A Rugby Winger and His Workouts

Training Training Logs
41

Aug 17

Track Work

2 x 20m Skips for Height, Distance

Footwork, 1 x 8

10 x 8m shuttles with chest to floor, 2 x 20m, 60m
10 x 8m shuttles with chest to floor, 2 x 30m, 60m
10 x 8m shuttles with chest to floor, 2 x 40m, 60m

Full Pitch Sprint - 11.50

Footwork 1 x 8

Hip Raise 4 x 20
3 Way Shoulder Raise 4 x 10 x 5kg
Front & Side Bridge, 4 mins Total

Mixed in some conditioning as Saturdays are going to be game days from next Saturday onwards. Really tough shuttles and by the end I was finding it hard to move my legs at pace. Acceleration runs and then a 60m. Ordered it to make it more like a match situation, as before we were building up distance as we go. Felt really good for the full pitch sprint and was fluid in my acceleration phase. Got home and did my assistance work that will normally be done post-match. Rest day tomorrow :smiley:

42

Weight: 158 lbs
Chest: 39.5"
Waist: 31.2"
Arms: 13.2"
Legs: 23"

Came off creatine six days ago and my water weight has gone, got a lot more definition and only went down 1lb.

Lots of stretching on Sunday, working through Kelly Starrett’s stuff a few videos at a time. I think my tackling will improve if I get better hip mobility to get low hips to drive up into the tackle.

Aug 19

AM Session:

Bench Press 5 x 72.5kg, 5 x 82.5kg, 10 x 92.5kg - 5/3/1, very strong start, 92.5kg felt so light.

Close Grip Bench Press 4 x 8 x 80kg - I remember this complementing my bench well last time

DB Rows 5 x 10 x 27.5kg

3 Way Shoulder Raise 4 x 10 x 5kg

Already looking ahead to week 2 to see what repping 100kg feels like on bench!

PM Session:

Power Clean 3 x 3 x 80kg - probably didn’t warm up fully and it was harder than it needed to be for the first set

A1 Front Squat 4 x 6 x 82.5kg

A2 Vertical Jumps 4 x 6 - legs are fried after this superset

RDL 4 x 5 x 80kg - hamstring flexibility is improving and i’m grazing the floor with the plates on each rep. Hammies really lit up today and i feel all twenty reps in my legs right now.

Still a double session on a Monday, but the inclusion of legs was a nice change. I don’t change out my gym clothes so I get into the mentality of not taking my second warm up seriously and that’s to my detriment. I can’t judge the other six days but this is a perfect start to the week.

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Aug 20

Rugby Training

Touch, various rules
Full Pitch Touch
Full Pitch Full Contact (woohoooo!)

Enjoyed the session today, even though we had seven wingers between the two teams and I had to keep getting subbed off as they played 15 v 15. The winger opposite me was rapid and I was waiting for a chance to burn him down the wing but they didn’t get the ball out to me fast enough. I managed to pick one of the forwards up and run him into touch so my strength is definitely still there. First pre-season game on Saturday, probably starting in the 2nd XV as i’m new, can’t wait to play!

44

Good work in here. The season is fast approaching and its your time to shine.

What boots do you wear?

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45

For firm ground I have an old pair of Adidas F30 blades from 2006, and for soft mud I bought Nike Tiempo’s and replaced the studs with metal ones.

Aug 21

Track Work

2 x 20m, 2 x 30m, 2 x 40m

120, 100, 80m (14.2, 11.6, 9.6)

Pleased with the 11.6 run, can’t remember going faster this year. I could tell I wasn’t at full freshness too.

Push Press 3 x 3 x 72.5kg - forearms are tired from rugby and I dropped it after the first rep, fine after that

OHP 4 x 8 x 50kg - working on correct pelvic tilt and holding the abs in tight

Bench Press 5 x 95kg, 3 x 6 x 92.5kg - tried 6 reps at 95kg and failed, rugby yday and pressing before this must have taken its toll

DB Rows 4 x 10 x 27.5kg

Ab Ripper X - why. why. god it hurts so much.

Again I could do with a longer warm up to shake out all the fatigue from the previous days, forearms were pretty tired and let me down a few times. This bench session could end up being a maintenance one and the focus could be on progressing shoulders, as i can see me being too tired to match Monday’s numbers. Ab ripper x, always a pleasure, 14 glorious minutes of ab work from a smug american, what’s not to love.

