29 June
Bleep Test
Level 10.2 (previous 9.5)
Brandon Carter Ab Assault, 3 rounds
As I said last week, I managed 10.1 in rugby training last pre-season so happy to go an extra 20m today. Why on earth I wore lycra in this heat I have no idea, but if I wear loose shorts there’s probably an extra 0.1 or 0.2 in my legs. Have a week holiday and likely no internet so next update probably 8-9th July.
1 July
21km hike with 900m elevation
2 July
20km hike with 800m elevation
3 July
24km hike with 1250m elevation
5 July
15km hike with 850m elevation
Weather on holiday was average so girlfriend and I decided to make the most of the trekking routes through the mountains. She had GPS on her phone which tracked our walks and that had breakdowns for pace as well. Pace per km was between 10-15 mins depending on the steepness and terrain, sweated buckets as it was still 28 celsius and we had a backpack with water etc. to carry too.
I was out of breath for any climb longer than 30 seconds and I thought it was great aerobic conditioning, plus for sustained climbs I could feel my quads. Last hike was three days ago and the muscle condition in my legs feels poor.
It’s my second season with this South London rugby club so i’m signed up to the group e-mails and we’ve been informed that this evening is the fitness tests. I’d like to hit 10.5 on the bleep test and if it’s max. pressups and burpees in 2 minutes like last year I feel i’m near enough in the same shape to repeat those scores (80ish, 42).
8 July
Rugby Training - Fitness Tests
10 & 30m run (same run, through two timing gates) - 1.86 & 4.20, 1.79 & 4.08
Standing Broad Jump - 2.45m, 2.46m
Shuttle Run (1200m total - 5 x 20,40,60m) - 5 mins 16 secs
Not what I was expecting, much prefer these tests but I know fitness is where I suck. Fastest 30m at the club was 4.03, these were timed all with gates so it was basically off first movement like NFL combine. Biggest broad jump was 2.47m, narrowly missed out. Best 1200m was 4:19…I was overly conservative on the pace and ended up cruising through it only a few seconds off the stocky forwards.
9 July
BW 74.8kg (165lbs)
Speed Skaters 3 x 10
Depth Jump 3 x 5
Power Clean 3 x 5 x 75kg - felt tough
Front Squat 5 x 5 x 80kg - very scrappy technique, didn’t like these as my lower back felt shit
Clap Push Up 3 x 10
Bench Press 2 x 5 x 80kg, 3 x 5 x 85kg - chest felt sore and didn’t bother trying 90kg
Chin Ups 9, 10, 7, 6, 5
A1 T-Bar Row 8, 8, 10 x 55kg - struggled with a weak-feeling back from front squats
A2 Front Raise 3 x 10 x 5kg
Altered my session having got a list of exercises to focus on from rugby S&C coach. More power and explosive work as well as plyometrics. It’s 2.5 weeks since my last full weights so felt a bit rusty, front squat was pretty poor but I think i’ll pick it up quickly.
10 July
Brandon Carter Ab Assault, 3 rounds
11 July
5 x (5 x 100m) with 4 mins rest
1:47.4, 1:54.1, 1:54.1, 1:52.9, 1:54.1 (average 1:52.5)
Having run 5:16 for 1200m shuttle runs in fitness testing I wanted to set an ambitious target of 4:30, which is 22.5 secs per 100m. With that in mind I only needed 90 secs for 4 x 100m, which I did last time, so I stretched it out to 5 x 100m and set a target of 1:52.5 which I hit perfectly. Next week it’ll be 6 x 100m with the aim of under 2:15. We have conditioning on Mondays but I e-mailed the S&C guy and it turns out there’s speed work too so i’ll use that as my speed session and that’s why today is aerobic work.
I was probably pushing at 6.5/10 in terms of exhaustion, and as soon as I play a full game i’m wheezing away at 9.5/10, so need to stop messing around and really address my fitness instead of cruising through pre-season fitness and busying myself with weights.
[quote]Fezz wrote:
I was probably pushing at 6.5/10 in terms of exhaustion, and as soon as I play a full game i’m wheezing away at 9.5/10, so need to stop messing around and really address my fitness instead of cruising through pre-season fitness and busying myself with weights.[/quote]
Sounds like a good idea.
tweet
13 July
Rugby Training
Sprint Drills, Plyometrics, Accelerations
4 x 90 sec ~422m
Touch Rugby
Shuttle Runs 3, 2, 1
Not the intensity I was expecting but last year it picked up dramatically in week 2 so won’t complain. Lots of drills, plyo’s etc. that i’m used to from sprints, glad they are introduced as some of the running techniques in the team are awful. Did some 5 x 80m runs round the track, they put outside backs in lane 4 so it was 3 x 2 x pi x 1.2 (width of track lane) = 22.6m more for us than lane 1, so about 422m to cover. Nice way to do it, front row, back row, inside back, outside back. We then finished with the S & C coach and did some simple touch games and a few minutes of suicides to finish.
