Train to be YOUR Best

I was lucky enough to work with Gilly for eight years throughout the second half of my rugby career.

I really enjoyed the way he listened to each player in order to understand their needs and then design training programs to suit. This showed up in the years I was working under Gilly, we had one of the best physically conditioned teams in the world. It was never a one size fits all approach to achieving this.

Towards the end of my professional career, I had the inevitable injuries and wear and tear to deal with. Gilly’s ability to be innovative and flexible helped minimize these affects, but also enabled me to still make the gains I needed in a strength and fitness sense. This was a huge reason I was able to maintain my level of performance right to my last game.

The most important feeling I had working with Gilly was I always trusted the advice and training plans he put together for me. Whether it was to push a little harder or to take more time for recovery, he always got this spot on. He had a great feel for the big picture and shaped his advice to suit. It meant every time I took the field I felt confident I’d done everything to be in the best shape possible to perform.

I was lucky to work under Gilly for so long who I consider one of the best!

I was fortunate enough to have Gilly as a Strength and Conditioning coach for the majority of my All Black career. Through this time I quickly learned he was world-class. His knowledge of High Performance and what it took to get his athletes trained to perform at the highest level for many years was something I admired.

In 2014 after playing professional rugby for 13 years there was evidence it was taking its toll on my body. I reached out to Gilly to rebuild my body during a 6-month sabbatical. I came back stronger and 2015 was my best year yet and I went on to achieve a lot more in my career finally finishing years later. I put a lot of this success down to the knowledge Gilly shared with me to maintain my body to be able to perform at the highest level week in week out.

He also understands the balance required for the individual athlete when it comes to training. Knowing when to push his athletes hard or when it’s time to make the session fun and enjoyable with humour or even when he taps you on the shoulder and tells you to sit the session out to take some more time on your recovery. An art that not all S&C trainers have.

I’ve had the privilege of working with Gilly for the last 10 years and he is without doubt the best trainer I have worked with.

Apart from being an all round top man, his strengths as a strength & conditioning trainer are many. I’ve always admired the way he has an understanding of the athlete and because of this he can create training programmes that are realistic to complete while still knowing how to challenge you to get better and work harder in certain areas.

He has taught me that training, regardless of what you are targeting is about doing the basics really well, training quality with consistency and looking after your body. He has helped me develop good habits before, during and post training and ultimately taught me to love training and push my body to get better.

Gilly has changed my body, I went from being a skinny weak tall kid into a strong explosive athlete. The only way I have been able to play at the highest level for over 13 years, is from the changes my body has gone under.

I started playing for the All Blacks at 106kgs I’m 122kgs now and leaner than I was at 106kgs.

Gilly has the ability to get the best out of every session, he has the personality to get you to give that last maximal effort which allows the greatest growth. Whether this is a gym session, running block, or a stretch session.

Knowing when to push and when to take reps and sets out is the difference between Gilly and the rest!

Love his passion and his work ethic towards our physical & recovery aspect of training. Gilly has a great way of keeping things simple and explaining it but also trying to find ways to make us better athletes.

As a front rower, having some good healthy weight behind you always helps , especially when packing down for the scrum. Just as important is also having the ability to move around the park and nail your core roles well.

Gilly helped me find the balance of being at a good playing weight while being mobile.

A quick coffee session with Gillies helped me realize my goal of donning the glorious black jersey at the age of 29. I became one of the oldest players to debut for the All Blacks and I've come to realize that by being equipped with the right knowledge and having the right motivation to reach your goals, anything is possible no matter the shape or size, age or gender.

I’ve known Gilly for the best part of my adult life, from lecturing me at Wintec in 2004 to working with him throughout my entire All Blacks career. The great thing about Gilly as a trainer is that he genuinely cares about everyone he works with. It isn’t just about the numbers for Gilly, he can connect and push the most experienced player while at the same time build trust and motivate the rookies who came into the team.

I personally benefitted from Gilly across my career, he was able to push me to places physically where I wouldn’t have imagined I could ever reach. I know this as every year in my career I improved physically, even as I was in my mid-30s. He did this through utilizing my strengths and working on my weaknesses to develop greater aerobic capacity and building strength in unique ways adapted to my body and injuries.

Gilly or Nic Gill as many know him by was my physical conditioning trainer for around 10 years whilst playing for the All Blacks.

The one thing that sticks out for me when people ask about Gilly is his ability to listen and get a real understanding of how your body works and reacts and will adapt to any situation thrown at him.

The detail that goes into his training specifics and position specifics is world-class.

An example of this was when I had bad patella tendinitis which limited my ability to squat and build size and muscle around my quads. But we adapted and found other ways I could train without overloading the tendon so I was able to perform at peak performance.

Gilly is a World-class trainer but an even better man got nothing but love for Gilly and by far my greatest trainer.

I had the pleasure of working with Nic for twelve years through my Junior and Senior ALL BLACKS career . Being lucky enough to work with Nic for that amount of time allowed us to form a great professional relationship but also an awesome friendship. I learned and developed so many skills working with Nic, but the most important for me is that he helped me become the best that I could be through constant work on knowing what will work for me. From weekly training planning discussions to making sure that each session is beneficial for me.

