MyoQuip Blog - strength equipment, rugby football

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A prop's journey
2006-08-08 00:56:00
I came across a potentially interesting new blog, A prop's journey, the rugby diary of a young front rower from Brisbane, Queensland. It will be interesting to see how active he is in posting in the off-season but he seems determined to use the time for building up for the 2007 season. It could be worth following.rugby
More About: Journey , Prop

MyoQuip launches the HipneeFlex - hip and knee flexor streng
2006-08-06 19:27:02
After extensive prototype testing, MyoQuip is proud to release the HipneeFlex , a truly unique apparatus for the development of the hip and knee flexors.The HipneeFlex permits the hip flexor and knee flexor muscles to be exercised simultaneously through the full range of leg movement from full extension to full flexion. Both sets of muscles are subjected to substantial but appropriate loading throughout the whole movement.Figure 1 shows the basic mechanism of the HipneeFlex. The athlete operates from a supine position so that the action of the flexors - iliopsoas and hamstrings for the hip and knee joints respectively - can be effectively isolated. The feet are engaged between rollers which are cable-connected to the weighted QuadTorq mechanism.The exercise movement involves the feet being drawn back from a fully extended position to a fully flexed position. Thus both hip and knee flexors are exercised through a range where the included angle at the joints varies from 180º to aro...
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Essentials of the Argentinian 'Bajada' rugby scrum
2006-06-09 01:29:00
Argentinian teams are renowned for the effectiveness of their scrummaging and the central importance of the scrum to their game. From an early age, Argentinian forwards are schooled in the 'Bajada' or 'Bajadita,' a radically different scrum method invented in the late 'Sixties by the legendary Francisco Ocampo.The most obvious characteristic of the Bajada is that second-rowers bind with their external arms around the prop's hip rather than between their legs. But, as explained by Springbok coach Jake White (SARugby .com), one defining characteristic of the method is that "all the power is directed into the hooker. In other words, they scrum along an imaginary arrow drawn pointing inwards from either side of the No 8, which means all the power is directed towards the hooker."The other defining characteristic is the "Empuje Coordinado" or "Coordinated Push." "The scrumhalf gives a three part call after the "engage". On "pressure" all members of the pack tighten their binds and fi...
More About: Tinian , Esse , Jada , Argentinian

Andy Sheridan - an aberration or is prodigious strength the future of rugby
2006-04-25 13:09:00
England's loose-head prop, Andy Sheridan, achieved instant legend status when he demolished Australia's scrum at Twickenham in November. The Wallabies' Al Baxter was firstly sin-binned for his inability to hold his footing, then his replacement, Matt Dunning, was stretchered from the field with a neck injury. The more cynical might wonder how genuine that injury was, but either way it amounted to an acknowledgement that Sheridan was simply much too strong for two experienced international props. He has since been lauded as the strongest frontrower in the world.The most interesting question is whether his strength is freakish and abnormal or the product of the dedicated application of modern strength training. There is no doubt that Andrew Sheridan had the genetic endowment to be very big and strong. At Dulwich College, a prestigious south London public school, Sheridan was the dominant player in a team that remained unbeaten from under-11 to first XV. His first rugby master recal...
More About: Future , The Future , Rugby , Digi

Bands, chains and broad biomechanical correspondence
2006-04-01 03:47:00
[Summary: The addition of bands or chains to free weights permits adjustment of the resistance to the muscles' load-bearing capacity throughout an exercise movement. This broad biomechanical correspondence allows exercises to be performed explosively over their full range, effectively conditioning the body for actual sporting and athletic activities. The development of sophisticated mechanisms employing the same principle has important implications for sport-specific strength development.]There are two main types of variable resistance exercise equipment:Close biomechanical correspondenceManufacturers of cam-driven machines claim to vary their resistance to closely match the torque curves of natural joint movements. In other words they assert a close biomechanical correspondence (CBC) between resistance and muscular capacity. However, given the variation between individuals in relative limb lengths, muscle attachment points, genetically endowed strength relativities between various...
More About: Band , Bands , Pond , Road , Mechanical

A solution to uncontested rugby scrums?
2006-03-19 03:11:00
Writing in the Sky Sportzine English international rugby referee Steve Lander states that "It has long been an open secret amongst coaches, players and referees that the law" in relation to uncontested scrums "is open to 'manipulation'."Uncontested scrums "change the shape of the game and the dominant scrum is effectively depowered. Furthermore, without the contest and the need to scrummage, back row players are free to close down space ... ." However, there is little that a referee can do to prevent manipulation of the law. "From a match official's perspective. if a coach, physio or player indicates that he is injured then he is injured. In terms of safety, it is as simple as that."Lander points out that the law requires that "both teams must provide front row cover within the 22 players selected to replace the hooker on the first occasion for injury, blood, sin bin or sending off. Similarly, for either, but not both props on the first occasion for the same reasons.""A coach has...
More About: Contest , Rugby , Test , Contes , Este

