QUARANTINE WORKOUT PROGRAM (WOMEN)

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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 women’s version, the men’s version is available here. 

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:

MONDAYTUESDAYWEDNESDAYTHURSDAYFRIDAYSATURDAYSUNDAY
STRENGTH, POWER. & ENDURANCECARDIOREST & STRETCHSTRENGTH, POWER. & ENDURANCEREST & STRETCHCARDIOREST & STRETCH

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:

MONDAYTUESDAYWEDNESDAYTHURSDAYFRIDAYSATURDAYSUNDAY
REST & STRETCHSTRENGTH, POWER. & ENDURANCECARDIOREST & STRETCHSTRENGTH, POWER. & ENDURANCEREST & STRETCHCARDIO

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

WORKOUT ONE
EXERCISESETSREPSRECOVERY
1BOX JUMPS31260 seconds
2PUSH-UPS31260 seconds
3BAND PULL-DOWNS31260 seconds
4STEP-UPS315 per leg60 seconds
5BACKPACK SHOULDER PRESS31260 seconds
6REVERSE FLYS31260 seconds
7BAND PUSHDOWNS31260 seconds
8BACKPACK BICEP CURLS330 sec60 seconds
9PLANKS31560 seconds
10CHINNIES312 per side60 seconds

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS

1. 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. Keep ground contact time to a minimum.

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. Band pulldowns

  1. Attach a resistance band to an overhead anchor. Kneel below it and grab and hold it tightly.
  2. Bend your arms and pull your hands down to your shoulders.
  3. Extend your arms and repeat.

4. 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.

5. Backpack Shoulder Press

  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. Reverse Flys

  1. Hold a small weight in each hand, such as a water bottle or can of food.
  2. Bend your knees slightly and then hinge forward from the hips, so your upper body is roughly

    parallel to the floor. Let your arms hang down from your shoulders.

  3. Keeping your arms slightly bent but rigid, open your arms and raise them until they are level with the floor. Squeeze your shoulders down and back.
  4. Lower your arms and repeat.

7. Band 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. Backpack biceps 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.

9. 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.

10. Chinnies

  1. Lie on your back with your legs bent, feet on the floor. Put your hands on your temples.
  2. Sit up and simultaneously bend one leg. Twist your upper body and touch your knee with your opposite elbow.
  3. Lie back down and repeat to the other side.
  4. Continue alternating sides for the duration of your set.

WORKOUT 2

WORKOUT TWO
EXERCISESETSREPSRECOVERY
1LATERAL JUMPS31660 seconds
2OFF-SET PUSH-UPS38 / ARM60 seconds
3BAND-ASSISTED PULL-UPS3660 seconds
4WALKING LUNGES312 / LEG60 seconds
5PIKE PUSH-UPS3860 seconds
6BAND PULL-APARTS31560 seconds
7BAND TRICEPS KICKBACKS312 / ARM60 seconds
8ISOMETRIC BICEPS CURLS330 seconds60 seconds
9SIDE PLANKS330 seconds60 seconds
10FLUTTER KICKS315 / LEG60 seconds

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS

1. Lateral jumps

  1. Stand side-on to a low barrier, such as a rugby ball. Your feet should be together.
  2. Bend your knees and then jump up and over your obstacle.
  3. Immediately bounce back over, keeping ground contact time to the minimum.

2. 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.

3. Band-Assisted Pull-ups

  1. Loop a resistance band over and overhead bar. Stand or kneel in the loop and grab the bar with an overhand, shoulder-width grip.
  2. Bend your arms and pull your chin up and over the bar. The band will assist you.
  3. Lower yourself back down and repeat.

4. Walking Lunges

  1. Stand with your feet together, hands by your sides.
  2. Take a large step forward, bend your legs, and lower your rearmost knee to within an inch of the floor.
  3. Step forward and into another rep.
  4. 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.

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. Band Triceps Kickbacks

  1. Attach your resistance band to a low anchor point. Stand facing the anchor and grab your band with one hand. Lean forward from your hips and tuck your elbow into your side.
  2. Without moving your upper arm away from your body, extend your elbow, and push your hand back to your hip.
  3. Return to the starting position and repeat. Swap arms on completion of your

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. 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.

10. 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.

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.

30-30 Intervals

This five-exercise workout only takes 30 minutes but works every muscle in your body as well as your cardiovascular system. Don’t let its simplicity fool you – this is a very effective cardio, muscular en- durance, and fat-burning workout.