46

Aug 22

AM Session:

Power Clean 3 x 6 x 60kg

Front Squat 3 x 67.5kg, 3 x 75kg, 6 x 85kg - left a few reps in the tank

Really light session, legs were still sore from sprints, was about getting the blood flowing again and then did a decent stretch out afterwards.

Rugby Training

Touch
Set Moves
Touch

Towel Pullups 5,6,5

Not the most exciting session, forwards did scrums so the backs worked on passing plays, just a lot of timing runs and catching the ball. Dropped it a few times, I don’t know if my co-ordination or my arms are a little off the day after upper body weights but with any luck i’ll be fine on Saturdays with a full rest and recovery on the Friday. Eating like a monster the last few days, 1500kcal dinners and 1300kcal breakfasts, will weigh in and measure Saturday morning.

47

Weight: 159 lbs
Chest: 40"
Waist: 31"
Arms: 13.2"
Legs: 22.9"

Back to 159 with no creatine, happy with chest:waist differential.

Aug 24

Rugby Match - Friendly Won 15-5

Played the second half for the 1st XV, i think he was letting all new players have a half. Spent the first 15 mins defending, and they eventually had an overlap on my side 3 v 2 and they scored, I should’ve shouted the 10 over as he didn’t spot the run being made. I didn’t have any clear-cut chances and spent a lot of my possession lifted off the ground being carried into touch, need to put on more weight. On the plus side it was awful conditions and i didn’t drop the ball or knock it forward, and I made a few good supporting runs that could’ve resulted in a try if they passed it. Speed is my big plus point and I was very static when I got the ball so had no momentum in contact, in a week’s time I will be a little stronger, a little faster and a little heavier.

48

Aug 26

AM Session:

Bench Press 3 x 77.5kg, 3 x 87.5kg, 8 x 100kg - BOOOOOMMM!! Wasn’t expecting 8 reps, that’s definitely a PB

Close Grip Bench Press 4 x 8 x 80kg

Incline Hammer Rows 5 x 10 x 20kg

3 Way Shoulder Raise 4 x 10 x 5kg

Obviously i’m pleased with the PB, I think I was 76kg last time I got a bench PB so to be 73kg is encouraging. Upping my nutrition another 150-200kcals a day to get some definite growth going on.

PM Session:

Power Clean 3 x 3 x 80kg - warmed up fully this time and these were very easy

A1 Front Squat 4 x 6 x 85kg - increased the weight and struggled with some reps

A2 Vertical Jumps 4 x 6 - these still leave me in pieces after every set, I have to crouch down after as I can’t stand up straight away

RDL 4 x 5 x 80kg - can probably increase the weight on these as I was repping smoothly

Ab Ripper X - almost didn’t write it down. Finding it less torturous each time.

Good leg session, full Agile 8 warm up and some lighter sets before power clean. I know my front squat will suddenly click into place and i’ll pile on 10kg so until then i’m happy to just get the sets out at a half-decent weight.

49

Aug 27

Rugby Training

Touch
5 stations - passing, tackling, rucking, forward play, back play

Bit different today, split into groups of six and worked on different aspects of the game with each coach. Learned a lot, particularly to quit shuffling my feet when trying to beat someone 1 on 1, as the coach said “you are not a penguin”, so when i decide which side to pass the defender I focus on taking a big step and carrying my speed through. Also learned good body position for tackling, which was an issue for me last week and poor tackling left my back feeling sore.

Aug 28

AM Session:

Track Work

2 x 20, 2 x 30, 2 x 40m - focus on that big step to push off, jogging in rather than a standing start

80, 100, 120m 9.4, 11.8, 14.1 - faster in the 80m and 120m than last week, but slower in the 100m. I could tell my legs were struggling at top speed after the first run so i’m not going to grumble

PM Session:

Push Press 3 x 3 x 72.5kg - easy

OHP 4 x 8 x 50kg - also easy

A1 Bench Press 4 x 6 x 92.5kg

A2 DB Rows 4 x 10 x 27.5kg

Ab Ripper X - never easy

My pressing was solid today, had a few warm up sets and will put an extra 2.5kg on those first two lifts next week to see what I can do. I’m continually adapting to ab ripper, tried the harder version of a few exercises and still made it to the end.

50

Aug 29

AM Session:

Power Clean 3 x 6 x 60kg

Front Squat 5 x 70kg, 3 x 80kg, 4 x 90kg - again I left a rep or two in the tank

PM Session:

Rugby Training

Touch
Drills
Back Line Set Plays
Pullups 3 x 8

Other than the fact we almost never made consecutive passes it was an ok session. A lot of flat out sprinting but as it had to go through four pairs of hands before it got to me on the wing I think i got involved about 4 out of 30 times.

51

Aug 31

Grass Runs

8 x (22m x 3 then 100m jog)

10 x (35m x 4, 30 sec rest)

8 x (73m x 2, 30 sec rest)

8 x (10m, 10m back pedal, 28m, 18m back pedal, 40m, 50m jog, 15 sec rest)

3 Way Shoulder Raise 4 x 10 x 5kg

Really tough conditioning session as I wasn’t in the squad for today’s pre-season game. Breathing was maxed out on the second set of runs and my quads were seizing up doing the back-pedalling at the end. Did this a month ago and pushed it harder today. I weigh exactly the same as I did last week, so the calories are going up again.

52

Sept 1

Bench Press 5 x 82.5kg, 3 x 95kg, 5 x 105kg

Close Grip Bench Press 4 x 8 x 80kg

Incline DB Hammer Rows 5 x 10 x 20kg

3 Way Shoulder Raise 4 x 10 x 5kg

Moved this forward from tomorrow morning as I had no rugby yesterday. Pleased to rep 105kg at home as my bench is a very slight incline. September is going to be 30 days of near perfect nutrition, i’m sick of lapsing to oats and a protein shake because I can’t be arsed to cook some sweet potato and turkey.

53

Sept 2

Power Clean 3 x 3 x 80kg

A1 Front Squat 4 x 6 x 85kg

A2 Vert. Jumps 4 x 6

RDL 4 x 6 x 85kg - should’ve been 4 x 5, wrote it in a hurry, coped well considering the increase in weight AND reps

Ab Ripper X

Good session. Really going to pack in the calories around my workouts. Legs need to grow.

54

Sept 4

AM Session:

Track Work

2 x 20m, 2 x 30m, 2 x 40m

80, 100, 120m 9.5, 11.6, 13.9 - pleased with all three of those, particularly sub 14 on the longer run. I focussed on conserving energy in acceleration and reaching a true top speed.

PM Session:

Push Press 3 x 3 x 75kg

OHP 4 x 8 x 52.5kg

A1 Bench Press 4 x 6 x 92.5kg

A2 Incline DB Hammer Rows 4 x 10 x 27.5kg

Ab Ripper X

OHP was tough and that made me fatigued for bench. Push press was good, still need those warm-up sets as my forearms ache a lot from rugby.

Push press attached, could be considered a Push Jerk maybe, I don’t really care as long as I get the weight up.

55

Sept 5

AM Session:

Power Clean 3 x 6 x 60kg - these were incredibly smooth, touch and go between reps

Front Squat 5 x 62.5kg, 5 x 72.5kg, 10 x 82.5kg - felt great today, had several reps in the tank

PM Session:

Rugby Training

Touch
Backs Training
Pullups 3 x 8

First 20 mins was good playing touch then went through set plays/restarts and I think I touched the ball once in an hour of play. It’s probably more sociable to turn up to training but in terms of improving i’m better doing my own thing. I did sprints yesterday so I did jumping lunges, vertical jumps and short sprints while waiting around on the wing. When I did get the ball I did out-sprint someone but the coach just shouts ‘tackle’ and I have to pretend he got me and drop to the ground - very frustrating when you haven’t even hit top speed.

56

Sept 7

Conditioning

5 minute run ~ 1080m

7 x 40 on 20 off ~ 175m each

5 minute run ~ 1060m

Nowhere near the volume we were meant to do, I paced out the rugby pitch wrong so our target of ‘180m’ turned out to be 196m so falling 20m short each time was ~175m. Time constrained so we missed a warm up which didnt help.

Sept 8

AM - Tennis 90 mins

PM Session

Conditioning (2nd attempt)

5 minute run ~ 1120m

10 x 40 on 20 off ~165m

10 x 30 on 30 off ~140m

10 x 20 on 40 off ~110m

5 minute run ~ 1080m

Can’t believe we managed the whole session. Target distances should be 1200-1400m, 180-200m, 150-170m and 110-130m so it’s nice to have a semi-long term goal and I know if I can do those distances i’ll have a really good fitness base. It works out at about 6.4km of tempo which is a lot more than i’m used to, but at a lower intensity.

57

Sept 9

AM Session:

Bench Press 5 x 72.5kg, 5 x 85kg, 9 x 95kg

Close Grip Bench Press 4 x 8 x 80kg

Incline DB Hammer Rows 5 x 10 x 20kg

3 Way Shoulder Raise 4 x 10 x 5kg

Good benching.