Does intensive pre-season strength training protect rugby players from non-
2006-03-02 09:30:00
[Summary: Play ers at a leading Australian rugby club who undertook a high-intensity off-season strength training program experienced dramatically fewer non-contact injuries during the playing season than their less committed club mates. It is suggested that the lower incidence of injury might be attributable to an emphasis on improving basic strength and the use of rugby-specific strength equipment.]Each year the Sydney University Football Club selects a group of players for its Elite Development Squad to prepare for the next season. For 2005 a squad of 50 was chosen which did not include any of the Club's seven Wallabies nor any of the players on Super 12 contracts. Player s committed themselves to around fourteen weeks of intensive training involving six to seven sessions per week of weights, skills and fitness work despite either being full time students or working full time. At the conclusion of the season the Club's doctor, Katherine Rae, and physiotherapist, Keiran Cleary, jo...
More About: Training , Season

Comment by Nick Tatalias on hip flexor strength
2006-02-13 18:25:00
A comment by Nick Tatalias on my "Hip Flex or" post contains such significant observations and extensions to my arguments that I felt it deserved highlighting. It is by no means the first time that Nick has materially expanded on one of my posts. Here is an excerpt from the comment:... hip flexor strength is essential to athletic function simply because the body will begin to retard the agonist action early if the antagonist is weak. This reaction of the body prevents injury by preventing over extension. Strong antagonists allow the agonist to fire for much longer before the antagonist must fire to prevent joint over extension. The early retardation will slow the movement restrict range of motion and will cause slower runners. If the Weyland study is correct in its assertion that overall speed is dependant on ground forces generated and range of motion (as these two functions increase stride length) and not leg speed then by deduction if cycle times remain constant but stride length ...
More About: Men , Alias , Comment

Hip flexors - the most underdeveloped muscle group in strength training
2006-02-10 14:17:00
[Summary: Strong hip flexors provide an advantage in a wide range of sports and athletic activities but they are the most neglected muscle group in strength training. The problem in developing hip flexor strength has been the lack of appropriate exercises, but the development of flexor-specific apparatus offers great potential for fully developing these muscles.]Despite their importance to a wide range of athletic and sporting activities, the hip flexors are the most neglected major muscle group in strength training. It is very rare to find training programs that include hip flexor exercises. By contrast there is usually a great deal of emphasis on exercises for the leg extensors.There are some obvious reasons for this comparative neglect. The principal muscles involved in hip flexion are the psoas and the iliacus, collectively known as the iliopsoas. Because they are relatively deep-seated rather than surface muscles they may have been overlooked by bodybuilders who have traditiona...
More About: Training , Rain , Train , Flex , Most

Is Australian rugby finally getting the message about power?
2006-02-05 05:38:00
Today's Sun-Herald [Sydney] has a brief article titled "The Brumbies turn to power." It makes the point that the "multi-phase attacking style" used by both the ACT Brumbies and the Wallabies with success in the late 1990s and the first few years of the new century "has been superseded by a more robust forward-oriented play."ACT coach Laurie Fisher is quoted as saying: "I think we've lacked it [forwards getting to the advantage line] every year but it hadn't been as important until last season. You can't just outskill a side with a quality back line now. You've got to have a quality set piece, you've got to have a power game."Let's hope that the Brumbies have been making good use of the ScrumTruk that they installed a few months ago.
More About: Power , Australian , Message , Rugby , Finally

Nick Tatalias on explosive strength training for rugby
2006-01-14 08:06:00
[Summary: Nick Tatalias suggests that forwards who are exhausted after scrums and mauls may need greater strength and better anaerobic rather than aerobic conditioning. He argues that changes to the Laws of Rugby have increased the proportion of explosive actions in a game and consequently the need for explosive strength training.]I have just come across a very interesting post by Nick Tatalias in the IRB Forums from March last year. This was a contribution to a long thread addressing the issue of why South African teams had been so unsuccessful in Super 12 competitions.Nick Tatalias suggested that when conditioning coaches observe some of their forwards standing with hands on knees trying to catch their breath, they conclude that the players need more aerobic type conditioning; but he maintains that this "further exacerbates the problem. When in truth the issue is that greater levels of strength are needed, better anaerobic conditioning and lastly sprint endurance."Tatalias's view...
More About: Training , Rain , Train , Alias

McKenzie says no to Wallabies job - for now
2006-01-10 01:48:00
[Summary: Ewen McKenzie 's decision not to contest the Wall aby coaching position highlights the need for the organizational structure of the coaching team to be decided by the head coach rather than the ARU bureaucrats.]Ewen McKenzie's decision to withdraw his application for the Wallabies coaching position highlights a couple of interesting issues.Firstly it draws attention to how unusual it is for the position to be filled by an ex-Wallaby player. To my knowledge there have been only three: Bryan Palmer, John Solomon and Dave Brockhoff. So it is 26 years since Australia has had an ex-international as coach. McKenzie, of course, had a very long and distinguished incumbency of the Wallaby tight-head position.Although I am not really familiar with the rugby history of other nations, it would appear that the Australian situation is by no means unique. Most international coaches have not played at the top level. I would be grateful if someone can post details for any of the other rugb...
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