Do each of the following exercises for five sets of 30 seconds, resting 30 seconds between sets. Do all five sets of the first exercise before moving to number two. Do as many reps as you can on each and every set. Take a one-minute break between sets.

  1. Squat jumps
  2. Bench dips
  3. W-sits
  4. Band pull-aparts
  5. Jump rope

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. Bench dips

  1. Sit on a chair with your legs bent, feet flat. Place your hands on the seat, either side of your hips.
  2. With your arms straight, lift your hips forward and off the chair.
  3. Bend your arms and lower your butt down toward the floor until your elbows are bent to around 90 degrees.
  4. Push back up and repeat.

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. Shoot your arms forward and touch your heels.
  3. Lay back down and repeat.

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.

5. Jump rope

  1. With your rope sized according to your height (see the warm-up chapter for details), skip either with your feet together, using a heel-toe action, or running on the spot.
  2. Can’t skip without tripping? Do jump jacks or jog on the spot instead.

Five-minute rounds

This workout uses a concept called density training. With this method, you try to complete as many reps as possible in the allocated time. In this workout, there are four five-minute blocks, and each one contains three exercises – a lower body exercise, an upper body exercise, and a core exercise.

This means you can maintain a rapid pace to elevate your heart and breathing rate while giving each muscle group a brief rest. The result? A high-intensity cardio workout that is also quite manageable – even if you are having a low-energy day. Do as many laps of each the following mini circuits as you can in five minutes. Rest one minute and then do the next one.

FIVE MINUTE ROUNDS
BLOCK ONEBLOCK TWOBLOCK THREEBLOCK FOUR
1Lunge Jumps x 8Side Lunges x 10Goblet Squats x 10Hip Thrusts x 10
2Push-Ups x 8Band High-Pulls x 10Pull-Ups x 3Pike Push-Ups x 6
3Crunches x 8Inchworms x 3Planks x 30 secLeg Lifts x 10

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS

1. Lunge jumps

  1. Step out and into a lunge. Lower your rear knee to within an inch of the floor.
  2. Jump and swap legs in mid-air. Land on bent legs, descend, and repeat.
  3. Do eight reps per leg.

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. 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.

4. Side lunges

  1. Stand with your feet together and your hands by your sides.
  2. Take a large step to the side, bend the leg you just moved, and descend until your lead thigh is roughly parallel to the floor.
  3. Push off your bent leg and return to the starting position.
  4. Leading with the opposite leg, do another rep.
  5. Continue alternating sides for the duration of your set.

5. Band high-pulls

  1. Stand on the middle of your band, feet shoulder-width apart. Hold the band with a narrow grip.
  2. Push your hips back, bend your knees slightly, and squat down until your hands are level with your knees.
  3. Stand up and pull your hands up and under your chin. Keep your elbows high.
  4. Lower your arms and repeat.

6. Inchworms

  1. Stand with your feet together and your hands by your sides. Bend your knees slightly, hinge for- ward 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.

7. Goblet squats

  1. Hold a weight in front of your chest. In place of a dumbbell or kettlebell, use a filled water cooler jug, medicine ball, backpack, or even a big stone. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes turned slightly outward.
  2. Push your hips back, bend your knees, and squat down until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Keep your chest up, and do not round your back.
  3. Stand back up and repeat.

8. 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 pull-ups? Use a band to assist you, lat pulldowns with bands, or body rows instead.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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 chair.

12. Leg lifts

  1. Lie on your back with your legs straight and hands under your butt. Lift your head and shoulders off the floor and keep them elevated.
  2. Lift your legs until they are vertical.
  3. Lower them until they are just above the floor and repeat.
  4. Do not hyperextend your lower back. Keep your core braced throughout.

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

You can’t do the same workout for weeks at a time and expect to make progress. Your body will soon get used to the exercises you are doing, and your fitness and strength will gradually stall. The follow- ing workouts are similar to those you did before but also different enough to present your body with a fresh challenge.

