quarantine training program

QUARANTINE WORKOUT PROGRAM (MEN)

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QUARANTINE WORKOUT
TRAINING PROGRAM

Stuck at home because of Coronavirus? Us too. Rugby training isn’t happening for a while. And if you’re anything like us, your gym is probably closed as well. So that means you need an at-home workout program that should last the duration of your quarantine. To help you stay fit, try our quarantine workout program. This is the men’s version, the women’s will be available soon. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction

2. Warming Up & Cooling down

3. Training Program (weeks 1 to 4)

4. Training Program (weeks 5 to 8)

5. Quarantine Survival Tips for Ruggers

6. Conclusion

1. INTRODUCTION

COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on the rugby calendar. Matches and tournaments have been postponed and canceled, and amateur and professional ruggers are facing lengthy periods away from the game they love.

Rugby training is also off the agenda for most players. After all, COVID-19 is transmitted by coming into direct contact with infected people and surfaces. That means if even just one of your teammates is infected, after one training session, everyone else probably will be too.

Being fit and healthy, most ruggers should be able to bounce back if they are unlucky enough to catch COVID-19. Still, that same thing cannot be said for the other people you come into contact with, such as parents, grandparents, the very young, and those with underlying medical conditions.

Because of this, many of the world’s governments are putting their populations into lockdown or quarantine. This should delay the spread of the virus, giving the emergency services a better chance of keeping up with treating those affected.

Gyms, which are Petri dishes for disease at the best of times, are either being forced to close or are off-limits because of quarantine. This makes perfect sense because all it takes is an infected person to use a barbell or dumbbell, and everyone else who uses that piece of equipment will be infected too. Smart ruggers should steer well clear of gyms.

So, does all this movement restriction and confinement mean you have to lose your rugby fitness and gain weight? Absolutely not. In fact, there is no reason you can’t maintain your fitness and strength so that, when the quarantine is finally lifted, you are ready to get back on the pitch and play your best rugby.

This program is designed for ruggers who are confined to their homes and the areas close to their homes. The workouts don’t need a lot of equipment. Still, there is an assumption that you own or can beg, steal, or borrow a few basic items and have access to somewhere you can do pull-ups, such as a tree branch in your garden, a doorframe pull-up bar, or a joist/bean in your garage.

COVID-19 is going to have a lasting effect on a large percentage of the world’s population, and it’s serious enough that everyone needs to take action to prevent its spread. That said, it is something that we can recover from, and things will eventually go back to normal. Use this time to maintain or even improve your fitness for rugby so that, when the first whistle of the next season finally blows, you are ready to take your place on the field.

Stay healthy!
Ruck Science

2. WARMING UP & COOLING DOWN

A good workout starts with a proper warm-up and ends with a thorough cool-down. Neglecting either of these essential components could make your workout less productive, increase your risk of injury, or delay your recovery. And if you’re quarantined, you have plenty of free time on your hands so why not use it!?

With no rower or treadmill to use, you are going to have to find alternative ways to warm-up and cool-down. The most obvious choices are jumping rope and heading out for a run.

Jumping rope – one of the best quarantine cardio exercises you can do, jumping rope will elevate your heart and breathing rate without having to leave your house. All you need is a $20 PVC rope.

Make sure your rope is the right length by standing in the center and pulling the handles up to your armpits. If the ends of the handles reach your ‘pits, it’s about the right length. If it’s a little too long, tie knots in your rope to shorten it. If the rope is too short, discard it as you’ll just end up tripping more than skipping – making for a very frustrating workout.

Running – in most quarantine situations, you are still allowed to go outside and exercise. The main requirement is that you do not come within two meters/6.5 feet of other people and that you run with no more than one other person, with whom you live.

If you DO choose to go out and run, for your warm-up or for cardio, avoid touching anything and anyone, sanitize your hands as soon as you get home, and before you enter your house, shower immediately and wash your workout clothes too. All of these steps can help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

WARMING UP

The aim of warming up is to prepare your body for the workout that follows. It will raise your core temperature, increase your heart and breathing rate, increase blood flow to your muscles, and also focus your mind on what you are about to do.

