Do you know how to prepare for a rugby game? If you are as mentally prepared as you are physically, you will perform better whether you are playing or training for rugby game. The team with the most tenacity and mental toughness typically prevails in matches involving evenly matched teams. Your attitude may make or break your session in the gym.
Some ruggers are endowed with the appropriate attitude, or at the very least the capacity to activate it and enter the zone on command. Other players experience ups and downs, frequently without being aware of the reason. The good news is that you can develop the ideal mindset for peak performance, and that practice usually makes perfect in this regard.
Here are eight strategies how to prepare for a rugby game to help you focus when playing or practicing rugby.
How to prepare for a rugby game
1. Create a pre-game schedule
You can develop the proper rugby mindset with the aid of routines. By sticking to a routine and learn how to prepare for a rugby game, you remove the element of uncertainty from your pre-game preparation and gain confidence. It only makes sense to anticipate the same outcome this time if your pre-game ritual was successful the last time.
For instance:
- Arrive at the location well before the scheduled hour.
- Put on your athletic attire.
- Tape up
- Heat up
- Hydrate
- Train your kicks, passing, lineouts, and other skills.
- Attend the team chat before the game.
- Re-warm up
Routines aren’t just for rugby; they can be helpful in the gym as well. For your gym-based exercises, particularly for heavy lifts like squats, deadlifts, bench presses, and cleans, use the same set-up and pre-lift regimen. For both warm-up and work sets, follow the same pre-lifting regimen.
2. Create a boosting playlist
Your mental state can be significantly impacted by music. The perfect music may energize, excite, and motivate you to perform at your peak when you play or train. You may make custom playlists on the majority of online music services and store them to your phone. Some even provide pre-made playlists for particular genres.
Before entering the gym or the field, listen to your go-to pump-up playlist to get yourself in the right frame of mind. Make sure to keep your go-to song for when you really need it, like right before you step onto the field, if you have a favorite song that always makes you feel better.
Do you worry before a major game? Additionally, music can be helpful in this situation. You can unwind by listening to instrumental music and songs with a slower tempo.
Between being overly fired up and being too relaxed, there is a delicate line. If you are just the right amount of apprehensive, you will be able to perform at your best without making a lot of unintentional mistakes.
3. Make the opposition’s enemies/baddies
Just before the game began, a well-known rugby coach stepped in front of his team. He clutched a rolled newspaper in his hands. He informed his players that he had just read in the newspaper that they were seen as underdogs and that their opponents had been disparaging them in the media.
It goes without saying that this inspired his team, and they went out and completely destroyed the opposition. It was all a motivational ploy, the coach admitted after the game, and there had been no mention of his team in the newspaper.
Even if you might not have a kind coach who will tell you lies, you can still utilize this tactic to motivate you for your upcoming game. You are aware that your opponents are disparaging you and that they already believe the game is won. Show them their mistakes by going out there!
4. Accept your nerves
Although being anxious is frequently viewed as a bad thing, the adrenaline rush is just what you need to perform at your best. Learn to anticipate and accept your nervousness by visualizing those feelings of anxiety as nothing more than your energy rising. If you experience butterflies in your stomach, change your perspective and remind yourself that it is simply your body letting you know that it is time to play.
5. Visualization
Spending a few minutes picturing a successful performance will help you psychologically prepare, whether you are practicing or about to play rugby. Imagine yourself performing each set of your workout with flawless form while you drive to the gym, for instance. Prior to a game, visualize yourself kicking, passing, tackling, and scoring goals with authority.
You may boost your performance and boost your self-confidence by mentally practicing a winning game in advance. Whatever you are picturing, try to make it as realistic as you can. Visualize specifics like noises, pictures, and emotions.
6. Convert anxious thoughts into encouraging affirmations
Your performance may be significantly impacted by your inner voice. Self-fulfilling prophecy really does exist! If anxieties cause you to question your skills, you can notice that your inner voice starts to speak negatively, saying things like:
- I am unable to manage the pressure.
- I am unable to complete this.
- We’ll fall short.
- I’m going to look like a fool.
- I’m going to disappoint my comrades.
You have a better chance of them coming true if you repeat these things often enough.
Instead, replace your negative ideas with uplifting statements. Positive affirmations can boost performance if negative ideas can make it less effective. Simply transform your negative thoughts into happy ones. For instance:
- High-pressure circumstances suit me well
- I CAN accomplish this!
- We will triumph!
- I intend to dazzle the coach.
- I’m determined to excel and please my comrades.
7. Review Your Prior Successes
You have probably had at least your share of success if you have been playing or preparing for rugby for a while. You’ll have put in tremendous workouts, won games, maybe even scored tries or made tackles that kept the game from ending.
Relive those victories and replay them over and over in your head to help you enter the zone. There is no reason for you to anticipate a different result this time if you previously achieved success. Create your own rugby montage in the vein of Rocky, or look over previous training logs, to take this idea a step further. Use your prior accomplishments as motivation.
8. Pre-workout Supplement Use
Pre-workout vitamins might have a psychological impact in addition to providing you with physical energy. Caffeine, St. John’s Wort, gingko biloba, and other nootropic ingredients can improve focus, determination, and concentration. If you pair your pre-workout supplement with enough mental preparation, you’ll benefit from it even more.
Conclusion
Although ruggers are a hardy lot, it doesn’t mean they are immune to fear and self-doubt. No matter how to prepare for a rugby game physically, you won’t play (or practice) as well as you could if you start to question your ability. You can train and play at your best by taking the necessary time to mentally prepare.
Please read: http://rugbyqa.com/how-to-be-a-forward-in-rugby/