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

MONDAYTUESDAYWEDNESDAYTHURSDAYFRIDAYSATURDAYSUNDAY
STRENGTH, POWER. & ENDURANCECARDIOREST & STRETCHSTRENGTH, POWER. & ENDURANCEREST & STRETCHCARDIOREST & STRETCH

OR:

MONDAYTUESDAYWEDNESDAYTHURSDAYFRIDAYSATURDAYSUNDAY
REST & STRETCHSTRENGTH, POWER. & ENDURANCECARDIOREST & STRETCHSTRENGTH, POWER. & ENDURANCEREST & STRETCHCARDIO

STRENGTH, POWER & ENDURANCE WORKOUTS

WORKOUT 1

WORKOUT ONE
EXERCISESETSREPSRECOVERY
1PAUSED SQUAT JUMPS41060 seconds
2BACKPACK FLOOR PRESS41260 seconds
3BODY ROWS41260 seconds
4SINGLE LEG ROMANIAN DEADLIFTS41260 seconds
5BACKPACK PUSH-PRESS41060 seconds
6BAND PULL-APARTS41560 seconds
7BAND BICEP CURLS41260 seconds
8CLOSE-GRIP PUSH-UPS41260 seconds
9PLANK TO STEP THROUGH48 / SIDE60 seconds
10BOAT POSE430 seconds60 seconds

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. 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. Backpack floor presses

  1. Lie on your back with your legs bent and feet flat. Hold your backpack at arms’ length over your chest.
  2. Bend your arms and lower the bag down until your elbows touch the floor.
  3. Press the bag back up and repeat.

3. 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.

4. Single-leg Romanian deadlifts

  1. Stand with your feet together, hands in front of your thighs. Shift your weight over onto one foot.
  2. Hinge forward from your hips and, on one leg, lean down and touch the floor with your fingertips. Extend your non-weight-bearing leg out behind you for balance.
  3. Stand back upright and repeat. Do the same number of reps on each leg.

5. Backpack push-press

  1. Lift your bag to shoulder height.
  2. Bend your knees and descend into a quarter-depth squat.
  3. Extend your legs and use this momentum to help you drive the weight above your head.
  4. Lower it back to your shoulders and repeat.

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. Band biceps 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 elbows, and curl your hands up to your shoulders.
  3. Lower your arms and repeat.

8. 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.

9. Plank to step through

  1. Adopt the push-up position with your arms straight and feet and hands shoulder-width apart.
  2. Rotate your upper body and lean over onto one hand.
  3. Kick your opposite leg under your body and through to touch your non-weight-bearing hand.
  4. Return to the push-up position and repeat on the opposite side.

10. Boat pose

  1. Sit on the floor with your legs bent, feet flat. Sit up and hold the back of your thighs.
  2. Extend your legs and release your legs so that you are balancing on your butt and your body resembles a V-shape.
  3. Hold this position for the prescribed duration.

WORKOUT 2

WORKOUT TWO
EXERCISESETSREPSRECOVERY
1BULGARIAN SPLIT-SQUAT JUMPS48 / LEG60 seconds
2CHAIR DIPS4860 seconds
3BAND-ASSISTED CHIN-UPS4860 seconds
4BAND DEADLIFTS41260 seconds
5SHOULDER TO SHOULDER BACKPACK PRESS46 / SIDE60 seconds
6TYIs46 / PHASE60 seconds
7BACKPACK CURL AND PRESS41060 seconds
8PRONE HYPER-EXTENSIONS41560 seconds
9FROGGERS41560 seconds
10PLANK DRAGS45 meters60 seconds

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS

1. Bulgarian Split-Squat Jumps

  1. Stand with your back to a knee-high bench, step, or chair. Bend one leg and place your foot on the step behind you. 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. Chair dips

  1. Place two sturdy 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 chair backs. 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.

3. Band-assisted chin-ups

  1. Loop a resistance band over and overhead bar. Stand or kneel in the loop and then grab the bar with an underhand, slightly narrower than shoulder-width grip.
  2. Bend your arms and pull your chin up and over the bar. The band will assist you.
  3. Lower yourself back down and repeat.

4. Band deadlifts

  1. Stand on the middle of your band and hold an end in each hand.
  2. Starting with your knees bent and hands level with your mid-shins, stand up straight using your hips and back. Do not bend your arms.
  3. Push your hips back, bend your knees, and repeat.

5. Shoulder to shoulder backpack press

  1. Press and hold your backpack overhead at arms’ length.
  2. Lower the bag down onto your left shoulder. Press it back up again.
  3. Lower it to your right shoulder.
  4. Continue alternating sides for the duration of your set.

