Josh Charnley is taking to the open waters of Lancashire in a bid to create Super League history.
The Warrington winger used his longest off-season in memory to take regular icy dips in Chorley’s Rivington Reservoir, in a bid to improve his recovery time and prolong his playing days.
Now 30, the former Wigan and Sale Sharks man is hoping that life under new attack-minded coach Daryl Powell will help him topple Danny McGuire as the competition’s most prolific player.
Charnley explained: “I’ve got my eyes on being Super League all-time top try scorer and I’m not too far from it. Danny McGuire’s got it at the moment - I think he’s got 247 and I’m on 195. Hopefully I can get a few tries this year and see where it goes
“I’m getting to the back end of my career now and I need to start taking care of my body. I’ve been getting in the local reservoir near me.
“It’s freezing, but when you’re in there you don’t think about anything else - it’s just about yourself and your breathing. You can reflect and I enjoy that me time, I will keep on going.
“This is the first off season in four or five years where I’ve not had an injury or operation. I’ve not been in a sling, I’ve not been on crutches. I’ve looked after myself a bit better, got on top of old niggles and generally I’m feeling good.”
Charnley has combined his watery sessions with cutting edge recovery shorts from Hytro that use blood flow restriction BFR technology to build strength in his legs.
He says that has seen his performance in the gym during pre-season hit new heights, preparing for a campaign in which the Wolves look to finally end their 67-year title drought.
Last season finished in desperately disappointing circumstances with a home play-off defeat to Hull Kingston Rovers, signalling the end of coach Steve Price’s reign.
Now former Castleford boss Powell is hoping to inject new life into Warrington’s squad - and Charnley says the team will be a different proposition in 2022. He added: “Daryl’s changed everything, and hopefully the fans will see that.
“In pre-season training we’ve looked really good. At the weekend against Wigan we didn’t do what we’ve been learning, but it was our first hit-out and it’ll come together. Hopefully we can start well and then kick on.”
* Josh Charnley is an advocate of Hytro, the leader in Performance TechWear, integrated with blood flow restriction technology which is proven to drive muscle growth, improve performance and rapidly speed up recovery www.hytro.com.
