More on Specificity – Guest Blog from Annalise at TrueFitness

Over the next few weeks there will be a new guest blogger at YSC! The trainers at TrueFitness in San Diego, CA  will be sharing a rugby focused training post each week on Wednesdays. We would like to formally welcome Annalise to YSC!

So we have already discussed the Principle of Specificity and the important role that it plays in achieving a person’s goals.  Now we are going into further detail about the importance of choosing the right exercises, rest period, velocity of reps and number of reps.  Most people learn at the gym from others and formulate the idea that if they do that then I should do it.  Nothing could be further form the truth.  Everyone needs a routine that takes into account their individual goals, needs, skills and abilities.  People need to make a specific routine based around what needs to be the focus and what needs to be improved.  Specificity says that the change will be directly related to the type of stimuli.  So for Rugby performance, we need to know what elements of sport performance are the most important to focus on.  For Rugby, power, quickness, agility, strength and explosiveness should be the focus for most players.  Yes, conditioning is very important and we are saving that for a later blog.  A focus of bigger biceps or ripped abs would not be of interest for a rugby player since those goals don’t correlate to improved performance.

Now, we do want the whole body to be strong and we will train for that accordingly.  Our body is only as strong as the weakest link.  But remember, we are dealing with our specificity to change and our main focus.  So it is important to apply the principle of specificity, to ensure improvement in the manner most important to our goals and that is sports performance.

Now onto the actual discussion about the elements we need to improve to ensure that we improve our rugby performance. The elements we need to focus on are power, quickness, agility, strength and explosiveness.  All of the qualities are of equal importance.  However, different positions will have a different positional priority.  Knowing this is also important.  We will discuss the priorities of each position in future blogs.

Power is best applied in what are known as Power exercise.  Power clean, Squat, Snatches, Deadlift, Push Press and Bench Press.  Power is best applied in these exercises when the reps range is low, 1-5.  This will ensure maximum amount of power emphasis.

Training power will lead to explosiveness which is another fundamental element of sports performance.  When training for power the movement focus is on maximal velocity which drastically improves explosiveness.

Agility and Quickness are related and can be trained together.  This involves movements that pertain to sport.  Doing agility and quickness drills involves, sprints, change of direction and explosiveness using ladders, cones, hurdles, etc.  Remember to apply specificity and choose drills, distances, and speed related to rugby.  Mostly short bursts at full speed with emphasis on quick change of direction.

Strength means power over time so is directly related to power.  To improve strength we need to focus on compound, multi-joint exercises that work all areas of the body.  This part is to ensure no weak links in our chain.

All of these elements need to be worked in order to ensure maximal sport performance.  A proper program will use periodization (a systematic approach of training over time to ensure the elimination of plateaus.)We will discuss later and more in depth each element and the specific requirements of each position.  For now, just try to apply specificity to these elements and know that by doing so your performance will improve.

Anyone in the San Diego area is welcome to drop in at our studio at 2949 Garnet Ave.  3rd floor, Pacific Beach, CA.  We would love to put you through our workout.   Please feel free to call or email Annalise Evans of TrueFitness with any questions: (760) 809 1848 annalise@truefitness.biz and join her fan page on Facebook: TrueFitness Annalise Evans.