For the workouts in this program, you only need a basic warm-up that consists of:

  • Pulse raiser
  • Dynamic mobility and flexibility
  • Practice and preparatory exercises

The pulse raiser is the part of the warm-up that makes you warm. Five to ten minutes of progressive cardio will get the job done. For example, grab your jump rope and skip for 1-2 minutes at a slow pace, 1-2 minutes a little quicker, and then 1-2 minutes at a fast pace. By the end, you should feel slightly out of breath but far from tired.

If the thought of jumping rope for 5-10 minutes straight is daunting or unappealing, you can break it up by skipping for 1-2 minutes, doing 1-2 dynamic mobility flexibility exercises, before doing another 1-2 minutes of skipping. The end result will be the same.

If you have decided to run for your warm-up, just head out and jog at a comfortable pace for 1-2 minutes, and then gradually increase your speed until you feel warm and ready to do your main workout. This will probably entail running a lap of your neighborhood or doing an out and back run.

Dynamic mobility and flexibility exercises are designed to prepare your muscles and joints for what is to come. While muscle flexibility and joint mobility are two different things, the exercises that help develop these fitness components are very similar. Good dynamic flexibility and mobility exercises include:

  • Shallow progressing to deeper bodyweight squats
  • Shallow progressing to deeper lunges forward, lateral, or reverse lunges
  • Good mornings
  • Forward leg swings
  • Side bends
  • Waist twists
  • Overhead arm reach
  • Standing chest press/row
  • Neck rolls
  • Shoulder shrugs, rolls, and arm circles
  • Wrist circles

Work your way up or down your body, making sure you take each major joint through its natural range of motion. 10-15 reps of your chosen exercises should do the job. By the end, you should feel loose and ready for the rest of your workout.

The final part of your warm-up is practice and preparatory exercises. This stage provides you with an opportunity to rehearse the exercises you are about to do. For example, if your workout involves push-ups, you might do a set or two of kneeling push-ups to warm-up your chest, shoulders, and elbows. If you are about to do plyometric squat jumps, a few sets of regular squats will help get you ready. Use this time to do a set or two of the main exercises you are about to do.

COOLING DOWN

While you may be tempted to collapse in a heap once your workout is done, you should not bring your activity to an abrupt halt. Doing so could leave you tight and sore and may even delay recovery. Instead, you need to do a few more minutes of exercise to cool down gradually.

There are two stages to a cool-down:

  • Pulse lowerer
  • Static stretching

The pulse lowerer is basically the opposite of the pulse raiser. It is designed to pump freshly oxy- genated blood around your body, flushing away any accumulated lactic acid. This can help ward off delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and speed up recovery.

To gradually bring your pulse back down to normal, start off at a fairly brisk pace and then, over several minutes, gradually reduce your speed until your heart and breathing rate are back or close to normal.

For example:

Run 2-3 minutes -> Jog 2-3 minutes -> Walk 2-3 minutes

5-10 minutes should be all you need. Once your heart and breathing rate are back to where they were before your workout, it’s time to move on to some static stretches.

Static stretches help restore and improve your flexibility. They are also mentally and physically relaxing. Examples of static stretches include:

  • Seated toe touches
  • Standing calf stretch
  • Runner’s lunge
  • Cobra pose
  • Figure-four glute and hip abductor stretch – Doorway chest stretch
  • Standing quadriceps stretch
  • Seated butterfly adductor stretch

Simply start at your calves and work up, or your shoulders and work down, stretching all of your major muscles. Hold each stretch for 30-60 seconds before moving on to the next muscle group. You should be able to cover your entire body in 8-10 stretches. Do not bounce or force any of your stretches as this defeats the object of static stretching.

Instead, ease into each stretch and then hold it until you feel your muscles start to relax. Stretch and little deeper and hold it again. Repeat this stretch-relax-stretch cycle for as long as you wish. The tighter your muscles feel, the longer you should stretch them.

Warming up and cooling down doesn’t take long, and yet a lot of ruggers are tempted to skip them. Don’t do it! Instead, treat them as the bookends that will support your training efforts. If you warm- up properly, you are more likely to have a good workout, and if you have a good workout, you’ll need a proper cool-down.

