Question about rugby

[Per Nyberg]

Hi everyone!
I have a questionthat I hope you might be able to help me with.
Recently, I have become interested in Rugby and I going to start to train it. My question is this. I need to gain some muscle. Should I continue to do the WOD or should I try something else? Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Per

[Steve Shafley]

How much do you weigh?

What type of position are you going to try to
play? Backs or forwards?

How old are you?

A few points: The most important thing for successful rugby play is the conditioning. It is a cyclic game, sprint, hit, push, recover, sprint, hit, push, recover. A game typically last 80 minutes with 5 minutes at the half. If you can't sprint, hit, push then recover for 80 minutes, you are not going reach the level of play you want.

Weight gain for rugby, or any sport, is an activity that needs to be conducted pre and post season. The level of conditioning the game demands pretty much precludes weight gain during the season, unless anabolic steroids and a very high calorie diet are being used. I would typically lose 20-30 lbs from the start of my conditioning period, to the end of the season. But I had the weight to lose, I spent the off season getting bigger and stronger (and fatter)

I think Crossfit would be an outstanding way to start getting into the kind of shape you need to be in for successful play, and establishing a baseline. More sport specific work can be done as you get further and further into the game.

[Robert Wolf]

Per-

The WOD wil do wonders. Get adequate calories in a Zone/paleo format and you are set!
Robb

If you analyse a game of rugby, the ball will be in play for about 40 minutes of the full 80 mins. Of these 40 minutes, the vast majority will be made up of plays of 40 seconds or less, then a similar break, then go again. While crossfit improved my 'total' fitness in the off-season, I've found it not to be specific enough when the season rolls around. What I've done (in season)is tinker with the crossfit model, so that much of my training is in sets of around 60 seconds, with 40s rest. This plus the two hard club sessions and a match on the weekend is more than enough.
Forget about extra mass in season, it's nigh on impossible. Extra weight is fine as long as you can get about the pitch, and put it to use at the next breakdown in play. With this in mind, look at working the posterior chain (which the wods do very effectively) very hard in the off-season, as extra muscle in these areas will make a big difference to how you perform on the field.