Although body building regimes will not teach the muscle to act quickly, an increase in fibre size increases the potential for the muscle to perform powerfully
The desire to 'get big' often overlooks the power principles of training
for rugby and rule of specificity. A continuous approach to high volume
resistance training will not teach muscles to fire quickly and may be
detrimental to performance.
Players will actually lose power, agility
and endurance if body building approaches are
used long term
However, it is possible to get the 'best of both worlds' when muscle mass is a real issue. The principle of periodisation must be followed to ensure that systems of power development are included in the training programme.
Bodybuilding Mode
The primary goal is to attain significant, symmetric muscle hypertrophy via exhaustive workouts primarily involving free weights, using multiple sets and exercises and special training techniques for each muscle. Weight loads are generally medium-heavy to allow for a repetition range of 6-15 and 3-4 sets per exercise.
Different approaches are periodically
used to facilitate consistent gains and provoke
adaptation within the muscle
|