England Rugby’s most brutal fitness test

Just as I start the second of three circles of hell, prepared for me by Aled Walters, my inner demons remind me of a cruel fact. This fitness session was my idea.

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My head is in a fog as I try to lift up a torso-shaped tackle bag, slam down on to it, and then pick it back up again. Why have my sinuses suddenly blocked so I can’t hear? Am I oxygen-starved? Do I need to throw up or cry? Why did I just chug a milky flat white at the hotel restaurant? Am I ever going to be able to critique an England player’s performance again after they’ve seen this useless, lumbering fool on camera?

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how do you train like an England rugby player that’s not a question we’re often able to answer but I was invited down to England training to get a rare insight into the fitness levels required to be a test match animal down at England’s high performance center in bankshot I met the head of strength and conditioning alled Walters here we are well welcome will welcome to Penny than for us Welcome to our training center alled had prepared one of England’s fish Fitness sessions designed to test power and endurance as well as physical and mental Capac what we’re going to give you today is a bit of a flavor of what uh some of the players do in the way we prepare well prepare them physically for for test rugby some of this work could be supplementary to what they do because our main Fitness emphasis comes from the rugby training itself this kind of work is what we do in preparation for campaigns such as the summer tour um in the fallow weeks in Six Nations where we don’t necessarily want them to run again uh it’s just another modality to build a bit of capacity just just nudge them on a little bit and just train the mind again a little bit what I’m going to ask you today is to go absolutely flat out and see how you go which is the same as what I’d ask the players yeah all right let’s see how it go then cheers Alice he may be a softly spoken Welshman but I had a feeling alled was about to break me first up I clamber onto a w bike as alled says time to drop me into a hole with a resistance on its highest setting I’m challenged to pedal for 200 m in 10 seconds then it’s 20 seconds of rest with my legs still to build up the lactic acid for another 10 seconds of flat out pedaling so it’s going to be eight reps 10 seconds maximum effort 20 seconds rest okay to give you some context the players their targets would be to cover 200 M every 10 seconds the best um that I’ve seen on this across the eight reps might accumulate 1680 me close to 1,700 okay that’ll be your objective but the main thing like I’ve mentioned we’re going to ask you to go as hard as you can right okay okay I get a set up for you yeah do you want some more time I think we’re in now okay when you’re ready got a HJ Good Will good will keep going out keep going keep pushing keep pushing here come on keep going keep going keep going and rest there good stop your legs what did we get there 176 M to start solid solid I feel like you’re holding something back you’re lacking a bit of honesty here big push now big push well come on come on keep going keep going sorry I lost my feet there yeah like ready yeah ready ready when you got it hard as you can now big push big push come on drive it on now drive it on now we got to go through this now keep going keep going 2 seconds and rest there well done good keep your legs still 164 M great effort that’s two down you ready in two one and go come on go go go go go go big push now big push get through it now got to get through it keep punching keep punching keep punching well done 139 how’s it feeling the quads it’s lesser quads is more out breath beautiful 4 seconds 2 one and a big push come on hard as you can now hard as you can go find a little bit more now find a little bit more don’t settle there little bit more little bit more and relax well done 127 goodness good my lungs are puffing legs are screaming and this is just the start remember will this was your idea little bit more again little bit more and you’re done there well done well done so CeX there would normally give maybe 3 minutes recovery back again back on hold on solid start next we’re on to a grid of four Gru some games in intense 10c blocks when you see how many times I’m going to ask you to get up off the ground that’s a massive factor for us you know how quickly are our players back in the game as fast as you can first I have to push the tank roll to the side and shove it back again back onto the other side and then take it back cool then the box has me running well plotting around in a square facing forwards dropping to my belly at each cone you’re going to try and get back to the white cone in the 10 seconds okay when you walked in you were smiling I know bag slams next lift it up drop it down get up and do it again this is your roll around it’s ball rolls to finish roll back and get up with both arms around the ball as many times as you can okay go all of this replicates in-game actions with a premium place on how quickly you can bound back up off the floor after each tackle or breakdown to keep up with play by this point any attack would be run rings around me quick as you can then down up then work across work across down up again and work back work back work back down up get back to the white go land on the bag lift the bag up good get the bag higher higher up well done keep going keep going keep going and time there well done well done good effort what did you find most challenging there anything in particular it’s like your legs are already gone from the first one yeah so then getting up and down is hard go this combines the drills in part two but adds a run to the 22 M line in back to imitate a match scenario Alice shouts out which drill is up next so I don’t know what’s coming the torture will last 6 minutes the best back rowers can do 20 without stopping absolutely crazy eight nine good back slams please go go look if for three will good you’re on target stop excellent will Co can we get about two and a half in here now and again stop de Square eight nine back SLS stop going back to the Run quick as you can back on your feet o both hands on the medball please keep both hands on the med ball find a way to get up Time come on you got one more in you there you that’s it that’s it no all of my fears were realized my brain is in a fog my heart is pounding my legs are gone and I’m deeply regretting that milky flat white I chugged beforehand Alid has indeed broken me I’m only smiling cuz I would never choose to do this session myself so how do you train like an England player a whole lot better than I did it’s fair to say I may not be ready for test selection just yet [Music]