3. TRAINING PROGRAM WEEKS 1 to 4

While you could just wing it and make up your quarantine workouts as you go, you’ll get much better results if you adopt a more structured approach to your training. For this program, you are going to work out four times per week, using mostly bodyweight exercises.

Your training week looks like this:

[table id=180 /]

Using this split, you never train more than two days in a row, and you never rest more than one day in a row either. This provides the ideal balance between training and recovery and should mean you can attack each workout with 100% intensity.

Can’t train on the designated days? No problem; just adjust the days to match your availability, for example:

[table id=181 /]

PROGRESSION

Stick with the following workouts for the next four weeks. That means you are going to do each of them four times. To make sure you continue to make progress during this time, do your best to work a little harder from one week to the next. Because you are predominately working with your body weight for resistance, this means you need to try and do more reps week by week. Alternatively, you could take shorter rests between sets. Either way, try not to do the exact same workout two weeks in a row. That’s the surefire recipe for stagnation.

STRENGTH, POWER & ENDURANCE WORKOUTS

With no weights available, and no resistance machines either, you are mostly limited to bodyweight exercises during the quarantine. The good news is that, despite this shortcoming, you can still main- tain or even increase strength, power, and endurance. Not convinced? Check out the physiques of most elite male gymnasts to see what we mean!

There are two strength workouts for you to complete, both of which train your whole body. Whole- body training means that, even if you skip one of the workouts, you’ll still train all your major mus- cles at least once per week. It also makes the best use of your time and means you’ll have plenty of opportunities to fit in the two planned cardio workouts too.

WORKOUT 1

[table id=182 /]

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS

1. Paused squat jumps

  1. Stand with your feet shoulder to hip-width apart.
  2. Squat down until your thighs are roughly parallel to the floor. Hold this position for 2-3 seconds.
  3. Explode upward and jump as high as you can.
  4. Land on bent knees and repeat.

2. Plyo push-ups

  1. Adopt the push-up position with your hands shoulder-width apart, body straight, and core braced.
  2. Bend your arms and lower your chest to the floor.
  3. Extend your arms as hard as you can, and push yourself off the floor.
  4. Land on slightly bent elbows and repeat.
  5. If you can’t do full plyo push-ups, bend your legs and rest on your knees.

3. Pull-ups

  1. Hang from an overhead bar using an overhand, shoulder-width grip.
  2. Bend your arms and pull yourself up until your chin is level or above your hands.
  3. Extend your arms and repeat.
  4. Can’t do full pull-ups? Do pull-ups with a band to assist you, lat pulldowns with bands, or body rows instead.

4. Reverse lunges

  1. Stand with your feet together and your hands by your sides.
  2. Take a large step back, bend your legs, and lower your rear knee to within an inch of the floor.
  3. Step forward and return to the starting position.
  4. Do an identical rep on the opposite side.
  5. Continue alternating legs for the duration of your set.

5. Pike push-ups

  1. Adopt the push-up position. Lift your butt into the air, so your body resembles an inverted V.
  2. Bend your arms and lower your head down to the floor.
  3. Push back up and repeat.
  4. Make this exercise easier by placing your hands on an elevated surface, e.g., a step or sturdy chair. Make it harder by raising your feet.

6. Band pull-aparts

  1. Holding a band in your hands, raise your arms so that they are parallel to the floor.
  2. Open your arms and stretch the band out across your chest.
  3. Return to the starting position and repeat.

7. Chair dips

  1. Place two study high back chairs back-to-back about two feet apart. Place weights on the chair seats to hold them in place.
  2. Stand between the chairs with your hands on the top of the chairbacks. Support your weight on your arms.
  3. Bend your arms and descend until your arms are bent to around 90 degrees.
  4. Push back up and repeat.

8. Isometric biceps curls

  1. Stand on the middle of a long towel. Hold one end in each hand.
  2. Bend your arms and try and curl them up against the immovable towel. Contract your arms as hard as you can.
  3. Hold for the prescribed duration and then rest. Try not to hold your breath.

9. V-sits

  1. Lie on your back with your legs straight and your hands on your thighs
  2. Lift your legs off the floor and simultaneously reach up to touch your feet. At this point, your body should resemble a V-shape.
  3. Lower your legs, lie down flat and do another rep.

