Rugby union’s big men losing muscle mass in lockdown

After months of uncertainty, the past few weeks have seen a measured return to normality as sport across the nation has begun to make a comeback.

Although preparation has been far from ideal, the recent lockdown restrictions have still allowed sportsmen and women such as footballers, golfers and cricketers to maintain a fairly high level of fitness, with many exercises such as running still being achievable.

The same, however, cannot be said for rugby union players, who not only have to focus on aerobic fitness but strength training as well.

As the coronavirus-enforced lockdown brought with it the closure of gyms, maintaining muscle mass for rugby players has been an incredibly difficult thing to achieve.

Cameron Owen, strength and conditioning coach at Yorkshire Rugby Academy, was put on furlough during the lockdown, meaning keeping track of players strength and fitness has been problematic. Formerly the Carnegie Academy, the Yorkshire Rugby Academy, caters for around 100 players ranging from Under-15s to Under-18s.

“We essentially gave them quite an adaptable programme at the start of lockdown but since then we haven’t been able to give them an updated programme,” he said.

“Instead they have to fill out a monitoring form every week where they can tell us if they’re injured, ill and how many times they’ve been training just so they can give us a check-in on how they’re doing.

“However, they could be saying that they’ve been training five to six times a week but for all we know, it may only be twice.

“So, at the minute it’s very much out of our control.”

As it currently stands, rugby union has no return date, meaning keeping motivation high amongst players is challenging.

Despite having certain structures in place to help the players, it eventually boils down to them as individuals.

“It’s very individual to the athlete,” explained Owen.

“I know that some of them will quite happily get on with what you’ve given them and probably even go the extra mile.

“However, we know that others are doing less training and that is down to the internal and intrinsic motivation factors which some players may not have.”

The need to maintain strength and power is something that becomes more crucial as you climb the national league ladder.

Elliott Ward, a second row forward for Rotherham Titans in National One, said the time away from the heavy lifting in the gym has allowed for more focus on aerobic training, naturally leading to a more leaner body physique.

Playing in a position that demands much more physicality, this is something that has intrigued the 21-year-old.

“It’ll actually be interesting to see how it will affect the game. A lot of players will be in a similar position to me where they’re doing what they can and something that is accessible to everyone is the outside where you can go and run,” he said.

“As a result, players will be going to pre-season with a strong aerobic base which may have a knock-on effect on the game, making it much faster because the more stereotypically bigger players may not be as big.”

Despite feeling in great shape, Ward revealed the lockdown has proven tough, with the lack of gym access resulting in a drop in muscle mass, something that he has worked hard for since his school days.

“For me, it has been difficult because I’ve been used to training in a way that I usually spend a lot of time in the gym and doing 
resistance training,” he explained.

“Being a rugby player, a key aspect of that is being able to maintain a lot of strength and power but as I have been restricted to bodyweight exercises, the entire lockdown process has been really difficult.”

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