The Wales Rugby Union
While completing my undergraduate studies at the University at Buffalo I had the unique experience of studying abroad in Cardiff, Wales. For three months I studied and worked alongside the multiple physiotherapist and strength / conditioning coaches who helped prepare the national team for the upcoming Six Nations Cup.
The game of Rugby is both physical and quick. Similar to Football the athletes train to become stronger, quicker and more agile. While also focusing on injury prevention and recovery. I had the opportunity to learn some of the different training strategies that helped prepare these world class athletes for their upcoming tournament. Strength is a huge component in rugby because of how physical the game is with all the tackling and pushing. The strength and conditioning coaches have developed a method focused on Olympic lifting strategies that uses periodization in order to develop athletes max strength for game time. By using the methods of RPE (rate of perceived exertion) and 1-RM (rep max) these coaches created personalized workout programs for each athlete to increase their overall strength. Meanwhile the methods used for both agility and speed focused more on technique and mechanics. When sprinting the most important component is the first couple of steps known as acceleration. Many athletes do not have the proper technique and in turn it leads to not raising their knees properly or improper arm movement.
After being apart of such a unique program I have gained so much knowledge about different training modalities. With this new found experience I intend to integrate these incredible training strategies in all my training sessions. By focusing on technique and bio mechanics I will help athletes become quicker and more agile.