Optimizing Rest Days for Rugby Athletes

I know, you always want to do more, More, MORE!

The brake pedal isn't an appealing thing as you strive to stand firmly atop the Mountain of the Rugby Gods that all other ruggers claw their way to get to, as well.

"If I'm not training, someone else is, right?

Right.

We can train smarter when we do train though - that's a bigger difference than if you are training. Let your opponent do mindless running and air squatting, all the while practicing with a weighted rugby ball.

Let them go.

Quality training will always beat quantity. Remember, you are with SISU, and if you're not and you want to become the Godzilla on your rugby team - let's chat.

Rest days mean I can lounge around, right? I've earned it.

To a point, yes.

You train hard on your training days - and you train smart, too. Rest days are specifically inputted in the week on specific days to give your body optimal time to recover from the days training. Remember - recovery is when muscle is built, training is when muscle is broken down.

Train Smarter.

But, the question becomes - is laying around the best way to optimize that recovery?

That answer, Tex, is a hard no.

Active recovery is the spice of life when it comes to making the most of your rest days. Gone are the days of watching TV in the A/C while you nurse your wee leggies back to life with BCAA's and chicken and rice with broccoli. Stop it.

We can be better.

Active recovery is any activity that is sustained and long duration. This is steady state "cardio" as we know it.

Here's the kicker: rugby players at the high school and college level (if you stay relatively active and don't binge Netflix and play video games all hours) have no deficit in aerobic conditioning.

So, those long runs, those hills workouts, those long elliptical sessions or stationary bike sessions that people love - they aren't moving the needle for you. They aren't going to take you to the next level. I would even claim they won't make you feel less out of breath on the field.

But they are necessary.

Cardio brings much needed blood flow to your tissues. With blood flow comes nutrients, and those nutrients want to REPAIR and REBUILD those tissues.

Sore legs from squats? Let's hop on a bike for some steady state cardio. If the pain goes away either moderately or completely after the session, we know the active recovery has been successful.

So, cardio is great for your rest days.

That's right.

If you are exclusively doing cardio to train, you're doing about as good as a SISU athlete does on their friggin rest day.

Not to sound elitist, we aren't here to put others down at all. I want to create awareness and information that will bring benefit to you, the rugby player.

So, what exactly do I need to do on my rest days?

Let's get in to it. On your rest days, pick one of the following:

1. Bike - less stress on joints, great builder for aerobic conditioning, and brings awesome blood flow and recovery to the legs

2. Row - less stress on joints, great builder for aerobic conditioning, and brings more blood flow to the posterior chain.

3. Jog - ultimate form of cardio.

4. Walk - great for long distances, hikes, getting out and doing something fresh and different.

Once you pick your activity, you then pick how long you will do it for in that session. If we want to get serious, here are some parameters for athletes.

For Biking/Rowing/Walking:

• Working up to at least 60 minutes of sustained, steady state effort.

For Jogging:

• Working up to at least 40 minutes of sustained, steady state effort.

I choose to give athletes less time for jogging because we must consider the stress on their joints from the repetition of jogging on top of the stress from sprinting and running throughout the week. Stress is good, it creates adaptation, but too much is bad. I think this is a healthy range to supplement for scheduled sprint work.

There you have it.

If you are actively trying to improve yourself, you're doing great. You're doing more than what most are doing. If you're ready to hone in and truly make progress, then utilize your rest days for what they should be: low level, low stress, steady state movement to elicit blood flow, inducing recovery and repair from the stress of your normal training days.