PM Session:

Power Clean 3 x 3 x 82.5kg - upped by 2.5kg, coped well

A1 Front Squat 4 x 6 x 85kg - serious depth on these

A2 Vert Jumps 4 x 6

RDL 4 x 6 x 85kg - can increase these, quite easy

Ab Ripper X

Really pleased with my depth on squat, my thighs were on fire after the jumps and my calves ache from yday.

58

Intermittent internet as i’ve moved house so bit of a mass update of what I can remember.

Sept 10

Rugby Training

4 Stations - Tackling, Rucking, Breakdown, Switch Passes

I picked up some good technical tips in this session but i’m used to just playing a full contact game so this seems tedious, I guess i’ve never done a pre-season before and all this rehearsing will pay off in the same way that anyone doing a full season as a sprinter will find it weird that we don’t put spikes on and sprint until week 9. I’ve moved house now so i’m further from the training ground and conscious of getting value for my time (as you’ll see I skipped Thursday).

Sept 11

AM Session:

Track Work (on rugby pitch)

Kicking Skills - Chip and chase 4 x 20, Full Pitch Clearance, chase and score try x 8-9, half pitch chip at speed, chase and score try x 7-8

Bit different today, tried to make it realistic to rugby. First set was simply kicking it about 9ft in the air and accelerating into the catch and sprinting away. Second set I was on the pitch, rolled it along the ground then tried to pick it up and kick it away as quickly as possible, then chased after it and either caught in on the 2nd/3rd bounce or kicked it along the floor and chased it down to score a try - I was simulating when the opposition kicks it long. Third set I set up a makeshift defensive line of cones, I sprinted towards it, chipped the ball over and caught it beyond them then ran through for a try.

Recovery was sporadic like a match would be, i’d stop my timer and whatever the hundredth was (0-9) was my recovery time in minutes for full pitch and half minutes for half pitch chips. Worked quite well. I learned that it’s definitely not worth guessing where the bounce will go, as missing the ball will be definite lost possession whereas delaying the run could still be ok.

PM Session:

Push Press 3 x 3 x 77.5kg - very tough, don’t know why the f*ck I increased it, third rep was always poor

OHP 4 x 8 x 52.5kg

A1 Bench Press 4 x 6 x 92.5kg - these were surprisingly easy

A2 DB Rows 4 x 6 x 27.5kg - been doing hammer rows for a while, went back to these

Ab Ripper X

Mixed session, poor push press, good bench press and rows.

Sept 12

Conditioning

5 minute run ~ 4.1 laps

10 x 40 on 20 off ~??m

10 x 30 on 30 off ~??m

10 x 20 on 40 off ~110m

5 minute run ~ 4 laps

Was on a different pitch and we just ran straight for the full 40/30/20 secs with no marker. I trained with my friend who’s an Ironman triathlete and he took me round in 1:15 laps quite well and I just zoned out and followed him, was definitely worth an extra 1/4 lap or more to have him to chase. The same could be said for the on/off runs and by the time I finished the second 5 min run I was completely ruined. My calves are painful to walk on today but I was really pleased with the effort I was able to put in.

NB: This was instead of rugby training, I missed set plays and I know all of ours so i figured why spend an hour standing on the wing when i could be getting some beastly conditioning done.

Sept 13

Power Cleans 3 x 6 x 60kg

Front Squat 3 x 67.5kg, 3 x 77.5kg, 7 x 87.5kg - as always, left a rep or two in the tank

Pullups 3 x 8

Due to calf pain last night and the fact i’m not playing rugby at the weekend I did these this morning. Power cleans are so light now, I man-handle the bar. Good front squats, getting a more defined VL now.

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Sept 15

Bench Press 3 x 80kg, 3 x 90kg, 6 x 102.5kg

Close Grip Bench Press 4 x 8 x 80kg

Incline DB Hammer Rows 5 x 10 x 20kg

3 Way Shoulder Raise 4 x 10 x 5kg

Not feeling it today, one of those get in get out days.

60

Sept 16

Power Clean 3 x 3 x 82.5kg

A1 Front Squat 4 x 6 x 85kg

A2 Vert Jumps 4 x 6

RDL 4 x 6 x 90kg - easy again, will go 95kg next week

Ab Ripper X

Good session.

Sept 17

Circuits, 5 min 8 min

Couldnt make it to rugby and I was short of time so I did a few circuits.