Class27_Sports

Authors: Matthew Oliver & Alex McLachlan Introducing our latest video blog on the topic of outdoor training and its cost effectiveness in comparison to a gym membership! Alex will take you through movements, such as bodyweight exercises which are easy to do outside and a great opportunity to try something new! Matt will introduce the advantages of training outdoors such as the fact that summer is just about to arrive, community it provides and different surfaces to train on such as hills. Matt and Alex will get you thinking creatively about your surroundings and get you to your nearest outdoor gym! Click the YouTube link below for more information.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJMPPSlOXYY&feature=youtu.be

Author: Matthew Oliver There is a conflict between one group of people saying you need to rest and another group saying training every day is the goal and rest days are a myth. So exactly, how many times should you work out in a week? Rest days are important. Especially growth adaptations do not come by at the gym but actually during sleep and recovery. If you’re only doing cardio for 1hr 30 min each day you may not need much rest then. However if you are doing intense training lifting the heaviest weight as much as you can each work out. Then you may actually need higher levels of rest. There are a few indicators. Frequency, intensity and volume. These 3 indicators are a consequence of how much rest you need per week. Asking yourself what are you doing in the gym in the first place is a great reflection for these indicators. Unfortunately the more volume of exercise you are doing will mean more fatigue. Continuing to not rest and this may cause overtraining!

Author: Alex McLachlan It is important for people to understand, that without the right prerequisites you cannot achieve all your goals. The following three points, if you do all of them correctly, you will reap all the rewards of your training. -         Hydration      Hydration helps with one’s performance during exercises, but good hydration can also positively impact one’s ability to recover between training exercises. If you train a good amount you should aim for between 3-4 litres of water a day.                    Nutrition      You must have a balanced diet to get all the rewards of your training. This includes a balance of macronutrients, including carbohydrates which give you the fuel for high intense workouts like rugby training and games. -         Sleep      Sleep is the best form of recovery. Cryotherapy is often hailed as a fantastic recovery method due to its positive impact on sleep. You should sleep for at least 8 hours a day to r

Author: Alex McLachlan In all contact sports, whether it be Rugby, Aussie Rules or Gridiron, on all level, from juniors to professional, strength or lack of strength will play an important part in a players and team’s success. At the end of the day strength is primarily developed in the gym. Strength is easily calculable, as the more weight you can lift or the more times you can lift weight the stronger you are. To increase your strength, there are four main exercises, these are:          Squats          Deadlifts     Bench Press     Military Press     References:     Deadlift Image - https://greatist.com/sites/default/files/weight-vs-rep.jpg

Author: Alex McLachlan Integrating plyometric training into your workout routine is an extremely good way to help develop strength and power, especially in your legs. A brief explanation of plyometric training is that it works by overloading the leg muscles by lengthening and then shortening them quickly after. Plyometric training is one of the best ways to for athletes to run more powerfully, jump higher and hit harder than the opposition. Seven of the best plyometric exercises are bounding, box jumps, depth jumps, hops, lateral steps, tuck jumps and clap push ups. A good warm up is crucial for when doing plyometric exercises, as the intense exercises have a tendency to cause injury. References: Plyometric Workout Image - http://stretchcoach.com/wp-content/uploads/plyometric-workouts.jpg

Author: Alex McLachlan A good line out in rugby can give any team an instant advantage over their opposition. Like other parts in the game, a player’s technique in the line out is vital to the safety of the players and can give them an edge over their opposition. For the front lifter, the correct technique is a firm grip around the lower thigh, using the bottom of the thigh muscle to control their grip. The back lifters technique involves cupping the butt cheeks of the jumping player, using their bottom as a grip on their lift. The jumper’s technique is very important, as poor technique can make it very difficult for the lifters to keep the player steady, and could also severely injure the lifters with swinging legs. The jumper should jump with their legs together to avoid kicking the lifters, and should lean inwards to better compete with the opposition jumper. References: Line Up Image - http://www.lineoutcoach.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Sarac

