Wigan’s Isa doing his bit as NHS volunteer

Despite not being able to play, Wigan Warriors back rower Willie Isa is doing his bit to help the local community after becoming an National Health Service (NHS) volunteer.

The 31-year-old signed up to the scheme earlier this week and is now one of over 505,000 British public volunteers who have enlisted to help battle the coronavirus.

He is combining his new role with a makeshift training schedule as players look to stay in shape during the enforced suspension from playing activity.

“We have to help each other, our neighbours and the community the best we can do in these difficult times,” he said. “I’m doing the best I can to live my life every day and help those people who are not doing so well.

“It’s put things into perspective. I’m doing the best I can to stay fit. It is hard but there is a bigger issue than rugby league at the minute.

“I’m pushing myself to keep to a decent shape and to get the best out of myself.”

With little to no access to the Warriors’ regular training facilities, Isa has been forced to get creative with workouts and has resorted to using household items as part of his workouts.

“I’m going off what we have previously done in training. I’ve got some ‘jail’ weights and I also use my two bins to do some dips on them. I put the bar on top of the bins and start squatting.

“I’m in contact with our coaching staff in terms of the schedule they want us to do each day. As no one knows when we will return to normal training, everyone is trying to keep fit at the minute. I also use the one ‘exercise a day’ wisely and go for a good, decent run.”

“I’ve turned my schedule into a mini pre-season. It’s about doing the long runs, long repetitions on the weights and doing the best you can.

“I thought I was slowly getting into the game fitness, but you can’t replicate that when there’s no games. That’s the hardest thing for players – trying to replicate that game fitness and at the minute, the only way to keep that up is going back to that pre-season mindset – trying to keep yourself as fit as possible in the legs with what you’ve got at your disposal.

“It’s about stripping back to the basics and remember to what I was doing when I was a kid and what my dad taught me. It’s about the pure old school running and push ups. I’m lucky that I’ve got a bar here and a few weights too.

“It tests you as an athlete – it’s not about what you’ve got, it’s also about the mindset you’ve got. I take my 31-year-old self to that 12-year-old Willie Isa where I was determined to do whatever I could to get myself fit.”