James Haskell Rant(ish)- fitness, agility and size in modern rugby

5 of those weeks are perfecting the Instagram pose.

#Peach #Bootygains #GymLyfe

 

Having watched a load of interviews with rugby coaches, they all seem to do 4 team gym sessions a week....so is Haskell talking BS or is he sitting out of the sessions?

 

They have two upper/lower body power/strength sessions during the week. So for strength low reps very heavy weights, power sessions focus more on speed and transference of weight. He's referring to hypertrophy(lots of sets, heavyish weights) where most teams only focus in during the pre-season.

Lads would be too knackered to train for hypertrophy during the season.

On body types mesomorph,ectomorph etc, a lot of that way of thinking holds true. Some lads have to work far harder than others and still get far less results.

 

For a natural lifter the lower reps and a calorie surplus will create more long term size than high rep stuff. That’s the latest research into weight training that’s doing the rounds these days.

What really annoys me is that he obviously ate more to get bigger a while ago so not sure why he’s acting like he’s not a gym bunny. Nearly all rugby players do a lot of gym work.

 

Any link to this new research canny find it on googler.

 

There’s a load on T-nation, article with links to the research. It’s all about protein synthesis and frequency being better for natural lifters compared to roided ones.

I’ll see if I can dig some of them up but it’s in quite a few places if you google natural BB routines and read some of the links and supporting information.

 

I've had many a 'stint' training with weights (& many periods of inactivity) and although building muscle mass and burning fat is achievable by all (if your weekly routine of training, eating and resting is well co-ordinated)... imho genetics play a big part in what is ultimately achievable.

I've seen all sorts of body types in various gyms over the last 30 years (my dad introduced me to light weight training at the age of 6 believe it or not) and some people just get results that others would kill them selves for (& it isn't always roids)!

I started back training in September and apart from 9 missed sessions due to illness or injury, I have trained 3 times per week since (& am just about to go home and have my 2nd sesh this wk as I type this).

I'm 5ft 11 and weighed an out of shape 15 stone that first week of Sept. Now 4 months later, I have burned a helluva lot of fat and am over 17 stone (& in pretty good nick for a 40 yr old). Everyone I know who also trains, swears that I 'must' be on gear because building that much mass in such a short amount of time is impossible if unaided by steroids. Then i explain that I dont even go to a gym, merely use a couple of old dumbbells, a pull up bar, some push up handles and whatever else I can find around the house that I can use. So if I can't be bothered to go to a gym I sure as hell can't be bothered to buy a substance that messes people up psychologically.

Basically, some people (probably Hask included judging by his muscularity as a teen as well as an ageing athlete) have it easier than others. You can't use you're personal experiences to judge how some completely different person would react to the same routine.

 

Somatotypes are way more real than we'd like them to be. It's a matter of muscle insertion, bone density&structure, etc. You could guess if a man was strong or not so strong when alive just by the mere look of his skeleton

One gym session a week is unbelievable

Size matters given that rugby is a sport not based upon weight classes. This means that unlike combat sports such as boxing, judo, wrestling or mma, you'd likely face guys above your weight by a wide margin unless you start to put more muscle on.