From a combination of work commitments and being overlooked for selection I only managed to get 5.5 games for the 3rd XV last year out of a possible 22, scoring four tries. I had 4 games for 4th/5th’s and 1 try for them. This year I want to establish myself as a regular in the 3rd’s as that’s the best way for me to improve my game.
15 July
BW Jump Lunges 3 x 10
Broad Jump 3 x 5 , best of 8.3 shoe lengths ~ 2.45m (8ft)
Back Squat (fast up) 3 x 5 x 90kg
Back Squat 3 x 5 x 110kg, 2 x 5 x 100kg - plyometric work and fast squats seemed to take more out of me than I thought
Bent Over Row 3 x 6 x 60kg
OHP 5 x 5 x 47.5kg - this was super easy, did 45/47.5 a month ago and could have done 50+ today
Pullups 5 x 7
Single Arm DB Bench 6 x 22.5kg, 6 x 25kg, 2 x 6 x 27.5kg - other hand empty so it was stability work too
Tricep Dips 3 x 10
Had to do this session straight from work, forgot BCAA’s and my mid-workout banana, so it was quite laboured by the end. No idea how it took me over two hours to complete this, need to limit my time between exercises. I was happy with the plyometrics but by the time I got to 5 x 5 my legs were giving me nothing. Walking lunge and OHP were too easy this week but everything else was about right. Happy with single arm bench, only did it because i can never find a matching pair of DB’s in my gym as one is normally missing or damaged.
Hey man awesome log!! Check mine out - should be getting checked and approved by a mod soon! Hope mine goes on as long as this! Really good work. I’ll sub as soon as I figure out how hahah.
[quote]RugbyJ wrote:
Hey man awesome log!! Check mine out - should be getting checked and approved by a mod soon! Hope mine goes on as long as this! Really good work. I’ll sub as soon as I figure out how hahah.[/quote]
Hey RugbyJ, good to have you logging on here. What league are you in and what position do you play?
17 July
Speed Skaters 3 x 10 - arrrghghhhhh, pulled my right adductor doing these
Clap Pushups 3 x 10
A1 Power Clean 3 x 5 x 75kg
A2 Depth Jump 3 x 5
Front Squat 5 x 5 x 80kg - much better than last week, bar position was great
Bench Press 5 x 5 x 85kg - bit of a struggle
B1 T-Bar Rows 3 x 10 x 55kg
B2 Front Raise 3 x 10 x 5kg
Chin Ups (30 total) 8, 7, 6, 6, 3
Should have done leg swings as part of my warm-up as I pulled my adductor doing speed skaters. It feels minor and I carried on through the session anyway. Front squats were miles better, as were t-bar rows since my back wasn’t strained this time. Did chin ups last so it didn’t impede my other exercises.
Still reckon I can jog tomorrow but don’t want to aggravate it.
18 Jul
Grass Runs
4 x (6 x 100m) with 5 mins rest
2:20.6, 2:16.4, 2:15.2, 2:16.7 (avg 2:17.1)
Target was 2:15, didn’t expect to make it. After cruising the first run I remembered to push myself harder and set off at a faster pace that was hard to maintain. Adductor was noticeable but didn’t impede me, don’t think it will be better in time for training on Monday. Abs tomorrow.
19 July
Brandon Carter Ab Assault, 3 rounds
20 July
Rugby Training
Sprint Drills, Plyometrics, Accelerations
5 x 75 sec ~460m
Similar to last week but with a few more progressions and some competitive 10, 20 & 30m runs. Finished with conditioning, was in lane 5 and I went through 430m (one lap) in 68-70 secs which is a pretty decent pace to maintain. There was touch afterwards but my abs were aching from yesterday and I didn’t want to risk my adductor so I went home. Weights tomorrow.
Hey man,
I’m in Durham and Northumbria 2 and I play flanker! What league are you in?
Just posted in my log! Check it out 
21 July
BW Jump Lunges 3 x 10
Broad Jump 3 x 5, best of 2.35m - my lower back tweaked and I struggled to give my all in these
Back Squat (fast up) 3 x 5 x 90kg
Back Squat 5 x 4 x 105kg - tweaked back earlier so loads of focus on a tight core, took it down from intended 110kg
OHP 4 x 5 x 52.5kg - by the time I realised it was meant to be 5 x 4 i’d already done sets of five, so did 4 x 5
Bent Over Row 3 x 6 x 62.5kg - very controlled, could do 65kg
Pullups 5 x 7
Single Arm DB Bench 3 x 6 x 27.5kg
Tricep Dips 3 x 10
Really glad I got through the workout as I tweaked my back in one of the first broad jumps. I had squats, rows and press to do so all my focus was on a tight core and I didn’t feel it at all during the exercises. Squats at 105 were nice and solid.
