I have nothing against crossfit, per se - I'm actually looking at trying one or two sessions out in the summer (it's a 1hr30 - 2hr round trip to the gym, so not going to be my local) - just that a lot of the people who do it just rile me up
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I have nothing against crossfit, per se - I'm actually looking at trying one or two sessions out in the summer (it's a 1hr30 - 2hr round trip to the gym, so not going to be my local) - just that a lot of the people who do it just rile me up
Yeah, I get that. A few bad apples turn you off the lot. Anything that brands itself as "elite" is going to attract the general douchery that assume elite status. However, I've found there to be some really great people also involved. In fact, my dealings so far with the crossfit community remind me of the rugby community. I just got a guy I used to coach and now play with to join up. I feel next season we're going to dominate...haha!
I have tried all these, rowing/swiming/cuircit training/ jogging/weight lifting (but admittidly not crossfit)
and out of everything the thing that has improved my rugby the most was interval training, Sprinting uphill (on a treadhill at the moment) for 30 seconds, then rest for 30 seconds. Carry on untill your a deadman.
I also do 2 x Starting strength workouts a week (ie. Squat/Deads/ Bench/powerclean/ Sholder press).
This has helped me but i know that won't work for everyone though.
I think the main thing is finding what works for your body as all people are different and to a certain degree different positions require different requirements. I play Lock and so don't the same way as a prop or backrow for example.
This is my signature. I really should change it.
So far (after 2 months) I can see a lot of improvements, speed, endurance and strength. It's 7's season here in the states and despite my un-seven's-like size I'm giving it a go to build on my endurance and have some fun. I'm curious to see where I'm at come fall (end of September) when real Rugby starts back up out here.
I would definitely recommend CrossFit to any player in any position. It will only help you get better.
Joining this a few months late, but I have been doing crossfit on and off for 2 years. Firstly I just want to say it is the most fun I have had working out ever. Secondly I think it works.
If you are going to do it for Rugby, I would not suggest just simply following the main site WODs, as that will be far to general. Use your head and find work outs that are more relevant to what us rugby players do. I have found that I will move slightly away from things that are strictly "crossfit" into things that are better described as circuits. But does that matter? No.
At the end of the day, rugby requires such varied conditioning, so doing any exercise program that varies what you are working on is a good place to start.
Crossfit has got me doing things like burpees, good explosive power from the floor. Plyometric jumps, great for lineouts. Running and weights one after the other with no break......ideal for rugby.
Could another program have got me doing this? Yes.
Crossfit isn't going to make you an expert at everything. But it has some great workouts. Don't be afraid or put off it.
My biggest dislike is the cost of membership. I have never been inside a crossfit gym, I have my own weights at home, and I decide what workouts I am going to do so that the training is all relevant.
I know a guy from another forum who does crossfit and he a dead on fella, he competes as well but on the whole the people who do it are elitist pricks. Now I have never met anyone personally who does it, and don't know of anyone in my area who does it but that's just my understanding from reading and hearing things about it.
I watched some crossfit tournaent on TV a few days ago and it actually looked decent enough, although I think I'll just stick to regular strength and conditioning training plus the stuff I do at rugby training.
Hey bro, how you going with your crossfit? I'm halfway into my 2nd week. Haven't done any form of training for 5yrs so struggling a bit (a few DNF's haha) but loving the group & community feel of our crossfit family. I only got into it because its my mate's box and they just opened so I thought I'd go along and support but am hooked. Going to get into the protein shakes and sort my diet out too.Originally Posted by ORothlain
I'm looking forward to where I'm going to be at in 6 months time. I've taken a before pic so will take a pic and measurements every month and see how I'm going. At the moment I only go 3 times a week but going to increase to 4 in a few weeks time.
"I'm not there yet, but I'm closer than I was yesterday"
I suppose it depends what level of rugby you are playing. Amateur level, training twice a week, game on sat, you don't need to be ultra fit and there are lots of types of conditioning that will help get you and keep you fit. But if you're playing a decent level, the majority of your training really needs to closely replicate what you do on the pitch. As Living Sacrfice said sprinting for 30 sec with a 30 sec helped his rugby fitness the most - because this is something that you would actually do in a game. I haven't seen many players doing burpees or pull ups on the pitch. But things like sprints, 400m training etc can be ****ing hard - so people opt for 'easier' types of fitness training. Part of our pre-season training we do a lot of 200 & 400m training and towards the end of the sessions you are so constantly short of breath you start panicking like you're drowning. Hideous way of getting fit, but you get very fit and very rugby fit. e.g 10 x 400m on say 1.20 with a minutes rest. After doing these 3 or 4 times a week for a month, you will find you can go flat out for over a minute, or at the very least at 75% and then recover very quickly.
2 and a half weeks in to my crossfit life and I've lost 4.73KGs. This is some of our crossfit crew after finishing our 2 week on ramp.
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