Why am I fit in the gym but gassed on the pitch?

You know the feeling. Crushing your gym sessions all week, hitting personal bests, feeling unstoppable. Then Saturday comes around and you're blowing after two phases of play whilst your mate who barely touches weights is still making tackles in the 79th minute.

It's one of the most frustrating experiences in rugby. And it's more common than you think.

The gym fitness trap

Here's what's happening in your typical gym session. You're doing sets of 8-12 reps with 60-90 seconds rest between exercises. Your heart rate spikes, you recover, then you go again.

It's predictable, controlled, and nothing like rugby.

Rugby players cover 4-7km during a match, but only 24% of that distance is at walking pace. The rest is explosive sprinting, aggressive rucking, and sustained physical contact—all whilst making split-second decisions under pressure.

Your body adapts specifically to what you train it for. Train it for controlled gym movements with predictable rest, and that's exactly what it gets good at.

What rugby actually demands

Rugby uses three energy systems simultaneously:

Aerobic capacity: Your base engine for 80 minutes and quick recovery between efforts.

Glycolytic power: Sustained high intensity for 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Think driving mauls or defending multiple phases.

Phosphocreatine system: Pure explosive power for 10-15 seconds. Sprinting for the line, explosive rucking, big tackles.

Most gym programmes only train one of these effectively. Usually the wrong one.

The strength disconnect

Your 120kg bench press is impressive, but when did you last find yourself lying on your back with perfect form during a match?

Rugby strength needs to be:

• Applied at speed with imperfect form

• Maintained under fatigue in minute 78

• Multi-directional with forces from everywhere

• Integrated with running, jumping, changing direction

The conditioning gap

Research shows rugby players perform high-intensity efforts every 30-60 seconds during matches, with work periods lasting 5-20 seconds followed by incomplete recovery.

Your 30-minute steady run trains a completely different energy system. Your 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off HIIT session is closer, but still too predictable with too much recovery.

What rugby fitness actually looks like

Rugby conditioning needs to mirror the game's chaos:

• Varied work intervals: 5-second sprints mixed with 45-second defensive sets and 2-minute attacking phases

• Incomplete recovery: You don't fully recover between efforts in rugby

• Movement-specific patterns: Sprinting, rucking, lifting under fatigue

• Position-specific demands: A prop's needs are vastly different from a winger's

The solution

The fix isn't abandoning the gym—it's being smarter about how you train.

Integrate strength with conditioning. Train energy systems specifically for rugby demands. Add unpredictability and decision-making to your sessions. Focus on your position's actual requirements.

This is exactly why we built CURVA. We got tired of seeing players frustrated by the gap between gym fitness and rugby performance.

Our programmes integrate strength and conditioning based on your specific position demands. Whether you're a prop who needs strength endurance for scrum after scrum, or a winger who needs explosive acceleration and recovery, your programme trains the right fitness for your game. Because being fit in the gym means nothing if it doesn't translate to the pitch.

Ready to train fitness that actually transfers to rugby? Download CURVA and build your first position-specific programme today.