I think it can be done.

You'd be far better off just improving your diet.

 

[Crusher]

eat lots of pasta and run boy run!

 

[poita]

Does anyone here have an off-season weightlifting program from any of the nrl clubs?I would love to see what they do.Thanks.

 

[fourplay]

wow fatdog can you send it to me aswell...

To the others for diet your weight gain should dictate how much you need to eat. Not gaining fast enough well then up ur calories.

I think protein shakes should be taken if you want optimal results. They are actually much cheaper than food as it works out to be roughly 50cents for 30 grams of high quality protein. They also digest extremely fast.. perfect for post work out. I highly recommend order ON optimimum nutrition whey off www.vitaminking.com.au or www.life4orce.com.au or where ever but they are the cheapest I've found. Don't limit yourself on healthy fats from sources like flaxseed oil, nuts, natural peanut butter, eggs. These are all very healthy and great sources of energy.

 

[Steven@L.W]

Just on your gym,alot of guys who want to play league think its all about getting in and blasting your chest and biceps and shoulders.Dont forget 1 of the strongest and most important parts,LEGS!!!! Look at someone like Matt Utai who gets all his power from his monster legs. Get started on dead lifts,have a trainer at the gym show you how to do it and if you can manage squats your laughing.You'll pack on the size with those 2 exercises.