“
VEST
LEGGINGS
insight into the team's fitness: “I
was at an England training session
this morning and I get the full GPS
readouts sent to me so I’m able to
look and monitor and see what’s
going on with the game. It’s a really
interesting side to it. I would say
though, stats don’t always tell the
true picture. There are some
elements in our game in particular
that can’t be measured, such as
leadership and game
management.
COMPRESSION CLOTHES
Success is
getting the
best out of
yourself.”
“Sometimes you can have a player
who is invaluable on the field
because of the way he affects the
performers around him. You can’t
measure that. Statistical analysis
may say that player is
underperforming, but actually he’s
a huge part of why the team’s
successful.”
For fitness professionals wanting to
enter rugby league – or any sport –
Sinfield’s advice is perhaps
unsurprising for such a respected
and popular figure: “The best bit of
advice I could give anybody would
be about attitude. I think it’s the
one thing you can control.
“If you can turn up with some
enthusiasm and some energy, then
you can be a success at anything, I
truly believe it.
“Success means a lot of different
things to different people, but for
me it’s about getting the best out
of yourself. I think if you’re able to
do that, that’s what’s truly
important.”
Today, rugby league is stuffed with tech to help
players, but for Sinfield, compression clothing,
which was introduced in the last few years of
his time as a player, made the biggest
impression.
“They're good for training
enhancement but
recovery as well,” he said.
“As I got older, I found it
really helpful to recover
and I also enjoyed training
in it.”
Former Olympic sprinter
and FM Expert Panellist
Emily Freeman was
similarly impressed when
she used it for recovery,
but warns: “If you're looking
to maximise recovery,
compression wear is
absolutely something to
consider, but things like
sleep and nutrition are
more important elements
to get right first.”
The Science for Sport
website acknowledges
that joint awareness, blood
flow, waste removal,
swelling and post-exercise
muscle soreness all may
be aided by compression
clothes. However, it warns:
“This current body of
research is of low-quality
and riddled with large
inconsistencies – meaning
the information should be
accepted with caution.”
A study by, of all
organisations, Nike,
echoes that note of
restraint. Lead researcher
Ajit Chaudhari said: “We
don’t see any evidence
that they result in
improvement in
performance.”
In summing up current
research, even Science for
Sport acknowledge that
the only harm in wearing
compression clothes is
likely to be felt by your
wallet. “As no negative
effects on performance
have been observed,
compression garments
remain a recommended
tool for promoting
recovery and thus
influencing subsequent
performance.”
@REPsUK
FM 25