Rugby is one of the unique sports where you need to be as strong, fast and big as possible. However, you also need to be an aerobic fitness machine. There is no other sport like it! I find most players get stuck in a sort of middle ground, where they do not do pure high end strength, speed work or plyometrics (which we talked about in the last email) yet they also do not do a full aerobic conditioning plan.
I think this conversation benefits from understanding a bit more about both the body energy’s systems and key terms around training so you can see how it fits into a training plan. The body has three main energy systems:
The Creatine System – This provides instantaneous energy, e.g. if you jump once in the air, make a tackle, it is all creatine based. You have about 2-10 seconds before this energy system is used up and then it needs a few minutes to recharge it. This is why strength & power athletes take creatine so they have a bit more of it in the system.
Anaerobic system – The next fastest method to produce energy is through the breakdown of carbohydrate without using oxygen. While this provides fast energy it also has the by-product of lactic acid. This is what creates the burning sensation of exercise and is mostly what is responsible for all the pain you would have associated with fitness training. This system is limited by the amount of carbohydrate you have in your muscles vs how well your muscles can function in an acidic environment.
Aerobic System – Through taking in oxygen from the air you are able to use carbohydrates and fat to produce energy. This production happens at a slower rate than the previous two systems but it can produce energy for very long periods of time, e.g. marathons. Through extensive training it can produce energy at pretty fast rates even though it is the slowest of the three systems, e.g. the marathon world record is 20.5 km/h on a treadmill.
The majority of exercise that most people do involves the aerobic system, such as jogging, cycling, walking etc. Terminologies you may have heard around aerobic fitness may include the following:
Aerobic Threshold – This is the point when the body begins to produce lactic acid while exercising as you start to tap into carbohydrate metabolism. At this point, you can still sustain exercise for long periods as there is only low levels of lactate in the system.
Lactate Threshold – This is the point after which using higher exercise intensities significantly increase lactic acid, causing exercise to hurt and creating fatigue.
VO2 Max – This is the max amount of oxygen you can use within the body. The more you can use, the more efficient your energy systems and therefore the fitter you are as a person. Cyclists, tri-athletes and runners are always talking about VO2 Max, but it is not the best measure for rugby because it uses body weight in its calculations, so a heavier person will get a lower score. Also, Rugby is not a pure aerobic sport so it is less relevant to the previously mentioned ones. Finally, VO2 Max is massively correlated to health through expected quality life years and overall life expectancy, so you should not neglect your fitness whoever you are.
Economy / Technique – This links into how prior training affects your VO2 max being put into actual performance. Much of genuine fitness comes back to how well the muscles can transmit force. Cyclists spend plenty of time on their technique and runners develop feet muscle to impact the ground better. For example, Lance Armstrong ran a marathon while still being near the peaks of his fitness in 2005 yet finished almost an hour behind the world record (2 hours 59 mins). A later attempt he ran it in 2 hour 46 mins. The world record currently stands at 2 hours and 35 seconds. Your VO2 needs to be tailored to the specific activity you are focusing upon. Which is equally true for rugby as well.
Heart Rate Zones – Aerobic training produces fairly consistent individual data for the intensity you are exercising at and the training benefits. This allows you to set training plans off heart rate.
Tempo / Threshold Training – These refer to the intensity of training you are doing in a session, are you at the aerobic, lactate or VO2 max intensity. It is a little confusing however as people use similar sounding terms for different intensities, or do a workout at ‘one intensity’ yet their heart rate is in a completely different range.
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Fatigue – There are various reasons you will get tired from exercise. For most people it will be that they are unable to handle lactic acid. This is what will stop you in the moment, however, it may be a consequence of an under developed aerobic system. The tiredness you feel from exercise can be caused from your central nervous system too. In the great book
Endure, by Alex Hutchinson, he delves into the science of what limits performance. He found that at well trained levels there are many different reasons why we get tired during exercise and it is not usually due to the actual energy systems running out of steam but rather pain, perception and other factors on top of the energy systems being stressed.
What Does This Mean For You?
The main thing to take away from this should be how to apply your training to the knowledge of the energy systems. In general, you just need to consistently challenge the different energy systems. This in part is related to your goal. For example, to get good at running you would have some short and sharp sessions alongside some longer efforts at a low intensity. The plan would be structured differently though if you were aiming for a 5km pb vs a marathon in two months.
For rugby, you would want to develop the speed/power alongside your aerobic base. Which area to prioritise for you depends upon your strengths vs weaknesses. You will also find that the time of the season may affect what type of training you can do when.
Photo – Pictures from when I competed in 100/400m, scoring a try and last year at the Essex games. These sports require different balances of the energy systems discussed above, See here>>
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