So that means at the top of the lift we are not actually overloading the body. "If you have 100kg on the bar then at the bottom it's quite a struggle, but at the top it's easy. "The way the body works with the lever system is that, say with bench press at the bottom of the lift you are weaker than you are at the top," Gill explains. The most grueling use of the bands is in the gym where their resistance is taking weights sessions to new levels. "In the good old days you chucked someone on your back and did 10 metre fireman carries, now we use the bands to sprint against or run against or crawl against," Gill said. Or, conversely, the bands could provide extra resistance to a normal training drill. Players could be catapulted to speeds greater than their legs were naturally capable and likewise, lineout jumpers propelled upwards in the same manner. The technique is used to increase both speed and strength. "The bands are great because the harder you push or pull, the harder you are resisted, but there is an element of give.
"We try to apply assistance or resistance based on what we are trying to achieve," Gill explains. So what's with the harnesses and stretchy jumper leads that are attached to the players? They know how much they squatted last week, so they can say, 'I'll squat another 5 kg this week', or, 'last week I did this and I was a bit flat come Thursday, so I'm going to ease off.'" "You don't want them getting soreness from doing something new. That means nothing out of the ordinary that could throw a player's body out of sync during test week. I like to use the saying, familiarity brings intensity." I just worry about making sure their body is ready to do what they want it to do. There is a lot going on with the coaches and that does that. "So for me it's not about simulating their minds.
There is a lot going on, there are expectation and drive and a big mental load. It is only three weeks, so it's a very intense period. So we keep things very simple, but the guys do them very, very well because they are so pumped. It makes my job easy because they are so motivated. "The expectations around that black jersey create a work ethic that is awesome. Players were so mentally stimulated in the All Blacks environment there was no incentive to over-complicate their physical training, he said. "A guy like Conrad Smith, his performance program for a test match is simple, but he just does it very, very well."