How would you go about training for rugby union during the year from the strength training side of things? I’ve got the conditioning/cardio side worked out but was interested in how you would structure the strength training programs for during the season and off season.
Cheers,
Ben
Ben, that is way outside the scope of a Q&A column as it would require AT LEAST an article in itself, possibly two.[/quote]
Sorry mate, maybe I’ll try to simplify it a little for the purposes of this column. What would be the best exercises you would recommend for training DURING the season. Reason being I am helping out my brother who plays once per week and trains with the team once per week. He used to play in a high grade side in Sydney’s premier division, but has backed to playing “socially” with a suburban rugby club.
I guess I’m just looking for the best exercises to do and some basic set/rep guidlines (I could organise the rest of the program) that will mean he won’t overtrain but can maintain strength. He plays second row forward or backrow and is one of the main lineout jumpers as he has a great vertical leap.
Ben
PS The idea of a an article for rugby would is fantastic. There are a lot of guys on T-Nation who play so I’m sure there will be a large enough audience, some of us in the far-flung corners of the world don’t really need programs for NFL football… we have other choices!
Ben, at one practice and one game per week he can follow a regular training regimen. Heck, most of my hockey players are WAY more active than that during their OFF-SEASON!
I would suggest a whole body workout 3 times per week.
Monday
Moderate intensity, work in the functional hypertrophy zone of 6-8 reps. You can even include some isolation work in the 15-20 reps range to facilitate recovery from his game.
Use 3-4 compound movements plus 2-3 isolation exercises
Good examples would be
Front squat (close stance)
Bench press
Romanian deadlift
Barbell rowing
Barbell curl
Lateral raise
Wednesday
High intensity, work in the limit strength zone of 3-5 reps using only compound movements.
Examples:
Back squat (wide stance)
Push press
1/2 deadlift from knees
Power upright rowing
Friday
Power training, low volume, only to rev up the nervous system for his game.
You can use 1 olympic lift variation for 5 sets of 2 at 65-70%, 5 sets of 3 reps on the speed bench at 45-55%, and 2-3 sets of 10 reps of the jump squat at 15-20%. Medicine ball throws can also be used.
[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
Ben, at one practice and one game per week he can follow a regular training regimen. Heck, most of my hockey players are WAY more active than that during their OFF-SEASON!
I would suggest a whole body workout 3 times per week.
Monday
Moderate intensity, work in the functional hypertrophy zone of 6-8 reps. You can even include some isolation work in the 15-20 reps range to facilitate recovery from his game.
Use 3-4 compound movements plus 2-3 isolation exercises
Good examples would be
Front squat (close stance)
Bench press
Romanian deadlift
Barbell rowing
Barbell curl
Lateral raise
Wednesday
High intensity, work in the limit strength zone of 3-5 reps using only compound movements.
Examples:
Back squat (wide stance)
Push press
1/2 deadlift from knees
Power upright rowing
Friday
Power training, low volume, only to rev up the nervous system for his game.
You can use 1 olympic lift variation for 5 sets of 2 at 65-70%, 5 sets of 3 reps on the speed bench at 45-55%, and 2-3 sets of 10 reps of the jump squat at 15-20%. Medicine ball throws can also be used. [/quote]
Thanks CT, that’s exactly what I needed and I should be able to take it from here. Now, about that rugby article for the off season training… Oh well, hope to see it apppear some day!
ive been looking for great exercises (preferably in the gym) to work my hip abductors. the best i can come up with is picking up a weight and walking with it, unilateral squats, and side bend deadlifts. i wonder if it’s possible to hit the hip abductors with compound, bilateral movements (much like how this is possible with the hip adductors).
I posted this in your other thread and am posting it here in hopes of catching your attention:
You have written two specialization programs in Pillars of Strength and Shoulder Overhaul, but you take different approaches to the workouts in the new leg program. Someone asked why you use conjugate periodization in the leg program instead of accumulation and intensification blocks here:
downintucson wrote:
You seem to be going away from separate accumulation and intensification blocks. Looks as though you are combining methods in the same week. Is this an extension of pendulum training? Was wondering because your routines work really well on me. I currently use separate acc. and int. blocks. If you’ve found a better way to arrange training, I’ll likely follow your lead.
and you replied:
I still use intensification and accumulation blocks. They are the basis of my whole periodization scheme. However, this is a specialisation program to be used outside the scope of a regular block structure to bring up a lagging body part, in this case the legs.
However in the shoulder program, which is also a specialization program, you stick with traditional accumulation and intensification. If you were to write that program again now would you reccomend a conjugate periodization as in your legs program or stick with what was originally prescribed? I am going to do a shoulder specialization and was wondering if I should use conjugate periodization or accumulation / intensification. If you wouldn’t mind I would like to know the reasoning behind your selection too.
One more thing, a while back someone asked about proper posing and suggested writing an article about it. Are you planning on writing such an article? I think lots of readers would benefit from it.
