Jack Tyler | Performance Coach - Rugby, BJJ, American Football

1min of training. 3 x per week. A rugby study tested a simple self-resisted neck training programme in age-grade rugby union players. The protocol was: 4 x 15-second max-effort neck isometrics 3x per week for 8 weeks Players pushed against their own hands in: 1. Neck flexion 2. Neck extension 3. Left side-flexion 4. Right side-flexion No harness. No machine. No partner. After 8 weeks, the intervention group improved: Total neck strength: +42% from baseline Neck extension: +39% Left side-flexion: +51% Right side-flexion: +57% Flexion: +23% Is it the most “optimal” protocol? No. But it can be done at home. Meaning most athletes will actually stick to it. Attwood et al. (2022), Sports Health — “Eight weeks of self-resisted neck strength training improves neck strength in age-grade rugby union players.”

Here’s how you build them 👇 Plyometrics - 2-3 sessions per week - 4-10 sets per session - Notes: Total sets and reps will vary massively based upon the plyometric you’re using. I’d recommend a mixture of skips, hops, and bounds in all 3 planes of motion. Squats - 1-2 x per week - 3-5 x 3-8 reps - Notes: During the off-season spend more time one higher reps to lay your foundation. During the session, using shorter ranges of motion and less reps if needed. Max Effort Jumps - 2 x per week - 3-6 x 1-5 reps - Notes: Do both horizontal (i.e. broad jumps) and vertical (i.e. box jumps) variations. RDL - 1-2 x per week - 2-4 sets x 3-10 reps - Notes: You can pick any hinge (deadlift, back extension, RDL). I prefer RDLs for the greater hamstring focus. Sprints - 2-3 x per week - 150-300m per session - Accumulate a total of 150-300m per session. In sets of 10-40m reps. Full rest periods between each set. Calf Work - 2 x per week - 2-4 x 3-10 reps per session - Notes: Go heavier than you think you need to. Ferrari’s don’t run on flat tires. Bent-leg hamstring Work - 1-2 x per week - 2-3 x 3-10 reps - Notes: Nordics, GHR, or seated hamstring curls (my favourite). Credit to @gainlinesfitness for the clip Hope you find it useful!

The best exercises have the highest risk of injury * Sprints tear hamstrings * Plyometrics blow out knees * Deadlifts hurt backs * Dips stress shoulders The secret isn’t avoiding, it’s dosing. Stress drives adaptation.

A better hamstring exercise than Nordics? Nordics are great. This version is particularly awesome with the overloaded eccentric. However, like any exercise, they’re not without limitations. They don’t train the biceps femoris long head at long muscle lengths. And they can be impractical to load for bigger or weaker athletes. If you constantly strain your hamstring, you might want to sprinkle in seated (2-1) hamstring curls. Shout out to @niksotosek for the insane hamstring strength and his coach @curlycoach_ad

Play games > rigid conditioning programs Well structured conditioning programs are awesome… If you actually stick to them and give them your full energy But most athletes don’t need it Because they wont stick to it Picking up another sport in your off season (tag rugby, tennis, football, padel – it doesn’t matter) can be one of the best ways to build general conditioning without knowing it. Plus get heaps of speed, agility, and real “athletic training”

Best Training Split for Athletes - nobody knows LINK IN MY STORY (for YouTube breakdown) 👆Includes full off-season and in-season programs The only split that considers speed, power, conditioning, and mostly importantly - your sport.

5 Off-season Programs That Actually Work Here’s what happens to most contact athletes in the off-season: They drift into powerlifting mode: ✅ Add 10kg to their bench, which is awesome BUT ❌ Skip sprints ❌ Avoid hard conditioning ❌ Gain 4kg of fat Then the season hits and they’re slow, deconditioned, and feeling anything but athletic. Here are 5 off-season programs that keep you fit and athletic while building size and strength: 1️⃣ Strength and Size Program What you build: Serious strength and size Good for: Beginners/intermediates who need to get bigger and stronger without losing speed and conditioning Bad for: Athletes who are gym strong but lack power and speed on the field 2️⃣ High-Low Speed What you build: Speed, strength, and size Good for: Players with limited time, need to focus on size and strength, or are new to speed training Bad for: Athletes used to higher volume speed training or who need to get fitter 3️⃣ Fast, Fit and Strong What you build: Speed and conditioning without burning out Good for: Gym strong intermediates/advanced athletes who need to build speed and conditioning Bad for: Beginners who need size and strength 4️⃣ Balanced Program What you build: All key physical traits – my top pick for advanced athletes Good for: Advanced or pro-level players needing comprehensive development Bad for: Beginners/intermediates with busy lifestyles or who need to target specific qualities 5️⃣ Engine Builder What you build: A huge engine while maintaining size and speed Good for: Intermediates/advanced athletes needing to focus on conditioning Bad for: Beginners who need to build size and strength

