Rugby league: seven fitness tips from the world"s toughest sport

1. Lesson one: get competitive

Exercising with teammates, friends and colleagues is the best way to ensure

you take your training seriously. “At our training ground we have a 6ft by

10ft board absolutely full of results from training sessions – there is not

a space left on it,” explains Bitcon. “We want the guy at the top to see

their name up there and the guy at the bottom to feel embarrassed and

ashamed and get himself off there. All the skinfold data (which measures

body fat) is on the wall so all the players, coaches and visitors to the

ground can see it which adds pressure.”

O’Loughlin says: “I just stay in the mix and try not to drop out the bottom

half.”

2. Lesson two: mix up your training

Injecting lots of different and interesting training methods into your workout

routine is the key to building all-action fitness – and to maintaining your

motivation. “When our guys are playing 36 games a year and then going off on

international programmes they often only get four weeks off per year so we

have to keep training interesting,” explains Bitcon. “My philosophy is one

of variety. Some coaches use the same programme all year round and

manipulate load and volume whereas we use Olympic lifts (like the snatch and

clean and jerk), hot yoga, cryotherapy, bands, kettlebells, agility drills

and plyometrics (explosive jump work) so it’s a real blend of techniques.”

O’Loughlin suggests you reboot your training routine at regular intervals: “We

change our programme every 6-8 weeks and are constantly mixing things up.

We’re always doing something different and that tests you physically and

keeps things fresh.”

3. Lesson three: escape your comfort zone

Wigan players are deliberately challenged both physically and mentally to

toughen them up for the season ahead. “We have asked guys who have won

medals in Afghanistan and Iraq to come in and speak to the players and the

Marines in Arbroath have taken them on really tough fitness courses,”

explains Bitcon. Pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone will boost your

fitness and your confidence. “Shaun (Wane, the Wigan coach) loves it because

it builds resilience. We take the players’ bodies and minds to the absolute

limits so they know they can handle anything on the pitch. We even had the

Marines come into our dressing room at the Grand Final – we like to have

bits of symbolism throughout the season in which we refer back to those

tough times and remind players how they helped us.”

4. Lesson four: enjoy the triple threat

The hardest physical challenge Sean O’Loughlin has suffered in training is a

triple whammy on the treadmill, rower and stationary bike. “We go on a

treadmill and they crank it up 12-13kph and keep increasing the gradient

until we can’t run any longer, then we jump on a rower and do 1000m before

doing another 1000m on a Wattbike (a power-based stationary bike),” explains

O’Loughlin. “It is absolute hell and it leaves you in a right state.”

Bitcon says they often have to wipe the players’ sick off the floor: “We got

our new signing Eddy Pettybourne to do it the other day and he said it was

the hardest thing he has ever done.”

5. Lesson five: make it functional

Wigan players focus on functional fitness that will have a direct impact on

their performances on the pitch. So think hard about what physical qualities

your sport really requires. At Wigan, nobody lifts a lump of metal unless it

can be directly linked to an in-game requirement. Players pull weighted

sleds and push prowler sleds which mirror the need to make or break through

tackles, and perform ‘spider’ exercises – in which a player adopts a

press-up style position and has to keep his body stable while another player

gets on his back and wriggles around – to replicate on-field wrestling for

the ball.

“We always try to adapt our training to mimic movements needed on the field,”

says O’Loughlin. “So if we do a core exercise on the floor or a Swiss ball

exercise we will immediately get up and do a heavy lift straight after,

which is just like when you get off the floor and tackle in a game.”

6. Lesson six: start sprinting

Learning about the art of sprinting has helped Wigan players to turbo-charge

their performances on the pitch. “We have an optional speed session when

players come to the track, get their spikes on and learn about acceleration

and technique,” says Bitcon.

Focusing on technique – not just raw strength and power – will make you a more

impressive and efficient athlete. “The guys really bought into it when we

went on a training camp to Florida and they found themselves working on a

track alongside Justin Gatlin and Tyson Gay who were doing the very same

drills.”

7. Lesson seven: get wet and cold

Wigan still train with old-fashioned running drills in the great outdoors

because nothing toughens up an athlete better than the British weather.

“We sometimes run up the steps on Rivington hill near Wigan, or go to Formby

beach and run along the sand dunes which is always a real shock to the

system,” explains O’Loughlin. “That kind of training is good for your

aerobic threshold and makes you mentally tough.”

The harder the better, says Bitcon: “Sometimes in pre-season we ring them up

at 5am and get them out running. I also like to take the guys for

cross-country runs in the local area. It’s not much fun in the cold and wet

but they learn to push through the pain and it’s great for the public to see

us out and about, too.”

Super League kicks off on February 7 on Sky Sports with Grand Final

winners Wigan Warriors taking on Huddersfield Giants. For more info visit superleague.co.uk

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/25835922

Rugby league: seven fitness tips from the world"s toughest sport