Optimising the ability of the anaerobic lactacid system requires a number of adaptations to the "aerobic" system. I believe that optimising the anaerobic lactacid system requires improvement in both anaerobic threshold (improved oxygen supply & utilisation = aerobic development) and improved lactate production and tolerance. While it could be argued that the anaerobic threshold (aerobic component of the anaerobic lactacid ability) can be developed through anaerobic lactacid training (the aerobic system is used during any exercise above the anaerobic threshold i.e anaerobic lactacid training - therefore through stress leading to reaction you would expect some development) I believe that more effective development of this system can come through specific aerobic conditioning. My belief is that optimal aerobic conditioning requires a specific volume of training between the aerobic base and anaerobic threshold training zones as it is within these zones that the most effective stress and environment is created for cardiovascular-respiratory & metabollic adaptations.

Furthermore while a number of developments to the aerobic system are "central adaptations" which provide carry-over enhancements to other sports or activities (eg cardio-respiratory developments during swimming will improve oxygen supply to all muscles and will therefore improve aerobic running performance) optimal aerobic development requires mode specific training to optimise peripheral developments to both the metabollic system and vascular (capilarisation). Therefore if a rugby player wishes to optomise both aerobic and anaerobic conditioning they should run as this will optimise the running anaerobic threshold and VO2max, improve the running muscles ability to produce and tolerate lactic acid as well as providing specific neural adaptations to enhance running performance. It is important to remember that specific anaerobic lactacid adaptations require metabolic changes that can only be developed in the exercised muscles - therefore the trained muscles are usually the only ones that develop. The question is how effective is cycling, rowing, swimming and the various gymnasium conditioning equipment for the development of aerobic and anaerobic lactacid ability for rugby?

A couple of coaches that I have worked with have suggested that a lot of the anaerobic developments are psychological in nature and that the most important aspect of an effective anaerobic lactacid training session are getting the players used to pain. However I believe that you can create a far more effective running anaerobic lactacid session for rugby players than cycling, rowing etc - as it is far easier to create a competitive environment with limited equipment. Another issue that comes up regularly is the belief from a number of professional rugby trainers that jogging changes the metabollic profile of the muscle and alters the neural pattern so that the player becomes to slow plus it also increases injury rates. They propose that the best form of training for rugby players is game specific drills done at full pace with no aerobic running sessions. My arguments are

• That if moving slowly makes you slow then all rugby players should stop walking and be tranported in golf carts - every movement should be specific to the speed of the game. However in reality a large portion of the game is spent jogging and walking - should the players cut this out as well due to it's potential to "slow them down".
• Having worked with elite level athletes in other sports I find that a number of them do extensive aerobic work at specific phases of their training and that they also maintain a "reasonable" level of aerobic training during the pre-competition - competition phase with no measurable reduction in power (in fact many develop power over this period due to the inclusion of specific alactic / lactacid training sessions). One doesn't have to look far to see successful athletes with similar energy requirements to rugby players maintaining a reasonable volume of aerobic training (running) throughout their training program. If the player is on an effective periodised program which has the required anaerobic sessions (alactic &/or lactacid) then there is little evidence to suggest that reductions in speed will occur.
• In my experience it has been interesting to note that often the same trainers who wont use aerobic running as a training method because of its lack of specificity (it slows the players down) will utilise rowing & cycling sessions for aerobic development and will also use classic weight training exercises for strength / power development.
• While there is some interesting research which backs up many trainers opinion that aerobic steady state running does lead to a high injury rate in rugby players perhaps we should look at the possible reasons for these injuries before removing aerobic running from our training programs. I suggest that the injuries may be created by the lack of preparation of the players for running, the poor equipment used and the type of surface etc. I also believe that there are numerous methods for developing aerobic conditioning without having to do steady state aerobic running. see Jim Bledsoe

Therefore I would suggest that aerobic conditioning is required to optimise the anaerobic lactacid ability of rugby players and that there is no evidence that adding aerobic running will slow a player down if they are on an effective periodised program that includes the required anaerobic sessions. Rugby players should be well conditioned before they start running so as to reduce the risk of injuries. Non specific activities should only be used as a form of cross training or if there are concerns over injuries. I have included some further points below

