Confessions of a Rugby Amateur

Confessions of a Rugby Amateur

Monday 27 June 2011

The OTHER Giggs Affect

Whatever your personal feelings towards Ryan Giggs are these days – no doubt vastly different from two or three months ago – you mustn’t let it cloud your opinion of him as an athlete.

21 years at Manchester United; 876 appearances; 159 goals; 11 league titles; 4 FA Cups; two Champions League trophies…the sparkling list of accolades goes on.

His revelation that Yoga and Pilates were the main reason for his longevity has sparked a sudden rush to the gym classes. Crystal Palace were quick to jump on the bandwagon, boss Dougie Freedman had his team stretching almost immediately. “If it’s good enough for Ryan Giggs, it’s good enough for us,” he stated at the time…although you’d be hard pressed to hear a similar quote these days!

And so, this Yogic explosion has filtered down to Cow Lane. Our glamorous physio duo, Emily and Alex, have been leading Pilates and core strengthening classes on Tuesday nights.

Rugby and Yoga is an uneasy combination. Not for its obvious ‘girly’ connotations but it makes the ungainly look utterly ridiculous. I felt like even more of a lumbering goon than usual as I wobbled and hobbled around!
The boys doing the 'crab walk' across the pitch...painful and difficult!

However, far from treating these sessions with disdain and indifference, the boys are getting stuck in. You can’t ignore the science and if anything is going to help prevent injuries, keep us playing for longer and give us an edge with improved balance then we’re all for it. I’ll be donning the leotard and flouro sweatbands next week.

His personal profile may be disappearing into the mire but, professionally, Giggsy knows what he is talking about. We’re just hoping for the same level of benefits…well some of the benefits, eh Ryan! ;-)

1 comment:

  1. I've been trying to get into yoga for preseason, refusing to do it in public as it's not pretty! Good luck man and keep the blogging going. Darran

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