COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on the rugby calendar. Matches and tournaments have been postponed and canceled, and amateur and professional ruggers are facing lengthy periods away from the game they love.

Rugby training is also off the agenda for most players. After all, COVID-19 is transmitted by coming into direct contact with infected people and surfaces. That means if even just one of your teammates is infected, after one training session, everyone else probably will be too.

Being fit and healthy, most ruggers should be able to bounce back if they are unlucky enough to catch COVID-19. Still, that same thing cannot be said for the other people you come into contact with, such as parents, grandparents, the very young, and those with underlying medical conditions.

Because of this, many of the world’s governments are putting their populations into lockdown or quarantine. This should delay the spread of the virus, giving the emergency services a better chance of keeping up with treating those affected.

Gyms, which are Petri dishes for disease at the best of times, are either being forced to close or are off-limits because of quarantine. This makes perfect sense because all it takes is an infected person to use a barbell or dumbbell, and everyone else who uses that piece of equipment will be infected too. Smart ruggers should steer well clear of gyms.

So, does all this movement restriction and confinement mean you have to lose your rugby fitness and gain weight? Absolutely not. In fact, there is no reason you can’t maintain your fitness and strength so that, when the quarantine is finally lifted, you are ready to get back on the pitch and play your best rugby.

This program is designed for ruggers who are confined to their homes and the areas close to their homes. The workouts don’t need a lot of equipment. Still, there is an assumption that you own or can beg, steal, or borrow a few basic items and have access to somewhere you can do pull-ups, such as a tree branch in your garden, a doorframe pull-up bar, or a joist/bean in your garage.

COVID-19 is going to have a lasting effect on a large percentage of the world’s population, and it’s serious enough that everyone needs to take action to prevent its spread. That said, it is something that we can recover from, and things will eventually go back to normal. Use this time to maintain or even improve your fitness for rugby so that, when the first whistle of the next season finally blows, you are ready to take your place on the field.

Stay healthy!

Ruck Science