10. Seated Russian twists

  1. Sit on the floor with your legs bent and feet flat. Sit up, so your torso is inclined to about 45-de- grees. Extend your arms out in front of you.
  2. Without leaning forward or back, rotate your upper body to the left and to the right.
  3. Make this exercise easier by bending and crossing your arms.

WORKOUT 2

[table id=183 /]

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS

1. Bulgarian split-squat jumps

  1. Stand with your back to a knee-high bench, step, or chair. Hop forward and into a split stance.
  2. Bend your legs and lower your rearmost knee to within an inch of the floor. Drive your front foot into the floor and hop straight up. Your rear foot should remain in contact with the bench.
  3. Land on slightly bent knees and repeat.
  4. Do the same number of reps on each leg.

2. Close-grip push-ups

  1. Adopt the push-up position with your hands roughly six inches apart.
  2. Keeping your body straight, bend your arms, and lower your chest to your hands.
  3. Push yourself back up and repeat.
  4. Drop to your knees if you cannot do full push-ups.

3. Chin-ups

  1. Hang from an overhead bar using an underhand, shoulder-width grip.
  2. Bend your arms and pull yourself up until your chin is level or above your hands.
  3. Extend your arms and repeat.
  4. Can’t do full chin-ups? Do chin-ups with a band to assist you, lat pulldowns with bands, or body rows instead.

4. Speed squats

  1. Stand with your feet roughly shoulder-width apart.
  2. Bend your legs and squat down as fast as you can. Stand up quickly but without jumping.
  3. Pump out your remaining reps as fast as possible.

5. Pike push-ups

  1. Raise your arms up and out to shoulder-height.
  2. Draw small circles (forward or backward) with your hands.

6. Body rows

  1. Lie beneath a sturdy table. Reach up and grip the edge. Extend your arms and lift your butt off the floor, so your body is straight.
  2. Bend your arms and pull your chest up to the underside of the table.
  3. Extend your arms and repeat.

7. Resistance band triceps pushdowns

  1. Loop a resistance band over a high anchor point. Grip one end in each hand.
  2. Tuck your elbows into your sides.
  3. Keeping your upper arms stationary, extend your elbows and press your hands down to your thighs.
  4. Bend your arms and repeat.

8. Resistance band curls

  1. Stand on the middle of your resistance band and hold an end in each hand.
  2. Keeping your upper arms tucked into your sides, bend your arms, and curl your hands up to your shoulders.
  3. Lower your arms and repeat.

9. Mountain climbers

  1. Adopt the push-up position, with your legs and arms straight.
  2. Keeping your abs braced, bend one leg and pull your knees up and into your chest.
  3. Extend your leg, swap sides, and repeat.
  4. Continue alternating sides for the duration of your set.

10. Side planks

  1. Lie on your side and rest on your elbow and forearm. Lift your hips and straighten your legs, supporting your weight on your arm and the side of your lowermost foot only.
  2. Hold this position, but not your breath, for the prescribed time. Swap sides and repeat.

CARDIO WORKOUTS

At the time of writing, people under quarantine are still allowed to go outside, providing they keep two meters/6.5 feet away from other people, and avoid crowded spaces. This means you can:

  • Go for a run
  • Go open water swimming
  • Go cycling
  • Go hiking
  • Go kayaking or paddle boarding

If these options are available to you, it may be worth taking advantage of them while you still can. If the situation worsens, quarantine may be extended to ban all outdoor activities. If this should happen or you just prefer to work out indoors during the current COVID-19 crisis, here are two at-home indoor cardio workouts.

Workout One – The Spartan Circuit

For this workout, all you need is a jump rope and an exercise mat. Storm down the following list, completing each exercise for the prescribed duration. To make things easier, use a programmable timer and set it for two minutes and one minute. Not including warm-ups and cool-downs, this workout will take 30 mins.

