Follow Barry's tips for getting the most out of your body, both in and out of the gym:
"You are looking at conditioning the body fully from head to toe whilst in the gym. I advise training in a slightly explosive style as you are training to simulate what happens on the pitch. I’ve been training in gyms for 21 years and I’ve been a PT for 9 of those, and I am a firm believer of sticking to the basics. Don't over-complicate things."
Squats:
The key to this is not to overload the bar so that you start to lean forward and strain the lower back. Personally I don’t feel you have to go ass to grass, rather work the body at around 90° angles – so lower the weight until you are almost in a seated position before pushing the weight up.
This is a great exercise as it strengthens the quads, hamstrings, glutes and core: all major factors when playing.
Bench Press:
"The age-old question in ANY gym is 'how much do you bench, bro?' The bench press is another awesome exercise for building strength and power in the upper body but it can cause injuries too. I advise warming up correctly beforehand by doing some rotator cuff exercises, as these act as stabilising muscles when benching. Another great warm-up exercise is stretching the chest using a dyna band and rotating slowly at the shoulder – this will allow the pecs to function better when under the bar.
"One of the key things to do when bench pressing is to make sure you keep your back against the bench. The best way to do this is by engaging your core slightly, forcing you into the bench, which will in return make the pecs work harder."
Pull Ups:
"Pull Ups are an extremely taxing exercise for many as you’re lifting your full body weight. It may be worth either starting on a lat pull down machine or using a large and thick dyno band to take some of your body weight. If you can be persistent enough, start with a low rep range and increase your rep range over coming weeks and months.
The lats are a large muscle group that assist in running and are also accountable for your posture. Many people have a tendency to overtrain front-facing muscle groups such as chest, biceps and abdominals, or better known as beach body muscle groups. Whilst doing pull ups, works the lats, rhomboids, teres minor and major, which improve posture. Great for people stuck in the office all day."
Deadlifts:
"Deadlifts are considered by many the ‘king’ of exercise, as they incorporate a multitude of muscle groups. This is a great movement to build head-to-toe strength.
Start by placing your feet shoulder width apart, then squat down and pick the bar up off the floor. Make sure your spine is in a neutral position as this creates greater emphasis on the muscle that should be used and less chance of causing any injury.
"Lift the bar from the floor, driving through the quads. Once you have stood up, follow through by driving the hips forward and rotating the shoulders back ever so slightly. This will incorporate the glutes and hamstrings more, which are used when running."
Wood Chop:
"Wood chop is a relevant exercise to do as it not only strengthens the core but also simulates a natural movement when running, passing and manoeuvring around the pitch. Personally, I find it best to do these on a cable station. Place the cable arm inline so its the same height as you or just a little below, stand so that your feet are just over the width of your shoulders and bend a little at the knee.
"Make sure you are stood far enough away from the machine that it will allow you to fully rotate without touching the machine arm itself. From here, rotate at the waist making sure there’s no movement at the hips. You’re focusing on the core muscles to pull the weight across the body which is simulating passing the ball."
Nutrition:
Protein:
"Here comes the good part. Any form of strenuous exercise puts extra demand on your body, and the only way to assist in speeding up the recovery is by eating and increasing your protein intake.
The most basic way of thinking about it is this: take a wall covered in plaster, hit the wall consecutively and the plaster will split (don't try this at home, obviously), think of that as the muscle tissue being broken down at the gym/on the pitch. Now recover the split plaster with polyfila and think of that as the protein that repairs the muscle tissue. Now repeat the same process over days and weeks and eventually the wall ie your muscle tissue will increase in size.
Great sources of protein are chicken, eggs, steaks – and if you are struggling to get enough of it in throughout the day, you could try a protein shake.
Anti-inflammatory foods:
"As rugby is so intense, your body not only needs to repair itself more efficiently, but also you will need to reduce any inflammation within the body as this will slow up recovery. Foods rich in Omega-3 are great at doing this, a good example being salmon, as it’s not only high in protein, but also densely packed with Omega-3.
"Other foods to consider would be eggs, lemons, spinach, broccoli and onions. On the flip side, avoid foods that increase inflammation. Anything full of processed or refined sugars increases internal inflammation as well as making you gain weight. Try to keep foods like chocolate, cakes, and fizzy drinks to a minimum."
Sports supplements:
"This is an area that has had rapid growth in the past 10 years. The market has been flooded with various pills and powders, most of which I feel are not relevant to many people. Although a good protein powder can make a difference not only with recovery but also long term, if you are looking to gain weight/muscle, I would recommend a good whey/whey isolate powder to be taken straight after training. You could also probably take another during the day if you are looking to keep your calorie intake high.
"Amino acids are another good option which seem to have become more popular again of late. These are great for recovery and again can be taken throughout the day, allowing your body to be in a constant state of recovery."
Step aside, Chris Robshaw – there's a new muscle man in town…
Follow PT Barry Stalker on Twitter @barryprotrainer for more fitness tips