I would not have been able to achieve the heights that I reached if it wasn’t for the continuous work and friendship I had with Nic. Working with a trainer and working hard is one thing but having a great connection and that close work/friendship/respect really made a difference to my approach to everything. We worked really hard and having that close link really helped our process.

Truly grateful for everything thing that Nic did for me.

Working with you guys has helped me improve my knowledge in rugby. Preparing well for upcoming trainings and games. Not just on the field but off-field too. I’ve really enjoyed the new training schedules and the things planned out and just doing them! 

One-one coaching is for players that want their game to go to the next level and seeing a different perspective, also seeing some great results and performances. 

Thank you very much! 

ofa atu!

Just want to say, overall, as kind of a first week to see where I am. I've been really impressed with the testing and the range of stuff you've done, especially for myself as a coach. You’ve given me some great ideas for things to test.

Also after working with several coaches for a while, I've found this one a lot better and a lot more worth what I'm actually paying for than some of the other coaches I've tried.

So big thanks to you guys and really excited to see what the plan of attack is going to be for the next four weeks.

Thanks very much!

Working with you has improved my game immensely.

The coaching I receive has help me both physically and mentally with my game. Anything from getting game day prep ready, day-day routines, and working around the demands of my everyday life.

The programs you make for me are great and tailored to my needs and keep me growing as an athlete.

You’ve helped me come back from injury, rebuild my body, and the mental aspects of my game as well as helping me recognize how life outside of rugby can affect me.

I appreciate all the work from Gilly and Bucky!

When I joined Rugby Ready, my main goal was to gain weight and increase my strength to become a dominant contact player in the French Rugby League.

With their incredible knowledge and attention to detail, Gilly and Bucky enabled me to gain 8kg and improve my strength drastically within 4 months.

Rugby Ready pushed me to my limits, allowing me to not only recover from injury but also surpass my previous fitness levels. I was amazed at my swift progress, equalising my front squat PB, improving my bench press with 20 kg and weighted pull up with 8 kg within 4 months with their meticulously developed and managed programmes.

The impact of Rugby Ready was evident on the field. My improved physicality and mental toughness were key factors in my selection for the Springbok squad. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work with such a dedicated and knowledgeable team. If you are serious about taking your rugby career to the next level, I highly recommend Rugby Ready

Rugby Ready is the bridge between ambitious rugby players and world class level performance. If you need support to execute on your goals this is it.

Training through Rugby Ready its been a wild ride to be honest. Bucky as a coach is amazing, whether it is as my coach or as just some to talk to when you are having a tough week or you need to a quick recap about your program. I remember the last 1-1 call me and Bucky had and I was down and out and scared to make a step up as an S&C because I thought I might not be good enough because I was scared that I might mess up and get someone injured. In the end he made me see the light that making a mistake is not the end of the world you keep moving forward. I told him "Who would've thought I'd fear something so small instead of a bigger lad on the field" 😅.

Since then I have made changes in my life to better myself and not look at situations in that way when I am training young athletes, that I know I have the skill and knowledge to train them. Bucky invited me to the coaches corner to better my self as an S&C where I sat and just sucked up information like a sponge when Gilly and Bucky talked, and I have learned so much.

To any young man or woman wanting something different and to better their rugby, I would say Rugby Ready is the way to go. 

I’m really happy with the additional durability I’ve gain since working with Bucky. I really struggled with shoulder injuries that were nagging and something that I just couldn’t get over. Working with Bucky in strengthening those areas has been really helpful.

Prior to 1-1 coaching, I generally struggled with nutrition, the mental aspect of training/matches, and having a consistent long-term plan to work towards.

The top results that I’ve gotten in my rugby career so far have been improving my college team from the bottom table team to a team that can compete throughout the Midwest for 7s. Also, I’m very happy with how much better of an all-around player I’ve become. I think the true benefit that I’ve gained from my Rugby career has been the relationships that I’ve made and people I’ve met along the way.

I enjoyed working with Bucky as he is a true professional and gives great advice all around in all facets of training and in life.

One result I found whilst working with Bucky is finding balance between strength and fitness and being able to maintain a good routine throughout the course of the program and knowing when to rest and when to put in work. 

Three things I struggled with prior to starting was nutrition, fitness and being able to find balance within the game of rugby such as strength,power, speed and fitness.

Things I enjoy about working with Bucky is he’s very flexible and able to adapt on the fly such as if I get an injury he changes the program to suit your injury and he’s really open to talk to and gives his advice where needed and also just a great bloke in general, wouldn’t be in the position I am standing today without him so overall he’s a top man.

The Coaches Corner mentorship program helped me boost my confidence in my coaching skills and methodology.

Lectures and especially Q&A calls are precious for our job.

Having a group of competent people in your corner gives you confidence and knowledge. Learning from other coaches experiences and helping other coaches it’s not only a way to upskill, but also to build a network.