Fitness Tests for Rugby

To play rugby, you have to have a certain level of aerobic fitness. It’s a demanding but thrilling and highly entertaining sport. You also need great strength as well as aerobic stamina. For those who wish to take their rugby seriously, it’s essential to follow a thoroughly-designed and balanced plan of different types of training and dietary requirements. It’s important to know which areas you need to focus on and to establish this, various aerobic and strength fitness tests exist and can be completed to give a better idea of areas that need further training. Here are two tests that are perfect for this:

Always make sure you are physically fit and not unwell before beginning any training exercises that require your best performance. Also, be sure to remember that proper warm-up exercises are vital to avoid the possible dangers of causing an injury.

Test 1

Rugby is a stop-start kind of sport and includes a large element of anaerobic workout, the better your aerobic fitness is, the quicker you’ll recover from those bursts of high-intensity activities. You’ll also be better equipped to keep up with the whole of the game. For this test, you’ll require a level ground with two lines marked out 20 metres apart. Standing behind one of the lines and facing the other, players start running between the two lines when prompted by the bleep. They must reach the second line and turn to run back to the first line by the sound of the bleep. Of course, the bleeps speed up and the player must continue until they can physically keep up no more. It’s other wise known as the bleep test or shuttle run. For Rugby Training drill Videos, visit https://www.sportplan.net/drills/Rugby/Kicking/Kick-Off-Targets-rugcb0076.jsp

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Test 2

Strength is another important aspect of playing rugby and this test measures the maximum weight a person can lift in one repetition. The best lifts for rugby training are deadlifts and bench presses. The bench press evaluates the strength of the triceps, shoulders and chest, while the deadlift measures leg, hip and lower back strength. After a slow warm-up, weight should be increased, and repetitions decreased with 5-minute rest periods in between. Spotters will be required for the bench presses. For a deadlift to count, the person must fully extend their hips, knees and back. Ideally, for the bench press a rugby player should be able to lift around 1.5 times their bodyweight. For the deadlift, between 1.75- and 2.25-times bodyweight is desirable.