To conclude, this blog will help our participant (18 years of age, new to rugby) to get an overall idea of the sport rugby and the different demands in physiology. The nutrition section will provide an idea of the food and drinks essential for the training’s that will be undertaken, which will help maximizing gain and using time efficiently as there is a lot to do in one year. The biomecanics section will make an introduction of the dangers of playing rugby and also of the risks of injury from training and over-training, which will be essential when comes to practice and training, because an injury will slow down the whole process dramatically. Finally the psychology section will discuss solutions for anxiety, depression and other mind-body states, which may interrupt the training’s and regimes undertaken from the participant and will provide some techniques so that he could get back on his feet, get motivated again and have the proper mindset to strive to the goal of becoming a semi-pro rugby prayer.

To actually reach semi-pro level rugby playing status the athlete will have to practice and maintain techniques such as imagery and meditation; which allow themselves to monitor their own the levels of stress, anxiety and arousal. By incorporating these techniques with the use of the inverted-U hypothesis the athlete will be able to reach and maintain peak performance level by reducing or increasing physiological arousal.

From a physiological point of view the participant have to practice training regimes such as resistance training with different loads and intensities from 2 to 3 times a week, which will lead to increasing muscle hypertrophy, muscle endurance and muscle power. These are some of the demands of playing rugby, which means that they will reflect directly on the performance on the pitch. The other training regime that have to be undertaken by the participant is SIT training. The training will include 2 to 3 sessions a week and 4 to 6 30 seconds all-out sprints with 4 minutes of active recovery in between. This training will increase volume of oxygen max, cardio-respiratory fitness and explosive power of the lower limbs, which will lead to better sprint ability and eventually to a better performance.

Nutrition is one of the most important aspects of not only training, but living. It cannot be neglected, because it will effect the gains from training, psychology (feelings, motivation etc.), the levels of energy and also could lead to injury or increased risk of one. A proper diet will be essential for improving the individuals chances of getting into semi-pro rugby. There should be a clear focus on a high protein diet with little access to sugars. Furthermore, processed food (junk food) should be avoided as there have been negative implication of excess consumption leading to obesity. Alcohol consumption and smoking should be avoided too as they will just hold back the full potential of the individual and would make the whole process much harder.

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