6. Resistance band face pulls

  1. Hold a small weight in each hand, such as a water bottle or can of food.
  2. Bend your knees slightly and then hinge forward from your hips, so your body is inclined to about 45 degrees.
  3. Maintaining this position, open your arms and lift them up and out to the side to form a T-shape. Lower them and repeat.
  4. Next, raise your arms forward and out, so they resemble a Y shape. Lower them and repeat.
  5. Finally, lift your arms forward, so your biceps brush your ears, and your arms resemble an I-shape. Repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions.

7. Backpack curl and press

  1. Hold your backpack in front of your hips. Bend your knees slightly for balance and brace your core.
  2. Bend your arms and lift the bag up to shoulder-height.
  3. Next, press the weight up and overhead to arms’ length.
  4. Lower the bag to your shoulders and then back to your hips. That’s one rep – keep going!

8. Prone hyperextensions

  1. Lie on your front with your legs straight and hands clasped behind your back.
  2. Lift your upper body off the floor while keeping your feet on the deck.
  3. Lie back down and repeat.

9. Froggers

  1. Lie on the floor on your back. Clasp your hands together in front of you.
  2. Sit up and simultaneously draw your legs in toward you. Keep your feet together and spread your knees.
  3. Reach down and touch your feet.
  4. Lie back down and repeat.

10. Plank drags

  1. Take off your shoes, so you are in your socks. Adopt the push-up position with your arms and legs straight. Brace your abs.
  2. Without dropping your hips, walk your hands forward while dragging your legs behind you. Continue for the prescribed distance.

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.

50/40/30/20/10 descending rep pyramid

What is the best way to eat a plate of frogs? By starting with the biggest one first! That way, everything that comes after is much easier. This workout uses the same approach. The first part is very tough, but it gets easier as you approach the finishing line.

Do 50, 40, 30, 20, and 10 reps of each of the following exercises. You can only move onto the next exercise when you have completed all the prescribed reps. While it’s okay to break up the big sets with brief rests, you should try and finish this workout as fast as you can. Treat it as a race!

  1. Squat jumps
  2. Floor dips
  3. Twisting crunches
  4. Double unders
  5. Band high pulls

So, do 50 squat jumps, 50 floor dips, 50 crunches, 50 double unders, and 50 band pulls. Then, repeat the sequence doing 40 reps of each. Keep decreasing the reps until you finish on ten of each.

EXERCISE DECRIPTIONS

1. Squat jumps

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

2. 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.

3. Twisting crunches

  1. Lie on your back with your legs bent and feet raised. Put your hands on your temples.
  2. Lift your head and shoulders off the floor. Turn and touch your left elbow to your right knee. That’s one rep.
  3. Lie back down and then touch your right elbow to your left knee. That’s two reps.
  4. Keep going until you have completed all the designated reps.

4. 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? Do high-knee sprints or jumping jacks instead.

5. Band high pulls

  1. Stand on the middle of your band, feet shoulder-width apart. Hold the band with a narrow grip.
  2. Push your hips back, bend your knees slightly, and squat down until your hands are level with your knees.
  3. Stand up and pull your hands up and under your chin. Keep your elbows high.
  4. Lower your arms and repeat.

5, 10, 15, 20 reps conditioning circuit

This timed workout takes 25 minutes. Add in a five-minute warm-up and a ten-minute cool-down, and you’ve got the perfect cardio and endurance workout in 40 minutes.

Using a timer, do ten laps of the following, starting each new lap every 2 1⁄2 minutes.

  1. 5 x Burpees (no push-up)
  2. 10 x Push-ups
  3. 15 x Speed squats
  4. 20 x Hill climbers (ten per leg)
  5. Jump rope until the next 2 1⁄2 minute-mark

EXERCISE DECRIPTIONS

1. Burpees (no push-up)

  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. Jump your feet back up to your hands and leap up and into the air.
  5. Land on slightly bent knees and repeat.
  6. Make this exercise easier by omitting the jump.

2. Push-ups

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

3. Speed squats

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

4. Hill climbers

  1. Adopt the push-up position with your arms and legs straight.
  2. Bend one leg and pull your knee into your chest.
  3. Drive that leg back and jump the other one into your chest.
  4. Pump your legs as fast as you can until you have done 20 reps – ten on each leg.

5. 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. Can’t skip without tripping? Do jump jacks or jog on the spot instead.
  3. Continue until the next 2 1⁄2-minute point.

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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