Author: Matthew Oliver Since Summer is on its way I thought it would be a great opportunity to talk about some more outdoor training and the positives of different surfaces to train on! 1. Wet Sand Running - Elite runner and coach Shaun Dixon has stated that "running on compacted wet sand allows you to run fast and hard without the same jarring impact on your joints you get from concrete". Running on sand allows a great opportunity to run barefoot to help practice a fast, natural running technique. Therefore perfect for working on speed and technique. 2. Dry Sand Running - In comparison to wet sand, the soft surface will reduce the impact on your joints, connective tissues and muscles, which can all take a severe pain when you run predominantly on the road. In my opinion I would use wet sand running for anaerobic sprint training and dry sand running for aerobic walking/jogging. 3. Hill Running - Uphill running is a fantastic way to test your leg muscles as well as

Author: Matthew Oliver Your 1RM is the maximum weight you can successfully press for one rep. It's associated with strength training, but you need to know yours to start building muscle. After a good warm-up do three reps of about 50% of what you think your maximum lift is. Add 10-20kg to the bar and repeat until you get to about 85% of your maximum. Then add 5kg at a time and do one rep until you fail.  Your last successful lift is your 1RM and once you know this number, you can work out what weight you need to be lifting in your workouts to maximise growth. The best way therefore I believe to stimulate muscle growth is to lift between 70-80% of your 1RM for sets of around 8-12 reps.  Volume is the amount of work you make your muscles do. one of the best ways to shock your chest into growth is to ramp up volume by doing more sets and reps. Also always make sure your form is in ship shape! References: Metal Bob Training Image https://i0.wp.com/www.metalbobtraini

Author: Matthew Oliver I was just about to head out to do some shoulder exercises and thought to show you the schedule which include some solid exercises. 1. Kettlebell Press - this exercise will warm up your shoulder joint, which is a complex joint and can get injured easily. The single sided nature of the move means that your stabilising muscles must activate to control your movement. Sets: 3 Reps: 5 2. Overhead Press - being able to press a heavy weight overhead is a good sign that you have structural integrity in your shoulders and upper spine as well as good core strength. Sets: 5 Reps: 5 3. Push Press - this exercise is a good way of fully fatiguing your shoulders after they're no longer able to complete strict overhead press reps.  Sets: 3 Reps: 10 4. Barbell Roll Out - a good overhead press requires you to be strong in the core, particularly when your arms are above your head. This movement mimics that position to give you a di

Author: Alex McLachlan Speed is one of the most important parts of any sport, especially rugby. Therefore players training their speed can drastically improve their game and become much more competitive players. Researchers for Rugby Union have found that faster players make much more line breaks than slower players and lead to more tries being scored off those line breaks, this is part of the reason backs score more tries than forwards. A good workout set for young players to improve their speed may include exercises such as: 30m sprintx6 – gentle walk back for recovery Swerve sprints x6   6 double leg bound 20m sprint x4 Cool down is also especially important during interval training! Here's an easy 25 min process to follow below: References: Sprinting Image -http://www.mensfitnessfocus.com/wpcontent/uploads/sites/76/2016/05/sprinting.jpg 25 Minute Running Workout Image - https://www.fix.com/assets/content/14028/Interval-Training-003.png

Author: Alex McLachlan Scrums are one of the most important parts of any rugby game, and if players do not know how to scrummage properly (especially the front row) they run the risk of being badly hurt, so scrum training is one of the most important parts of training for all forwards. The best exercises for coaches to get their forwards to do is, one on one scrums on the players knees, one on one scrums on the players feet, three on three front row scrums, full team scrums. These exercises force the players to learn the proper body position that they must have to stay safe in the scrum, as well as training the player’s strength. References: Scrum Image - http://www.mensfitnessfocus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/76/2016/05/sprinting.jpg