Since starting this blog, almost a year ago, I have been waiting to find a topic to write about. Today I have that topic; documenting getting fit to play 15 a side, full contact rugby union. I’ve struggled with back pain for most of my life. When I was younger, the issue was my upper back, neck and shoulders; these days it’s my lower back and tight hamstrings.
Mild scoliosis and tight/previously torn hamstrings are the main challenges I need to overcome; next on the list would be general flexibility/core strength and then fitness. Currently I have a decent-ish routine of stretching my legs every day but I need to put some targets in so that I have something to work to and so I can measure my progress.
At present my daily stretching/strength routine is as follows:
-Physio exercises – On my back holding knees close to my chest for 4 seconds then releasing. I make sure that my legs are parallel at all times. I do 1 set of 10 reps
-Physio exercise 2 – On my back I have one foot on a surface (a sofa usually) pushing down and the other foot pushing through it whilst glute bridging. I do this on both sides for one set of 10 repetitions on each leg.
-Athlean exercises see the link for more info: https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=DWmGArQBtFI
The first exercise is laying on my side and diagonally extending and raising my leg behind me. Again this is done on both sides for 1 set of 10 reps on each leg.
The second exercise sees me stand with a wall by my side. I then have my leg raised and bent and move my hips towards the wall and then back. This is done 10 times on each side for one set.
-Straight leg raises – 1 set of 20 reps (on both sides)
-Straight leg horizontal raises – 1 set of 10 reps (on both sides)
-10 touch toes
In addition to this I have started doing 20 squats twice a week.
Other exercises I do are my pressup routine twice a week which consists of:
-3 sets of 10 Wide pressups
-3 sets of 6 moving pressups
-3 sets of 10 Diamond pressups (as soon as I can’t do them I finish the set doing negatives)
-3 sets of pressups to failure – at present I do something like 5, 4, 4.
In between each set I have 1 minute off and between each different exercise I have 2 minutes rest
Then twice a week I do my pullups although these have been non-existent in the last few weeks. I had been doing 3 sets of 5 negative pullups but this week I have done:
-5 pullups (normals, not negs) – I managed to do 2, 1, 1, 1 with a minute off in between each.
This evening I’m going to research back exercises on Men’s Health as my lower back hurts every day and my legs have minimal flexibility. This is the key issue I need to overcome if I am able to play rugby again in August/September.
So far I haven’t addressed why getting fit for rugby is what I want to write about. The simple reason is I miss it. In my early 20s after finishing uni I started playing for my old boys team and worked my way up from playing in the 2nd team, to captaining the 2nd team to becoming a regular in the 1st team set up. Before moving to London I suffered a hamstring tear from lack of stretching and general neglect and they’ve never been the same since. I played a couple of games for Old Street in 2018 but again got injured (this time it was my knee) and haven’t been back to rugby since. Lately I have been dreaming about rugby – it seems to always be lurking in my subconscious. What I miss most is the camaraderie and the buzz of adrenaline from being in “fight mode”. There’s nothing better than dominating an opponent in a tackle, winning a turnover or making yards with a carry. I miss the buzz and want to feel it again!
Tomorrow I’ll update on what I have learned from Menshealth and set myself some targets.
Vic's Blog 