Interesting thread guys – thank you
with rugby players do you have targets such as skinfolds etc or just work within a reasonably healthy range? Within reason (say 15% vs 22% bf) does it really matter for a prop as long as he has all the requisites needed to perform? Do some positions really require a strict BF (or is it really enough lean muscle and power weight to do the job).
In the gym we usually see our T and F athletes train heavier when they carry a little more coverage and they seem to recover better form the heavier weight sessions.
We often have throwers who could profit from a little adipose loss – at least proportionally – mass is essential in throwers but so is the muscle to accelerate ! – by temperament, training and nutrition its not an easy task
to ask a thrower to lose weight!
Personally I felt the skinfold thing has been overdone and can set unrealistic targets for guys who basically run a bit endomorphic –
what we do is instead of worry about weight is try and set them a target goal of adding lean mass – so paradoxically they might actually gain weight to improve lean-fat ratio. Obviously the demands on throwers aerobically is not high :>>>> they only move 2 metres and then rest for 5 minutes!! That said I have seen more than a few 120kg plus boys run around 12 min 3 km!
This forum is great – so much variety in thought and experience! Thanks again