I’m in London South East 2 but will be playing 3rd’s which is something like 11th tier in the Union system. I figured you were northern when you said in log that sausages were a regular part of your diet 
23 July
Speed Skaters 3 x 10
A1 Power Clean 3 x 5 x 75kg
A2 Depth Jump 3 x 5
Front Squat 5 x 4 x 85kg - lost my gripping technique on these, still got through ok
Clap Pushups 3 x 10
Bench Press 5 x 4 x 85kg
B1 T-Bar Rows 3 x 10 x 55kg
B2 Front Raise 3 x 8 x 7.5kg
Chin Ups (30 total) - less strict with reps and rest, just did a few whenever I felt I could and worked on slowly lowering towards the end
Good session, RDL was a challenge and i’m starting to feel that little strength boost from regular training. My chest is aching almost ever day at the moment, had to warm it up a lot to handle clap push-ups without pain.
25 Jul
Grass Runs
4 x (6 x 100m) with 5 mins rest
2:15.4, 2:18.0, 2:18.4, 2:19.3 (avg 2:17.8)
Brandon Carter Ab Assault, 3 rounds
Marginally slower average time than last week despite a stronger start. I worked on trying to accelerate a bit more in the third run to hold a higher speed across the 100m and was demoralised to find my time was no quicker, as it felt like a 2:12 for the effort I put in. I ended up cruising the last one and after glancing at my watch with 200m to go I sped up to stop a hideous time. Consolation is if I put in the effort I did last week i’d be in the 2:15’s i think. I still have three weeks to the re-test and I feel fitter than this point last season.
27 July
Rugby Training
Drills, Agility Work, Plyometrics
6 x 75 sec run (~450m)
Lots more plyometric volume this week and some more complex drills. Agility work included some simple 1 v 1’s on the grass and then finished with the aerobic work, again I tried to go through 430m in 68-70 secs.
Very pleased to hear this is the last aerobic week and we’ll do faster stuff with actual “stand still” rest not “jog rest” next week. I have a lot of work tomorrow so i’ll try to fit weights in on Wed & Fri.
29 July
BW Jump Lunges 3 x 10
Broad Jump 3 x 5, best of 2.35m - felt really fresh but the difference between easy jump and full effort was about 10cm
Back Squat (fast up) 3 x 5 x 90kg
Back Squat 3,4,4,4 x 110kg - meant to do 5 x 3 but it was manageable
OHP 5 x 3 x 55kg
Bent Over Row 6 x 65kg, 6 x 67.5kg, 7 x 67.5kg (video) - good body position, had no idea I did that demented chicken thing with my head
Pullups 5 x 7
Single Arm DB Bench 3 x 6 x 27.5kg
Tricep Dips 3 x 10 - these have improved a lot, could do 11’s or 12’s next week
Good session. Controlled in the squat, still feel I have an easy 10kg to add there. Knees were a bit sore from plyometrics but not in danger of injury. Pull-ups were better too. I think I can handle 70kg barbell row, if it’s meant to be close to what you can bench then I have some catching up to do.
31 July
Rowing Machine 20 mins, (~28 strokes per min)
Bleep Test 7.3 - Audio stopped so I felt the test was invalid
Bleep Test 9.3 - Was as tired at level 5 as I was when I stopped the last one
Still quite sore from Wednesday’s workout and also feel like I need to ease up a little in my training. I’m at my parents house so did a bit of rowing machine and then thought i’d give the bleep test a go. I was playing the youtube video of the test in the garden and it started buffering for a bit at level 5 then again at 7, so i stopped for it to load fully then went again from the beginning. Obviously running 1100m from the first test wasn’t ideal prep and I didn’t hit my target of 10+ but it was more about the aerobic work than trying to beat my pb.
Think i’m playing tennis tomorrow and will probably do some of the upper body work I missed today but no lower body.
1 Aug
Tennis 2.5 hours (chilled)
Explosive Pushups 3 x 10
Chin ups (30 total)
3 Aug
Rugby Training
Drills, Plyometrics, Accelerations, 3 x 60m sprint
3 x 3 x 120m (20 secs, 90 secs)
Touch - 20 mins
Tweaked my back from all the sitting I did during the day and it felt weak all session. This is the last Monday session at an athletics track, will try to make either Mon or Wed training at the club from next week while keeping up with my two gym sessions.