The “big 9” for athletes Skips, sprints, jumps, throws. Push, pull, squat, hinge. Your big rocks. Sure, there’s other valuable exercises: - Heavy calf raises - Rotation - Neck work etc But these are secondary. The art of training isn’t fancy exercises. It’s smart application of basic tools. Never drift from them. Via @chicagobears

Neck Strength Doesn’t Prevent Concussions I got this wrong… here’s why. I used to think neck training reduced concussion risk. Now I think its effect is small, if it exists at all. Back in the early 2020’s there was a study flooding instagram: “For every pound of neck strength, odds of concussion is reduced by 5%” (Collins et al., 2014) Coaches and athletes were well intentioned in sharing it. Logically it makes sense – a stronger neck will resist head motion Which reduces the risk of brain injury. Turns out, no. And I’m still ashamed of my lack of vigor before sharing this study. Here’s my current view: Neck research started on cats… (1940-1970) The protocol was pretty fucked up. They strapped cats heads down And shot them with a bolt gun… They found if that cats head was in a fixed position They didn’t get concussed (although a lot died…) Therefore, researchers assumed that if you can increase your neck strength You can resist head motion during impact (i.e. neck stiffness) And, therefore, reduce concussion risk There’s one huge problem Peak brain strain occurs ~15ms after head impact (Viano et al., 2007) It’s instantaneous. As soon as you’re hit, you’re concussed. But, your neck only starts contacting 80ms after impact i.e. by the time your neck contracts, the damage is already done, meaning strength isn’t that valuable Where neck strength may help is: In situations where we know the impact is coming and we have the time to brace for it However, you’d probably move your neck out the way… 😂 So for now, isolated neck strength training has little to no effect on concussions (Ivanic et al., 2024) However, please, don’t bin neck training. A stronger neck can help reduce neck pain and neck injuries, both of which are common in contact and combat sports. In some cases, it may also reduce headaches. It may also help reduce head acceleration in controlled situations when the impact is anticipated.

“10 sets of mum said no to buying a new toy”. Best comment on the original video 😂 Tantrums are a decent exercise. Not amazing. They’re useful for two main reasons: 1. They teach the hamstrings to contract and relax quickly 2. They build high-speed eccentric rate of force development in positions that somewhat resemble sprinting The study I mentioned was Tsaklis (2015). It’s worth noting that higher EMG activity does not automatically mean an exercise is more effective. That study used the prone version of hamstring tantrums. If I were going to program them, I’d usually choose the seated version, as it trains the hamstrings at longer muscle lengths, in a position that looks more like late swing in sprinting. That said, I rarely use them outside of hamstring rehab. For most athletes, a solid sprint programme will give you most of the stimulus you need. Credit to @alaga.eli and @ninnick for the clips.

How to Build ‘Power’ Most people think that increasing your power makes you: -              smash tackles -              sprint faster -              dominate collisions -              jump higher That’s not accurate.   In fact, chasing power (force x velocity) shouldn’t be the end goal If you want to move yourself faster, jump higher, or hit someone harder - You need to change or express your own momentum (mass x velocity) Power doesn’t change momentum. Impulse does. There’s two ways to increase impulse (force x time) 1. You produce more force And/or 2. You do it over a longer period of time But usually in sport - you can’t extend the time. You need to produce force rapidly to hit someone hard, sprint fast, or dominate a collision. That’s why I believe most contact athletes should focus on getting strong and sprinting. It will not only improve your force production, but your ability to apply it within the specific time period of the sport. Yet, context is king. It does depends what your current strength and weakness are (see my last few posts). But for most contact athletes, I think this is a pretty useful ranking of power exercises.

Size matters but… Speed kills. Speed is one of the most important qualities in rugby - being a sport of evasion and collisions. But most people only focus on the collision part. Speed isn't just genetic. It can be built. As a rule of thumb. You should be doing at least: - 150m of skips per week (ankling, A-skips, straight-leg skips) - 3 sets of heavy calf raises at least once per week (build ankle stiffness) - 20-40 max effort ballistic jumps - 30-50 hops and bounds per week - 150m+ of sprinting at least once per week But, most importantly, play. Game speed beats gym speed every time. Don’t just spend more time playing rugby. Play tag rugby. Tag rugby. Football. Tennis. American Football. Whatever. Particularly from a young age. A broad base of sports will build agility, “game speed”, elasticity, and game IQ more than any gym session.