FIT FOR
PURPOSE
One of the world’s toughest sports requires a
fitness regime to match. Kevin Sinfield tells
Scheenagh Harrington what it takes to shape up.
F
itness
has come
a long
way in
rugby league,
as former Leeds
Rhinos and England
captain Kevin Sinfield
knows all too well.
The Rugby Football
League’s current Rugby
Director remembers
starting out as a
22 FM
professional at the age
of 16, relying on “gut
feelings” from coaches
who “wanted to reward
us or punish us for the
results of certain games,”
but advances in sport
science changed
everything.
“It became so science
based,” Sinfield said,
“looking at how many
metres you could run a
day and with weight
www.exerciseregister.org
training going from big
groups to individual
sessions, depending on
what position you
played.”
When asked what
changes he saw in
fitness techniques over
his 19-year career,
Sinfield replied: “When
you look at nutrition,
that's massively evolved
since I first started.