• Running is used to develop the legs anaerobic ability as these types of developments are muscle specific hence cycling or rowing is not nearly as good as running.
• High carbohydrate levels are essential for performance in anaerobic sessions - low or minimal carbohydrate levels can reduce anaerobic lactic metabolism which limits anaerobic work capability which limits anaerobic training adaptations. Rugby players generally have the worst dietary habits of any sports groups I have ever worked with (see section on nutrition). It is important to work on these strategies as they can severely limit conditioning in this area.
• Total number of complete anaerobic training sessions is a maximum of 3 per week. This means that only a total of three anaerobic sessions of any type can be undertaken each week.
• The major training session is Tuesdays team training.
• The best anaerobic session should be the game.
• If a third anaerobic session is to be undertaken then it is held on Thursday practise
• It is important to place anaerobic training within the competitive team training sessions as it is hard to motivate players to perform the required intensity if they do these sessions alone. This can be achieved by splitting the team so that the various team positions compete against each other. To foster competition we include the A&B teams in Tuesday fitness training.
• If possible it is useful to determine what intensities the players are at during the various anaerobic training session. The best method is to use the polar team system with the heart rates (HR) calibrated to set lactate levels, however if this is not possible then looking at HR zones during training can provide some interesting information.
• It is very important (but uncommon) that players develop upper body anaerobic endurance (especially the forwards - they are supposed to be mobile wrestlers) to enable repetitive upper body strength movements (commonly found in the game - tackling, mauling, rucking etc). A simple method is to perform upper body exercises during the rest period from running and vice versa - the maximal work period for the upper body is usually no more than a minute.
• The ratio of lower body (running) anaerobic endurance work to upper body (weights, dynabands, wrestling drills, pushing and torso etc) exercises that I use is approximately 3-5:1
• Initially anaerobic training involves some fun team activities, the next stage involves simple running and exercise drills. At a later stage game specific drills are included. Anaerobic maintenance involves a predominance of game specific anaerobic drills.
• As always the periodised plan is revised and altered depending on the coaches and team requirements and perceptions combined with performance and fitness testing results

• Touch is an ideal fun introduction to anaerobic interval training
• Players should try and spend as much time as possible on the field
• Games should ideally be of a high standard (fast, continuous, technical and tactically demanding)
• Unfortunately many coaches don't like touch as a they believe that it can form bad habits. My experience is that if appropriately managed touch can provide some really good intensities without the associated high RPE's - in other words the players will often work well within the anaerobic training intensities but because they enjoy it they don't feel as fatigued (which may result in a better training response for some players)

• Introduction to anaerobic training
• Total initial training time 10 minutes
• Total final training time 20-30 minutes
• Work period 10-800 meters
• Rest period as long as player wishes ideally work to rest ratio between 1:1 - 1:4
• Intensity ~90-95% maximum heart rate (>Anaerobic threshold)
• Sessions per week - maximum 2
• The player controls the intensity, work period and the rest period. Therefore the motivated player will often get more out of these sessions than the unmotivated player, for this reason this type of training is often undertaken in the early stages of the anaerobic training.

• Interval running or upper body exercise
• Total initial training time 10 minutes
• Total final training time 20-30? minutes
• Work period: ~ 1 minute (400m)
• Work to rest ratio 1:1 - 1:1/2, eg 1 minute on : 1 minute - 30 second off.
• Intensity ~95% maximum heart rate (>Anaerobic threshold>maximal pace)
• Sessions per week - maximum 2-3
• Session one is usually on Tuesday, Session two is the game & third session would be the second team training session.
• Comments: This is the most common form of rugby training - beware you can train to long in this zone which will result in players dropping out of the anaerobic training zone - therefore you are no longer achieving the correct training stimulus. In real terms this is probably not a problem however if you wish to optimise anaerobic lactacid conditioing you should try and ensure that training is in this zone. Managing the total training time and creating a competitive environment is important.

• Interval running (and/or upper body exercise)
• Total initial training time 10 minutes
• Total final training time 20 minutes
• Work period: less than 1 minute (20-400m)
• Work to rest ratio 1:4 - 1:10, eg 1 minute on : 4 - 10 minutes off.
• Intensity maximum
• Sessions per week - maximum 2-3
• Session one is usually on Tuesday, Session two is the game & third session would be the second team training session.
• Comments: highly competitive environment is essential to maintain maximal performance levels.

• Interval running (and/or upper body exercise)
• Total initial training time 10 minutes
• Total final training time 20-30 minutes
• Work period: 3 seconds - 2 minutes
• Work to rest ratio 1:1/2 - 1:10,
• Intensity 90-100%
• Sessions per week - maximum 2-3
• Session one is usually on Tuesday, Session two is the game & third session would be the second team training session.
• Comments: This is a combination of lactate tolerance and production and is often made up of game specific scenarios (eg wrestling, ball support drills, simple technique drills, mauling, scrimmaging, games etc).
• The technique and tactical requirements are usually higher which I have found reduces physical intensity = eventually may lead to reduction in conditioning. It is hard to motivate the older more experienced players to be work hard as their technical and tactical superiority often allows them to take shortcuts. Therefore these sessions should be modified on a week by week, session by session basis. I often drop the odd hard core weights / running circuit in to reboot the teams conditioning if I think they are deconditioning, however this evaluation is often very subjective (which leads to errors) and you always run the risk of injury by doing a different form of training than the players are used to - so care must be taken in the types of exercises undertaken