Wigan Warriors head to UCLan for strength and conditioning training
Straight on the back of a 25-0 victory over rivals St Helens the Wigan Warriors first team squad has been back in intense training with help from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).
The players were put through their paces at UCLan Sports Arena’s specialist strength and conditioning suite, which is fully equipped with Keiser pneumatic machines and Olympic weight lifting equipment, before training on the arena's rugby pitches.
Alongside the Warriors’ own coaching staff, UCLan students were also able to get involved in the sessions to gain vital practical experience working with professional athletes.
The training is part of an ongoing sponsorship deal that UCLan has as the ‘official university' of the Super League club, which sees the Warriors also benefit from pre-season fitness testing, video analysis support from UCLan and a number of University degree places for its staff.
"We have a fantastic relationship with UCLan and regularly come here during the off-season to test the players and see where they’re at."
Wigan Warriors Head Coach, Shaun Wane, said: “We have a fantastic relationship with UCLan and regularly come here during the off-season to test the players and see where they’re at.”
“The facilities at UCLan are great so we thought it would be a great chance to head up here to freshen the players up and to just do something different.”
“We love working with UCLan and are really thankful for letting us use the facilities here.”
Jamie Winter, a sport and exercise physiology student who has just completed his master's, was one of the students who worked with the players during the training session.
He commented: “Being able to assist the lads with their weights sessions and to monitor their workload and intensity using the GPS system has given me invaluable experience that no text book can give. This has given me a far more critical outlook for discussions when writing my research.”
The Warriors academy squad will also visit UCLan this week for a similar training drill.