Help for young senior just starting out again

Hi,

Long time reader, first time poster. Actually started training for the first time again since school (and in school i was too young to really take anything seriously) in the past couple of weeks and wondered if anyone had any advice for me? I am a bit scrawny, 12st and 6'2 looking to play in the backs ... last few sessions I've had I've come back aching VERY bad (I'm used to swimming and cycling - relatively low impact) and couldn't go to the training 2 days later. Today I also pulled a hammy early on.

I know there's not going to be any miracle suggestions but poss just wanted a bit of support, cuz it's tough going already! But v keen to keep it going.

LW.

The first few weeks / games will hurt but you get used to it very quickly.

I remember my first few games and I felt like I had been hit by a truck. I played football several times a week at a decent standard but nothing prepared me for playing rugby.

You just need to get back out there, I promise it will ache less each time as you get toughened to it.

Pretty much. The first game back after a while hurts like a b!tch. I remember last season, playing flanker was on the scrum machine and my back was killing me! You do get used to it. Also if you're over 18 a pint after the game is the best medicine.
Good luck.

doctornickolas wrote:The first few weeks / games will hurt but you get used to it very quickly.

I remember my first few games and I felt like I had been hit by a truck. I played football several times a week at a decent standard but nothing prepared me for playing rugby.

You just need to get back out there, I promise it will ache less each time as you get toughened to it.

That's good to hear, thanks. I was hoping that was the case ...

flankertye wrote:Pretty much. The first game back after a while hurts like a b!tch. I remember last season, playing flanker was on the scrum machine and my back was killing me! You do get used to it. Also if you're over 18 a pint after the game is the best medicine.
Good luck.

yes urm over 18 cough cough

tbf training can hurt tonight, i jarred my hip, had my toe crushed and twisted my ankle (i am 17) but hey ho, no pain no gain

Hahaha, oh dear. What position are you looking at? One of the centres?
Trust me you'll toughen up.
Lots of it is to do with using the right technique hitting rucks, riding tackles and presenting the ball properly. Otherwise you get the fat balls stomping all over you.

Ice baths to help with recovery. A bit of gym work in the next off-season to add some weight.

Hang in there as like exercise in general, the more you train the easier it becomes.

Man up FFS!

Seriously the first few sessions will be the worst. 'Repeated bout effect' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_onset_muscle_soreness#Repeated-bout_effect)means that each time you repeat the same session the post exercise soreness won't be anywhere near as bad as the 1st time. Stick with it.

The fact that you are in reasonable nick from cycling and swimming will stand you in good stead once you get a few weeks under your belt.

good luck

Everyone here is giving good advice it seems to me.
Flankertye made the point about technique. It is really important. For instance, how you go into contact can be the difference between getting hurt or not.

Rodders gives good advice as well. Stay with your training. The soreness will generally abate.

Kia mentioned ice baths. I really think they help/

But, as we all know, Rugby is a contact sport. There are always a few bumps and bruises after a match. And the medicine for that usually comes in pint form.

Great advice above the one thing i would add is as a front row after a game i will always take a protein shake, if not it would be wednesday before i felt right, a good protein shake will have you right by monday afternoon.

Good shout D24Stress. Further to that make sure you take on some carbohydrates in the first hour after training or playing. This is a glycogen window and will speed up your recovery.

I'm assuming the main cause of the soreness is muscle soreness caused by the unaccustomed stress (and eccentric contraction) on the muscles which will ease through the repeated bout affect mentioned above. You should notice this improve by the session.

However if you are not eating and rehydrating right this will have a big impact. Make sure you warm up and warm down too. Try doing some light running and stretching on rest days.

Try pacing yourself through the sessions for a while too, especially if you are older (>26) as it takes a wee bit longer to adapt when you get older and you get more prone to injury.

For any soft tissue damage, use R.I.C.E. Can really reduce recovery time, look at Lydiate in the world cup

If you haven't got enough ice cubes to fill the bath ( ) a bag of peas or butterbeans kept in the freezer works wonders for the most localised of knocks.


Make sure you mark the bag you use though, constant freeze/thaw doesn't help their consistency.


I remember back in my playiong days, the first few training sessions saw me having great difficulties in putting my socks on of a morning.


Still the same now - but thats age!

Thanks for the help. Some really useful info on here - girlfriend will be pleased about the repeated bout effect and some useful advice for my training tomorrow (today). Cheers lads!

With the whole protein/carbs after training, you might want to try "For Goodness Shakes" if you're not too confident with these nutritional things. They're about £1.50 a go (often on offer at my local sainsburys!) and they are a recovery drink containing protein and carbs. The super berry one is lush too!

Also, a cheap alternative to an ice bath is when you are in the shower have 30 seconds with the shower hot, then 30 seconds with the shower cold and keep switching. Doesn't work so well if you are showering at the rugby club though and can't adjust the heat!

Good luck!

Yes hot and colds work to flush the lactate out of your blood.
Another very important thing, don't forget the warm down.
As stupid as you may think it is, really helps to get rid of the all horrible lactic acid that causes cramp/stiffness

Mate - I was the same. I played rugby constantly from the age of 6 to 18 and, before I left to Uni I was training 3 times a week and playing 2 games at the weekend in my final year of school.

I then didn't play rugby for 4 years....

So it was tough coming back - the hits are hard and the body hurts but you do get used to it, and I definitely regret spending so long away from the game so it is great to hear you are back playing our amazing sport!

