Any Time, Any Place, Anywhere – The Martini Gym

Practical ways to creating your own work out apparatus.

If you don't have access to the real thing, Chris Sheryn in Rugby for Real has come up with some interesting ways to doing fitness and conditioning work at home.

Bench press

Chris warns that whilst this exercise works it can hurt!

Layout three dinning chairs. Put your feet on one and your hands on the other two. Then do a "press up" bottoming out when your hands are level with your chest. You can use a rucksack with some bags of sugar for extra weight. Or you can put the "feet" chair higher for an inclined bench press.

Key coaching points:

Keep your back straight.
Go down slowly and then up "hard and fast".
Don't bounce off the bottom of the exercise.
Remember. You are bench pressing your body weight, so don't add much extra weight if you are starting out.

Dips

Have the same arrangement of chairs as for the bench press. However in this case your hands must be level with the rear of your hips. The same key coaching points apply to these dips as to the bench press.

Real bicep curls

Using an old suitcase or builders bucket, filled with bricks or sand, stand about two feet from a wall. Lean against the wall and pick up the bucket/suitcase in one hand. Your hand should move vertically upwards, with your elbow moving up and backwards.

Key coaching points:

Curl up and then hold. Lower slowly.
Start with your arm as straight as possible.
Use a short piece of rope through the handle if the bucket / suitcase prevents a full curl.

Adapted from Chris Sheryn’s Rugby For Real. Published by A&C Black.