  • Two min jump rope
  • One-min push-ups
  • Two min jump rope
  • One-min step-ups
  • Two min jump rope
  • One-min planks
  • Two min jump rope
  • One-min push-ups
  • Two min jump rope
  • One-min step-ups
  • Two min jump rope
  • One-min planks
  • Two min jump rope
  • One-min push-ups
  • Two min jump rope
  • One-min step-ups
  • Two min jump rope
  • One-min planks
  • Two min jump rope
  • One-min burpees

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS

1. Jump rope

  1. With your rope sized according to your height (see warm-up chapter for details) skip either with your feet together, using a heel-toe action, or running on the spot.
  2. Start off slow and easy and then speed up as you close in on the end of your two-minute interval.
  3. Can’t skip without tripping? Do jump jacks or jog on the spot instead.

2. Push-ups

  1. Adopt the push-up position with your hands roughly shoulder-width apart.
  2. Keeping your body straight, bend your arms, and lower your chest to the floor.
  3. Push yourself back up and repeat.
  4. Drop to your knees if you cannot do full push-ups.

3. Step-ups

  1. Stand facing a knee-high step.
  2. Place one foot on top and step up.
  3. Step down with the same leg.
  4. Swap legs and then do another rep leading with the opposite leg.
  5. Continue alternating legs for the duration of your set.

4. Planks

  1. Lie on your front and rest on your forearms and elbows.
  2. With your legs straight, lift your hips off the floor, so your body is straight.
  3. Tense your abs and hold this position for the prescribed time. Do not hold your breath.

5. Burpees

  1. Stand with your feet together and your hands by your sides.
  2. Squat down and place your hands on the floor in front of your feet.
  3. Jump your feet out and back into the push-up position and do one rep.
  4. Jump your feet back up to your hands, and then leap up and into the air.
  5. Land on bent knees and descend into another rep.

Workout Two – The Deck of Cards Workout

This cardio/muscular endurance workout is like having a personal trainer in the palm of your hand. All you need is a deck of regular playing cards and a willingness to put your workout in the hands of fate!

Hearts = squat jumps
Diamonds = crunches
Spades = push-ups
Clubs = band pull-aparts

Leave the jokers in. Each one equals 20 burpees.

Shuffle your deck and place it face down. Turn over the first card. Do the exercise specified for the value of the card. So, if you turn over the nine of diamonds, do nine crunches. On completion, turn over the next card and do the exercise specified for the value shown. Work your way through the en- tire deck. Your workout is finished then you complete your last card.

For picture cards, do the following:

Jacks – 11 reps
Queens – 12 reps
Kings – 13 reps

What happens if you get a run of similar cards – say three picture cards from the same suit? Bad luck! Just chip away at the reps until you are ready to turn over the next card, and maybe try and shuffle your cards better next time.

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS

1. Squat jumps

  1. Stand with your feet roughly shoulder-width apart.
  2. Squat down and touch the floor with your fingertips. Keep your chest up, and do not round your lower back.
  3. Jump up into the air, reaching your arms up and overhead.
  4. Land on slightly bent knees and repeat.

2. Crunches

  1. Lie on your back with your legs bent and feet in the air. Place your hands on your temples.
  2. Lift your head, shoulders, and upper back off the floor and touch your elbows to your knees. Do not pull on your head.
  3. Lie back down and repeat.

3. Push-ups

  1. Adopt the push-up position with your hands roughly shoulder-width apart.
  2. Keeping your body straight, bend your arms, and lower your chest to the floor.
  3. Push yourself back up and repeat.
  4. Drop to your knees if you cannot do full push-ups.

4. Band pull-aparts

  1. Holding a band in your hands, raise your arms so that they are parallel to the floor.
  2. Open your arms and stretch the band out across your chest.
  3. Return to the starting position and repeat.

REST & STRETCH

On the days designated as rest and stretch, do precisely that! Enjoy a day of no training but enhance recovery by repeating your cool-down stretches. If you’ve got cabin fever and need to get up and move, head out for a 30 to 60-minute brisk walk, remembering to observe all the hygiene and distanc- ing rules discussed back in the warm-up chapter for running.

4. TRAINING PROGRAM WEEKS 5 to 8

Weeks 5-8 follow the same structure as weeks 1-4, i.e.:

[table id=180 /]

OR:

[table id=181 /]

STRENGTH, POWER & ENDURANCE WORKOUTS

WORKOUT 1

[table id=184 /]

Re. reps: The reps quoted are guidelines only. Do as many as it takes to get you to within 1-3 reps before failure. Rest for the specified time and repeat. Don’t worry if you can’t do as many reps on your next set – that’s only to be expected for some of the exercises.

