In an ideal world, every tackle session would be against live, resisting training partners. But we don't live in the ideal world, and many athletes are forced to train alone in the off-season. Solo tackle prep is a comprehensive off-season tackle program for exactly these athletes.
Devised by international rugby strength coach, coach educator and grappler, Keir Wenham-Flatt, Solo tackle prep is designed to get the individual rugby athlete as close as possible to game ready tackle technique and conditioning without a training partner.
This program addresses all major tackle techniques and finishes, while progressively overloading tackle specific musculature and energy systems, using commonly available rugby equipment, with NO training partner required.
Solo tackle prep contains detailed, phone friendly PDF programming for up to an 8 week off-season, a 60 minute video explainer, and video exercise demonstrations for all exercises programmed in this guide.
Buy Solo tackle prep risk free today. If you don't think it's worth every penny you've paid, you're entitled a full refund in the first 72 hours after purchase, no questions asked.
Solo tackle prep
The off-season tackle program for rugby athletes who train alone
"But I don't have a training partner"
Tackle bags and shields don't fight back. The harsh reality of tackle training is that to be an elite level tackler, you must train against live, resisting human beings. There is simply no replacement for the ability of a training partner to fight back, adapt, change strategy, and force the tackler to quickly process information and make decisions in real time.
But we don't live in an ideal world. In amateur settings, sometimes even the pros, a common complaint from rugby athletes is "But I don't have a training partner". What are we to do in this situation? Certainly not nothing.
Simply relying on weights and running based conditioning will leave you woefully underprepared. While valuable, these activities simply don't train the positions, movements, or force production qualities needed to develop contact conditioning and robustness.
Rather, the correct approach is to get as close as possible to the ideal scenario, while working under the constraints and challenges of training as a solo athlete.
Solo tackle prep will show you exactly how to do that.
Get as close as possible to the real thing
Rugby off-season training is a fairly simple (not easy, but simple) process. We look at what the game demands of us physically, tactically, technically and psychologically. We create training drills and exercises to develop those qualities. Then we progressively dose the frequency, volume and intensity of those exercises over time as our body adapts to the training.
To state the obvious, if the game demands something of us, and we don't train those qualities with the necessary load in the off-season, we become detrained. And that is the reality for most rugby players who lack training partners and only lift and run for conditioning in the off-season.
By the time pre-season and team rolls around, there's now a substantial gap between what training demands of us and what our bodies can handle. Those first few contact sessions put us into a deep hole. We're being asked to produce force in movement patterns, ranges, directions and metabolic conditions that we've not touched in months.
Rather than adapt positively to training, we're not fit or robust enough to recover in time for the next session. Each new session pushes us further into fatigue. Our best hope is sub-par, stale performance. The worst case scenario is needless soft tissues or concussions because we're a step slow from not training contact.
The best answer to this problem is to train the tackle year round, and to focus extensively on wrestling against live partners in the off-season to build tackle specific conditioning, technique and decision making. If you have the opportunity to do that, stop reading and click here. If you don't, keep reading....
Solo tackle prep
Solo tackle prep is built on the premise that although we can't develop the information processing and decision making for tackling when training alone, we can still make significant progress in training physical qualities of tackling and certain aspects of technique- the stuff we CAN do:
- Exposure to all 4 of the major tackling types against meaningful resistance
- Equal development of all tackle phases: penetration, punching, pushing, prehension
- Force production in tackle specific ranges, directions and planes of motion
- Integration of tackling with other important actions like tumbling and rolling
- Intelligently dosed and progressed aerobic-alactic conditioning
By preparing in this manner, any potential fatigue from re-introducing live tackling in pre-season is minimised. By front loading their physical conditioning with Solo tackle prep, athletes will be able to place a greater emphasis on the technical and tactical aspects of tackling when team rugby resumes, with the necessary robustness to progress quickly tackle training without significant risk of preventable injury.
Who is this guide for and who is it NOT for?
This will be useful for anyone involved in rugby union- players and coaches, male and female, athletes of all ages (though youth players should be supervised).
Individuals from rugby league or American football will still benefit, though there are some differences that will have to be factored into programming, namely the ruck/tackle heights and hand fighting/shedding blocks respectively. Anyone from these sports is invited to purchase the guide and try it out. If you feel it is not a good fit for you or your sport, you are entitled to a 72 hour money back guarantee.
Lastly, this guide is designed with healthy athletes in mind. Injured or return to play athletes will likely need more regression and a more targeted approach than this guide covers.
Who are you and why should I listen to you?
The TLDR is this: I've been involved in rugby for 30 years, professional coaching for 20 years, and grappling for 10 years.
I've worked at the highest levels of professional rugby union, the NRL and Division 1 college football as a strength coach. I understand the demands and constraints of working in a rugby environment.
I've spent several thousand hours training on the mats, learning from elite level coaches, and studying the best grapplers in the world. I understand wrestling and takedowns.
I've got two performance degrees and ran and sold a successful coach education website. I understand motor learning, drill progression and how athletes acquire skills.
I'm biased, but I think I'm fairly well positioned to combine all the necessary elements required to get solo training rugby athletes as close as possible to the demands of live tackling.
The materials in this guide have been developed and refined over the course of years, in the real world, with elite athletes from rugby union, rugby league and American football.
After you sign up
After signing up, you'll receive immediate access to the guide.
Once you've registered for the site and set up a login for yourself, you are welcome to consume the materials at whatever pace is comfortable for you. You'll receive indefinite access so there is no rush.
Materials are presented in two parts- a detailed video explainer that will guide you through the structure, contents and the concepts behind the programming, and the programming itself. It is recommended that you watch the video explainer before beginning the program, but the materials are simple enough that you can dive right in if you are in a rush.
The program contains hyperlinks to all exercise contained within it, and it can also be downloaded in PDF format and "accidentally" forwarded to your friends for free.
If at any point you have a question about any of the materials, simply reach out via email and we'll get right back to you.
"Okay, I'm in. How much?"
Solo tackle is priced at $99- less than $13 per week. Much cheaper and much more rugby specific than paying to cross train at a wrestling or MMA gym, much more effective than just relying on weights and running, and much quicker and easier than trying to assemble a program yourself from exercises and set and rep schemes stolen from instagram.
Solo tackle prep is a comprehensive, easy to follow guide, designed with rugby players like you in mind. It works backwards from game demands, requires only 2 hours per week, and can be performed with equipment that is readily available at 99% of rugby clubs. AND you can continue to use it for the rest or your career.
Try Solo tackle prep risk free
If you're still on the fence and you're not sure if Solo tackle prep is right for you, try the guide risk free. If at any time in the first 72 hours after signing up, you don't think the guide is worth every penny you paid, simply get in touch with us and we'll refund 100% of every penny you paid, no questions asked.