Build leg power & training strength
Build leg power & training strength
With Wasps and England Flanker, Tom Rees
“Try performing this routine once every 5 days, and watch your leg power explode.” Tom Rees
Modern rugby players need to combine muscle mass with a low body fat level and enough explosive training strength to create a physique with a high power to weight ratio. While upper body size and core strength training is very important, and nutrition an increasingly important element, leg power is the real driving force behind an explosive base.
If you follow my 5 x 5 routine below on how to enhance leg power, it will help you get incredibly fast leg muscle growth, allowing you to sprint faster and have more explosive power when playing.
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Pre training:
Post training:
The 5 x 5 Leg Power Workout
Building powerful legs should include the three classic exercises to target the core strength muscles of the legs, and deliver exceptional results. There are many different rep and set ranges you can use when developing leg power, but a 5 set x 5 rep workout offers a good balance of muscle growth, strength and explosive blasts.
Exercise 1: Power Cleans
The power clean is a classic power building exercise and is a core part of my strength and power training. In terms of rugby performance, it’s fantastic for developing the force needed in scrum pushes, tackling and impacts when running with the ball. However, it can be used by any sports player desiring explosive performance.
Exercise 2: Front Squats
Normal squats are a great exercise, but training with front squats is an excellent way to target the quads while developing extreme power (they also give your abs and core strength a very intense workout). Front squats are very tough, so you’ll need to reduce the weight you use for regular back squats. If you want an exercise to build great looking quads, think about adding front squats to your routine.
Exercise 3: Dead lifts
Heavy dead lifts are an excellent way to develop hamstring and gluteal leg power, increasing sprint performance and creating the brute force needed when you have a pack full of 19 stone athletes pushing against you. The dead lift is a great all-round muscle and power builder, so it’s great for both physique and power development.
Use the right nutrition to aid powerful legs
Consume a combination of fast acting protein and carbohydrates ½ hour before and immediately after your leg power session. I consume a Progain Extreme or Cyclone protein shake pre-training to maximise leg development, and either a Promax Meal Bar or Maxi-Milk protein shake post-workout to stimulate recovery. This allows me to not only speed up my muscle recovery after training, but also gives me the very best mix of ingredients to allow me to get the best workout for my legs during every session.
If you want to boost your recovery further , you can mimic what we're instructed to do at Wasps and have a contrast shower (alternate hot and cold bursts for 5 minutes), but trust me it’s no fun!
Watch our interview with Tom Rees
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Tom Rees is an Ambassador for Maximuscle, Europe's Number 1 sports nutrition company. Tom believes in the products and brand as they offer a complete range of products that are tested and safe, incredibly effective, and designed to work and get results fast. With the UK's best selling and research proven all in one muscle-growth range in Cyclone, and the UK's Number 1 selling Protein range in Promax, Maximuscle offers many award winning products, as well as expert information and advice on everything from training tips to dietary advice and how to get the very best out of your training.
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The Routine
The key to building powerful legs is to conduct a controlled set of exercises under a controlled environment to deliver maximum results.
Reps & Sets:
5 x 5
Resistance:
Approximately 80-85% of your 1 rep max (note: the aim is to make the last rep of each set ‘almost’ impossible to complete)
Exercise tempo:
For maximum power, lift the weights with perfect technique on the active lifting phase. Return the weight to the starting position quickly, but under control and with perfect form.
Rest:
2 minutes between sets.
Progression:
Aim to slowly increase the load used in each session.