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS

1. Natural leg extensions

  1. Kneel down, so your thighs are vertical, and your body is straight. Cross your arms in front of your chest.
  2. Lean back far as you can without breaking at the hips.
  3. Extend your legs to push yourself back upright.
  4. Use a folded exercise mat under your knees for comfort.

2. Decline push-ups

  1. Adopt the push-up position with your feet elevated on a knee-high chair. Place your hands roughly shoulder-width apart.
  2. Bend your arms and lower your chest to within an inch of the floor.
  3. Extend your arms and repeat.
  4. If this exercise is too challenging, ditch the chair and put your feet on the floor.

3. Chin-ups

  1. Hang from an overhead bar using an underhand, shoulder-width grip.
  2. Bend your arms and pull yourself up until your chin is level or above your hands.
  3. Extend your arms and repeat.
  4. Can’t do full chin-ups? Do chin-ups with a band to assist you, lat pulldowns with bands, or body rows instead.

4. Kneeling good mornings

  1. Kneel down, so your thighs are vertical, and your body is straight. Cross your arms in front of your chest.
  2. Hinge forward from your hips, push your hips back, and lean as far forward as you can without losing your balance.
  3. Return to the upright position and repeat.
  4. If you have a heavy upper body, place your feet flat against a wall for support.

5. Backpack shoulder presses

  1. Load a backpack with heavy books, cans of food, sealed water bottles, or any other heavy objects.
  2. Lift the backpack to shoulder-height using both arms.
  3. Without using your legs, press the bag up and over your head.
  4. Lower it back to your shoulders and repeat.

6. Bent over resistance bands rows

  1. Stand on the center of your resistance band with one end in each hand.
  2. Bend your knees slightly and lean forward from your hips. Do not round your lower back.
  3. Bend your arms and pull your hands up and into the side of your ribs.
  4. Extend your arms and repeat.

7. Backpack curls

  1. Grip your backpack with a supinated or palms-up grip.
  2. Starting with the bag in front of your hips, bend your arms and curl your hands up to your shoulders.
  3. Lower the bag back down and repeat.

8. Floor dips

  1. Sit on the floor with your legs bent. Place your hands on the floor next to your hips, fingers point- ing forward. Extend your arms and lift your hips off the floor.
  2. Keeping your hips up, bend your arms, and extend them again to work your triceps.

9. Windshield wipers

  1. Lie on your back with your legs straight and raised perpendicular to the floor. Extend your arms out level with your shoulders for stability.
  2. Keeping your legs straight, lower your legs down toward the floor on your left side. Lift them back up and then repeat to the right side. Continue alternating sides for the duration of your set.

10. Seated crunches

  1. Sit on a chair with your legs extended in front of you. Put your hands next to your hips for balance. Lean back and lift your feet a few inches off the floor.
  2. Bend your legs and lean forward, bringing your knees in toward your chest.
  3. Extend your legs and lean back again. That’s one rep – keep going!

WORKOUT 2

[table id=185 /]

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS

1. Hip thrusts

  1. Lie on your back with your legs bent and feet flat on the floor.
  2. Drive your feet into the floor and lift your hips up until your knees, hips, and shoulders form a straight line.
  3. Lower your butt back down to the floor and repeat.
  4. Too easy? Elevate your feet to increase the range of motion or use just one leg at a time.

2. Spider-man push-ups

  1. Adopt the standard push-up position with your hands shoulder-width apart, and your arms and legs straight.
  2. Bend your arms and lower your chest to the floor. Simultaneously bend one leg and draw it up the side of your body so your knee touches your elbow.
  3. Extend your arms and leg and then do an identical rep on the opposite side.

3. Typewriter pull-ups

  1. Grip an overhead bar or beam with an overhand, shoulder-width grip. Hang with your arms straight.
  2. Bend your arms and pull yourself up and over to touch your left hand with your chin.
  3. Next, without extending your arms, swing over to touch your right hand.
  4. Extend your arms and repeat but, this time, start on your right side.

