Cardiovascular fitness

Strength, speed, agility, and skill are not much use if they aren’t backed up with a high level of cardiovascular fitness. After all, you need to be able to keep up with the flow of play from the first whistle to the last.

Props, like all rugby players, need a combination of aerobic and anaerobic fitness. Aerobic fitness is best developed by performing relatively low intensity exercise for prolonged periods e.g. run, swim, or cycle for 40 minutes, whereas anaerobic fitness is best developed through interval training and metabolic circuits.

Of all the training tools available for developing rugby-specific cardiovascular fitness, one of the best is the rowing machine. Rowing offers several important benefits:

Low impact so ideal for heavier players and those with lower limb aches and pains

Full body workout

Requires and develops coordination

Perfect for interval training

Increases core stability

Develops better posture

Good rowing workouts to try are:

1. Viking rowing workout

This session involves four sets of rowing, each set doubling the distance of the previous one. Treat set as a mini-race, requiring a maximal, all-out, effort to complete.

Set 1 – 125 meters

Set 2 – 250 meters

Set 3 – 500 meters

Set 4 – 1000 meters

Rest periods between sets should be equal to the amount of time it took to complete the previous set. So, if it takes you 1:45 seconds to complete 500M in set three, your rest period before set four would be 1:45 seconds. As the sprints increase in duration, so do the rest periods.

2. Reverse Tabata

This workout develops the anaerobic energy pathways, specifically the creatine phosphate energy system. It’s essentially an anaerobic power workout. Make sure you work as hard as you can for each and every interval.

Row 10-seconds

Rest 20-seconds

Row 10-seconds

Rest 20-seconds

Row 10-seconds

Rest 20-seconds

Row 10-seconds

Rest 20-seconds

3. 2000-meter time trial

Sometimes, in rugby, you have to ignore fatigue and pain, dig deep, and just keep on going. This workout develops not only high-threshold cardiovascular fitness but mental toughness too. It’s a bit too long a distance to be a sprint but short enough you can really go for it. This combination makes for a gruelling 7-9 minutes and, yes, that’s the time you should be aiming for. If you can go sub-7 minutes, consider yourself a good rower.

Just pre-set your rower for 2,000 meters, and then try and cover that distance as fast as you can. Focus on your breathing and technique and, remember, it’s only 2000 meters!

4. 5000-meter time trial

Rowing 5,000 is a good way to develop aerobic fitness. It’s not so far that you have to row slowly, but far enough that you’ll need to pace yourself. 25-30 minutes is an acceptable time for 5,000 meters, but anything around 20-minutes is very good.

New to rowing or need to polish up your technique? Check out this video: