Coronavirus: AFL stars share their isolation fitness secrets

How do you stay match fit in isolation? Richmond’s premiership stars have given us a glimpse of their punishing ‘virus workouts’.

Richmond players are staying fit and connected via the video chat app Zoom.

Exercise bikes in courtyards and lounge rooms, suburban ovals as running tracks and even bottles of wine as weights are all part of the isolation survival kit for Richmond’s premiership stars.

Throw in the group chat app Zoom, and the club’s 44 players and coaches are at the cutting edge of elite professional athletes in the coronavirus lockdown that has decimated global sport.

The pandemic doesn’t respect international borders and it certainly doesn’t give Aussie Rules stars a break, so almost 900 players are isolating like the rest of the world. But they do have an added challenge; staying match fit.

Dual premiership veteran Jack Riewoldt should be preparing for Sunday’s Rnd 3 game against St Kilda, and in April is accustomed to sweating it out in front of tens of thousands of fans every April.

Instead, the 262-game Tiger is on an exercise bike in his small suburban courtyard and one-year-old daughter Poppy is the only one looking.

“It comes down to innovation, seeing other things that don’t look like gym equipment around the house, but using them as gym equipment,” the 31-year-old told The Weekend Australian.

“I’ve got a little courtyard, I’ve set my bike up in that. I saw a thing online about using one or two kilo weights and full wine bottle would be sufficient, so I think anyone trying to fill their time with something.

“And like a lot of people, we’re going out for walks, trying to get Poppy out of the house every now and then again.”

Richmond forward Jack Riewoldt with his daughter Poppy.

Richmond players have scattered to their homes for the duration. The players and coaches are banned from Punt Rd. Most players are in Melbourne suburbs but about 10 have gone back to country Victorian and interstate homes. Liam Baker is holed up on his family farm in Pingaring in Western Australia. Just 140 people call the town home.

“I’ve been back at home for just over a week now, helping dad with some sheep work, getting ready for lambing season and, ready for seeding,” he told The Weekend Australian.

“It’s been disappointing to get to the start of the footy season and not be able to play, but I’m loving being at home trying to make the best of an unfortunate situation.”

Tigers follower and 255-game veteran Shane Edwards quipped: “Bakes is in the middle of nowhere, he definitely won’t get it (the virus).”

Peter Burge, the club’s high performance coach, says that Zoom is proving to be a critical tool in keeping the players both fit and emotionally connected.

“It’s a six-week plan, and we’ve broken that into sections covering mental and physical recovery and progressive intensity before they’re expected to return in May,’’ he said.

Zoom sessions are rewriting the training manuals of most professional sporting clubs. Players log in, can see one another on screen and talk, and smash themselves on exercise bikes and weight sessions. Richmond’s “virus fitness’’ routine involves ten different programs based on condition, age, experience of players and is focused on running, weights and skills. There’s also sessions on cycling, pilates, and stretching.

Burge said the club’s Punt Rd gym is empty with the equipment farmed out to the players.

”We’ve delivered bikes, and pilates equipment to their houses. There is nothing in our gym. I’m even mailing resistance bands to them,’’ Burge said.

Riewoldt has credited Zoom with keeping the group connected.

“None of us have been in isolation before so it becomes one of your coping strategies to remain connected with friends and teammates,” he said.

Liam Baker at his farm in WA.

On Friday, most of the 44 playing squad logged into a social Zoom session. As Riewoldt remarked it was “bit more like a Friday night drinks set up, just to shoot shit and see what’s going on”.

Edwards should be dashing out of defence hoping to add to his 2017 and 2019 medals. Instead, even with 6am starts to his exercise routine, he’s left to dart between suburban ovals trying to find one that isn’t too packed. ”It’s still hard to find some space,” he said.

“I run to an oval, see some people there, run to another oval, by the time you’ve checked three ovals, you’ve done your run on roads. You have to get pretty lucky to get an oval to yourself.”

Riewoldt likened the current training routine to the off season schedule but said it’s “bit weird because we don’t have an end date’’.

“We’re just trying to get ourselves hopefully ready to go, at that time,’’ he said, looking forward to the scheduled, but far from certain, return of AFL in June.

“In the off season we can go in and train when we want, but clearly in lockdown at the moment, and the rules the government’s put in place means we can’t go to gyms, so we

have to make do with what we’ve got.’’

Staying in touch via Zoom and other means is crucial in maintaining morale, Riewoldt believes. “Constant connection is the one thing you need. We live in each other’s pockets during the season and when that’s taken away from you … you crave that a little bit.

“Clearly everyone is dealing with the current climate in different ways. It’s hitting some people harder mentally to be honest that’s probably our main focus as well.’’

Footballers are still allowed to have kick-to-kick in twos which, as Riewoldt points out, is proving important: “It’s pretty hard to kick a footy with yourself, you need someone at the other end to kick it back to you.’’

Modern footballers are in tune with emotional health as much as physical conditioning, and Edwards said the players and club were working to make sure the group remained healthy on both fronts.

“I do feel really connected as a playing group, a lot of our Zoom chats have been about connectivity, just by the fact we’re talking about how to stay connected is keeping us connected,” he told The Weekend Australian.

“I hadn’t heard of it (Zoom) before all of this, and I spend half my life on it now.

“It’s good, got the family going on zoom as well. not a bad app, good timing for it.”

Edwards said the players were monitoring each other closely, even if it was via technology.

“Just looking out for some of the other guys you might not have heard from for a while and check in. You know, we’re not that far into the isolation … and just to make sure nothing drops off in terms of looking out for each other, keeping tabs, and if someone has been a bit quieter than usual maybe just checking in,” he said.

Edwards said the remote training sessions were working well.

“The first time we did it I was wondering how the hell are you going to do it; you’ll have 40 off people, staff members, and admin, all jumping in to do

just a five minute push up circuit. How’s this going to work? But we all just muted ourselves so we could listen, and get cracking,” he said.

“It’s been some of the best hands on coaching that I have actually been a part of, really cutting edge and simple.

“For the first few minutes you are just joking around and smiling, seeing everyone’s faces, everyone smiling and laughing. A lot of banter and it lifts your spirits. It’s good to have something to look forward to.

“Even though it feels like it is just a free for all and everyone is out there kind doing their own thing we still need to have a bit of order. And (the older players) are making that extra effort to make sure young guys feel safe and not out on their own. Some of them are away from their families and are on their own.”