4. Box jumps

  1. Stand in front of a knee-high box or step.
  2. Bend your legs, swing your arms behind you, and then leap forward and onto your step.
  3. Jump down, landing on slightly bent knees, and repeat.

5. Handstand push-ups

  1. Stand in front of a plain, smooth wall. Place your hands shoulder-width apart on the floor about six inches from the wall. Kick up and into a handstand with your arms and legs straight, feet resting on the wall.
  2. Bend your arms and carefully lower your head to the floor.
  3. Push back up and repeat.
  4. Do pike push-ups if you cannot do full handstand push-ups.

6. Resistance band face pulls

  1. Attach your resistance band to a head-high anchor or, alternatively, close it in a door. Hold the band in both hands with your arms extended in front of you.
  2. Bend your arms and pull the band in toward your face. Imagine you are trying to stick your fingers in your ears. Extend your arms and repeat.

7. Backpack reverse curls

  1. Grip your backpack with a pronated or palms-down grip.
  2. Starting with the bag in front of your hips, bend your arms and curl your hands up to your shoulders.
  3. Lower the bag back down and repeat.

8. Off-set push-ups

  1. Adopt the push-up position with your arms and legs straight. Move your left hand in and under your shoulder, and your right hand down so it’s level with your hips.
  2. Bend your arms and lower your chest down to the floor. Your uppermost arm will have to do more work than usual because your lower arm is in a mechanically disadvantageous position.
  3. Do the prescribed number of reps, rest a moment, and then swap hands.

9. Flutter kicks

  1. Lie on your back with your legs straight and your hands under your butt. Lift your feet 3-6 inches off the floor. Raise your head and shoulders slightly.
  2. Without lowering your shoulders, kick your legs up and down as if you were swimming.
  3. Continue for the prescribed number of repetitions.

10. Inchworms

  1. Stand with your feet together and your hands by your sides. Bend your knees slightly, hinge forward from your hips, and place your hands flat on the floor in front of you.
  2. Walk your hands forward and out as far from your feet as you can while keeping your abs braced and body straight.
  3. When you are at full stretch, walk your feet up to your hands while keeping your legs relatively straight and repeat.

CARDIO WORKOUTS

Here are two more low-tech but high-effect cardio workouts that you can do at home instead of running or cycling outdoors.

Workout One - Tabata Circuit

Tabatas are infamous for being tough but very effective. Traditionally, a Tabata should only last four minutes. That’s all well and good if you are trying to be as time-efficient as possible but, on lockdown, you’ve got more than enough time on your hands for something a little longer. This workout uses Tabata intervals but puts the exercises into a circuit.

Do eight laps of the following sequence to total 16 minutes:

[table id=186 /]

EXERCISE DECRIPTIONS

1. Push-ups

  1. Adopt the push-up position with your hands roughly shoulder-width apart.
  2. Keeping your body straight, bend your arms, and lower your chest to the floor.
  3. Push yourself back up and repeat.
  4. Drop to your knees if you cannot do full push-ups.

2. Double-unders

  1. Start skipping normally, feet together.
  2. Speed up, jump a little higher, and do two rope turns per jump.
  3. Can’t do double unders? Try high-knee sprints or do squat jumps instead.

3. W-sits

  1. Lie on your back with your legs straight, hands on your temples.
  2. Sit up and simultaneously bend your legs and pull your knees into your chest.
  3. Shoot your arms forward and touch your heels.
  4. Lay back down and repeat.

4. Backpack clean and press

  1. Place your backpack on the floor in front of your feet. Squat down and grab it by the ends.
  2. Explosively stand up and use that momentum to lift the bag up to shoulder height.
  3. Press the bag overhead to arms’ length.
  4. Lower the bag back to your shoulders and then to the floor.
  5. Do not round your lower back during this exercise.

Workout Two - Prisoner Burpee Workout

Apparently, this workout is popular in prisons and jails because the inmates can do it in the confines of their cells. Hopefully, despite being under quarantine, you’ll have a little more space than that! This workout is guaranteed to push you to your mental and physical limits.