A lot of good advice on here but some of it tends to be hearsay, be carefull what you listen to, and never just go on advice alone, research yourself and only look at literary and scholarly theories.

Roddersm tends to know what he's talking about and he's right in asking what ails you, is it the contact impacts? or the more traverse nature of the game compared to the saggital and frontal plane movements of cycling and swimming?

Basically what is the ratio of pain between muscle soreness and bumps and bruises?

There is a massive amount of prehabilitation you can do for long term injuries before training and matches within your warm up and even the night, and week before.

Hydration and nutrition are massive for not only performance but recovery, hydrating very well pre and post, and by hydration I don't mean water, water will do a job during training for convenience but you need more essentials pre and post to replenish what you lose (I won't get into the nitty gritty otherwise i'll bore you)
Hydration in everyday life is very important too, a good indicator is looking at and smelling your wee (not too close) If your wee is clear with no smell it's ok, but when it turns yellow or even goldish brown your not getting enough water, and if you can smell it when you go again drink more.

Nutrtion is key too, both in general pre and post performance, If you don't fuel up, and then re fuel after your recovery will suffer and soreness will be worse, but you also have to maintain a balanced diet throughout otherwise your matchday diet will mean nothing.

I'd be carefull with supplementation at 17, it'll be easy to listen to older guys who claim this and that are the best thing ever, in general these guys havn't tried much and what theyre taking acts as a placebo, and they think it's doing something it isn't.
Depending on what level your playing you have to be carefull, the industry is mostly unregulated and theres no way of knowing exactly whats going into it, i'd stick with the mainstream. I would also start with a very simple protein formula, and a very small level especially until your organs mature. Maybe a measure post training and matches initially, then as you progress introduce it into your diet.
MOST IMPORTANT PART OF SUPPLEMENTATION, overdosing, 99% of all amateurs who supplement their diet overdose, key issues like stomach cramps, breaking wind, really bad smelling wind, smelly wee, bad breath and bad bowel movements are all a sign of your body struggling to breakdown and use all the protein!!!

Last issue I have to mention that noone else has is rest, at 17 your best weapon against Soreness and DOMS is a full nights restfull sleep, going out getting hammered after a match will relax you while your drinking but will delay and make the soreness much worse, especially initially. I'd get more comfortable with the game before you start the equally tough social side of things.

Your body is amazangly adaptable right now and it won't take long for you to thrive, you'll get bigger stranger and faster very quickly, focus as much as you can on your skillset and technique right now, if you have them they'll get you out of trouble now and in the future, you can't become skillfull as an adult but you can develop strength to hide you poor skillset like most guys do!

Good luck and have fun!

I just want to mention cooling down too!

Take 5-10 minutes after every training session or match, stretch off statically and hold your stretches for 10 - 15 seconds each, really feel the muscles pull first up then ease all the way to a relaxed state. Ice can be good, and cold showers are better than warm but who wants a cold shower on a cold wet day post match, a hot shower will feel much better, but remember if your not icing down the cool down and rest that night are going to be key

Oh to be starting again. Biggest piece of advice I could offer is mind your head. Looking at the Heineken cup matches this weekend I was shocked at how many times the tackler goes in with the wrong shoulder. Peter O'Mahony for Munster was a prime example.
Other than that, I can't emphasise enough the benefits of bacon and Guinness. Bacon sandwiches pre-match, Guinness sandwiches post-match. A Guinness sandwich consists of a pint of Guinness between 2 pints of Guinness.

Submachine wrote:Guinness sandwiches post-match. A Guinness sandwich consists of a pint of Guinness between 2 pints of Guinness.

Bluesman I don't know where you got that I was 17! I am 22, but maybe the reference to school was a bit misleading. However the advice is helpful. Generally my stamina is already better than most of the backs (I cycle at least 5 miles a day and can swim 6k), but the legs are feeling the high impact running so will take all that stretching advice etc. Also my bones & muscles are generally feeling impacts of tackles at the moment! For example, someone (okay it is a prop) just falling on my arm during a tackle makes it ache for a couple of days, but it is getting better.

I'm going to look into some extra protein, especially seeing as I am vegetarian (!) - anyone know a good place to find these things easier? What shelf would I look in in the supermarket? I seem to remember some health food shops doing some protein powders as well, which were geared toward general health instead of sport, which I would be more comfortable with taking a couple of times a week and on match days.

Again thanks for all the advice everyone! I'm really pleased I am re-integrating with the rugby community!

If anyone plays at or near London Scottish I think I'm moving down around that area next calendar year, and I'd love to train with them

LW2011 wrote:
I'm going to look into some extra protein, especially seeing as I am vegetarian (!) - anyone know a good place to find these things easier? What shelf would I look in in the supermarket? I seem to remember some health food shops doing some protein powders as well, which were geared toward general health instead of sport, which I would be more comfortable with taking a couple of times a week and on match days.

You can get standard whey protein in Holland and Barrett. If you want to fork out a bit more then Maximuscle do a variety of products. I tried a thing called cyclone whch was a combination of protein and creatine a few years ago that seemed to have a noticeble impact on my gym strength endurance but then that could have been a placebo. I wouldn't recommend taking any supplement long term.

I'm not a great fan of dietary suppliments and think most of it is b*llox to be honest but as a vegetarian then taking some extra protein after training might be advisable. I think a healthy balanced diet is far more important though and you rarely need anywhere near as much protein as these products suggest.

I'm no expert though.