Product Description

This training manual will be the first in a series of titles, containing the same core information, appealing to tennis, netball, soccer players and possibly for other sports too. Rugby for Real covers all aspects of conditioning for rugby, from fitness drills and exercise programmes to motivation and diet. The focus market is rugby players outside the professional rank - keen amateurs.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41018 in Books
• Published on: 2004-06-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 180 pages

From the Back Cover
No doubt that you will have read, or at least seen, a number of publications that promise to transform you and your body into a world class Rugby Adonis with the absolute minimum of effort.

This is not such a book.

Or perhaps you have read the books which in endless detail describe what to do with your eight hour training days and discuss the importance of steamed fish and broccoli diets?

This is not such a book.

This manual is aimed at the person who enjoys rugby as a single part of a varied life. You may have to balance work, your family and your sport. Until now it has been difficult to decide exactly what to do with the time that you want to commit to preparation for rugby. It is just how to get maximum "bang-for-your-buck" that this book addresses. It is a concise reference for those who want information that they can quickly understand and then use to help in their quest to ensure that they get all that they want out of their game. It is designed to give you an edge. It is important to note that you will not find pages of team or squad drills – this book is about you and your preparation for your sport.

"I believe that this will be of great value to players seeking to develop the physical conditioning aspects of their preparation for Rugby."
Clive Woodward

"Clear, informative and encouraging to players modeling themselves on today's top athletes. Packed with top quality professional input from the guys at Lilleshall."
Sean Long - St.Helens RLFC & Great Britain

"Whether for Union or League; this is just the type of resource for anyone, playing at any level, wishing to gain an extra a physical edge for their game."
Scott Gibbs - Widnes RLFC, NS Ospreys, Wales & British Lions.

"This book fills the gap between tactics and team conditioning drills beautifully. It offers the individual player the resources of the professional athlete in a very useable format."
Robert Jones MBE - Wales, British Lions & Adviser for Dragons Rugby Trust

About the Author
Chris Sheryn is a qualified strength development coach, and enjoyed a successful amateur rugby career. His work with Lilleshall has helped to provide a practical resource for thousands of sportspeople who need to maintain a balance between life and sport. The Lilleshall Sports Injury and Human Performance Centre is at the forefront of elite sport support services - sports science and injury rehabilitation services. For over a decade elite athletes, coaches and sporting bodies worldwide have received testing, advice and training prescription to help attain peak performances.

Excerpted from Rugby for Real: The Common Sense Training Manual by Chris Sheryn. Copyright © 2004. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
(From "Introduction to how this book works")

No doubt that you will have read, or at least seen, a number of publications that promise to transform you and your body into a world class Rugby Adonis with the absolute minimum of effort.

This is not such a book.

Or perhaps you have read the books which in endless detail describe what to do with your eight hour training days and discuss the importance of steamed fish and broccoli diets?

This is not such a book.

This manual is aimed at the person who enjoys rugby as a single part of a varied life. You may have to balance work, your family and your sport. Until now it has been difficult to decide exactly what to do with the time that you want to commit to preparation for rugby. It is just how to get maximum "bang-for-your-buck" that this book addresses. It is a concise reference for those who want information that they can quickly understand and then use to help in their quest to ensure that they get all that they want out of their game. It is designed to give you an edge. It is important to note that you will not find pages of team or squad drills – this book is about you and your preparation for your sport.

At the Centre we have been working with professional and elite amateur athletes for many years now and have taken this experience to produce the structure that you are about to read. The approach is not that which can be found in many other books and will not suit everyone but if, by the time that you finish reading we have you thinking about how you structure your approach to your game then we are traveling in the right direction.

What you will find in this book
There are three distinct modules in this book and it is vital that each area is treated with equal importance and that you do not skip to the bits that you think are important. Think of this book as an architect’s plan for a house build. Like any building project it starts with a ground survey (to ensure that the house will stay up), much time is spent on foundations and footings and once these are in place and sound then, and only then, can the walls and roof go up.

THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS – skimp on the foundations at your peril - those who do are the ones that keep our injury clinic fully booked…

What you will NOT find in this book:

Recipes – this is not a cookbook of prescribed workouts and routines which are to be followed rigidly. Each player is different, starts from a different base and has differing exercise and conditioning needs. You will therefore be required to use the building blocks which are provided to construct your own programme.

How this book breaks down:

Part One – "Surveying the Ground - Your Training Tool Kit"
Here you will be introduced to the tools that will be used in later stages. These include:
- Basic ground rules for success
- Self assessment tools (to measure where you are now and how to progress)
- Building the foundations (establishing a solid base on which we can build)

Part Two – "Putting Down the Foundations – Best Practice Explained"
By the end of this section you will have physically assessed yourself and will be more aware of any areas of weakness that need to be addressed. You will also understand the methods and exercises that we will employ to build towards success.

Part Three – "The Walls, Roof and Windows - Putting it all into Practice"
This is where you do the real work. In this section there are three distinct and progressive phases to this section which will take you from start to the beginning of your season.

You will also find dispersed throughout the book "Top Tips" and "Myth Busters". These are tricks that have been gleaned from the professional ranks and the truths behind some of the received wisdom that litters gyms and training pitches.

Example "Myth Buster"
Myth: "You need to eat loads of protein to gain muscle mass…"
Reality: Although you do need ENOUGH protein in order to build muscle mass, EXCESS protein intake will not result in enhanced muscle growth. It is true that training of any kind increases protein needs, but there is no scientific evidence to suggest that any athlete needs more than 1.8g/kg/day of protein. In fact, the excess dietary protein which many strength trained athletes consume isn't funnelled directly into muscle growth – it is more likely to be converted into carbohydrate, which is then metabolised for energy. So, it makes more sense to consume it as carbohydrate in the first place.

This goes against the presented wisdom in many "Fitness" Magazines which are owned or supported by advertising revenue from….er…sports supplement producers.

Customer Reviews

Clear, common sense, practical advice
I've just finished reading this and would recommend it to anyone in the middle of their playing years who wants to keep going for a few more seasons ... lots of advice from training techniques to which curry is best for you and how to treat a hangover.

Rugby training for real...
This is not a book about rugby tactics, skills and positional play of which there are many different good and bad books already in existance, this instead focuses on the kind of physical training needed to be done to be successful (or even just survive) in a rugby game.

Though in five chapters the book falls into roughly three areas; how to assess your current level of fitness and strength, what type of exercises should be done to improve your weaker areas and finally tips on nutrition to help you along. However this is not aimed at professionals or top players but rather the great mass of social rugby players that make up the grass roots of our game. Important themes for the amateur player are discussed such as the machines versus free weights arguements or how to do your training outside the gym if you don't have the finances or time to use one. Simple questions that many players may be embarrassed to ask team mates or gym buddies about are answered such as how to do a proper warm up and what plyometrics are. Finally the last chapter takes an interesting approach to nutrition accepting that alcohol and take-aways are part of the life of social rugby player, so therefore guides you to the best nutritional decisions to make if you are faced with a night out for a curry then the pub afterwards!

I think this book would be particularly useful to social players wanting to make simple and easy improvements to their lifestyle to help there rugby, be they young players just entering the adult game needing to 'beef up', older players wanting to try and keep up with the new kids, a player trying to break into the first team at a social club or a team thats decided this year if they put a bit more effort they can get to the local cup final.

I am a young, fairly recently qualified rugby coach and I have found this book useful for helping me give advice to my players (who are students so as such may not have the healthiest lifestyles). I imagine coaches of similar social orientated but competetive teams may also find this book useful, either for themselves or to recommend to their players.

Rugby for Real
Rugby for Real is a quality insight to the basic principles of training for Rugby union. It gives clear descriptions of the weights, drills and nutrition neeeded. It is also a well organised book and has a good, smart layout. it is one of the best rugby training books I have ever come across!