Storm through the following decreasing rep sets as fast as you can. It’s okay to break the bigger sets down into more manageable chunks, but your main rests should come between sets. Even then, you should try and rest as little as possible and treat this workout like a race against the clock.

20 burpees
19 burpees
18 burpees
17 burpees
16 burpees
15 burpees
14 burpees
13 burpees
12 burpees
11 burpees
10 burpees
9 burpees
8 burpees
7 burpees
6 burpees
5 burpees
4 burpees
3 burpees
2 burpees
1 burpee

EXERCISE DECRIPTIONS

1. Burpees

  1. Stand with your feet together, hands by your sides.
  2. Squat down and place your hands flat on the floor in front of your feet.
  3. Jump your feet back and into the push-up position.
  4. Bend your arms and do a single push-up.
  5. Jump your feet back up to your hands, and leap up and into the air.
  6. Land on slightly bent knees and repeat.
  7. Make burpees easier by omitting the push-up or the jump.

REST & STRETCH

Remember, on the days designated as rest and stretch, do precisely that! Enjoy a day of no training but enhance recovery by repeating your cool-down stretches. If you’ve got cabin fever and need to get up and move, head out for a 30 to 60-minute brisk walk, remembering to observe all the hygiene and distancing rules discussed back in the warm-up chapter for running.

5. QUARANTINE SURVIVAL TIPS FOR RUGGERS

Make quarantine, social distancing, and self-isolating easier with these tried and tested tips!

1. Create a routine

Having a daily routine will help make quarantine much easier to bear. Get up and go to bed at the same time, have fixed mealtimes, work out at the same time, and do anything else that will give your day structure. Lack of routine can chip away at your willpower and motivation, and you may find yourself putting off your workouts until another time or day, and then missing them altogether. A routine can help prevent this problem.

2. Stop the comfort eating

Quarantine can be stressful, and you may be bored too. That’s the perfect trigger for turning to food for solace. Don’t! Quarantine could last weeks or even months – accept it is your new norm. If you start comfort eating, it won’t be too long until you start gaining weight. Despite exercising when you can, you won’t be burning as many calories on lockdown as usual, and that will compound the problem. Find other ways to distract yourself, such as reading, phoning friends and family members, playing indoor games, or doing puzzles.

3. Try to eat as healthily as possible

Eating healthily will reduce the chances of weight gain and also keep your immune system in tip-top condition. Needless to say, in light of the current COVID-19 outbreak, this latter point is critical.

You might have limited supplies, and some of the foods you usually rely on may not be available, but that doesn’t mean you cannot plan and prepare healthy meals. Use the internet and search for new recipes to try. This, along with cooking, will help keep you mentally engaged.

4. Become a rugby student

Quarantine is the perfect opportunity to become a rugby expert. With more time on your hands, you can read up on the technical aspects of the game, learn more about fitness and nutrition, and watch classic matches on YouTube. Why not arrange a watching party with your teammates? Pick a game to watch (in your individual homes) and then discuss via Skype, FaceTime, or Google Hangouts afterward. Better still, find games you have not seen and treat them as live events.

The rugby calendar might be on hold, but that doesn’t mean you can’t maintain your interest and passion for the sport.

5. Stay positive

Very few people in the West have ever experienced anything like the COVID-19 crisis before. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by everything that is happening, and what we have to do to stay safe. However, even if it takes a year or more, the world will bounce back, and things will eventually return to some semblance of normality. Think of this crisis as a marathon and not a sprint. Stay positive that it will come to an end, but also be ready to tough it out for as long as necessary. Use that rugger mentality to stay mentally strong and positive.

6. CONCLUSION

COVID-19 quarantine is nobody’s idea of fun, and it’s going to have a big impact on many aspects of our lives. While sport and training might seem unimportant to some people, they are actually vital for your mental and physical health. Don’t use lockdown as an excuse to get fat or unfit. Instead, see it as an opportunity to build your fitness and strength for when you can play rugby again. 

The workouts in this book aren’t perfect, and they can’t be because you don’t have access to all the equipment and space you need for optimal rugby training. That said, any workout is better than no workout so don’t worry about what you can’t do, and focus instead on what you can.

Work hard, keep busy, and stay safe. That way, when that first whistle blows, you’ll be ready to play!

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