And to actually answer the question; i use neck harnesses and a 4 way neck machine for the bulk of my neck work. Maybe throw in some DB shrugs here and there if i’m feeling froggy. I’ve got a blown AC joint in my R shoulder, so super heavy barbell shrugs are out, plus I always found them to be not very beneficial for me…
Another good one is doing head posting or bridging, if you dont have access to machine. Also you can do some neck work with bands, a towel or a swiss ball if you’re creative.
3/31 Match vs St Louis
W 63-19
Good match all around. Got off to a bad start. I got a ridiculous stinger down my right arm making a tackle during WARMUPS…how dumb is that??
Besides that, made a couple breaks in our midfield. Only misfired on one throw. Scrum had some issues and I had a few problems with finishing my runs. Chalking them both up to missing a training session each week. With a be this week, i’m planning on training tomorrow and Thursday.
4/2 Upper
Palms In Iso Bench 5x15x45
Iso Row 5x15x50
Walking Lunge w/ plate overhead
25x8 35x8 45x8 45x8 45x8
Saxon Bend 4x10x80
Just trying to get back in to lifting after these damn injuries…
[quote]sledge2 wrote:
I used to do the same thing when I propped and all it got my was a small herniation in my neck. THis may be a little tough to explain but i’ll give it a shot:
I prefer to take the engage on the shoulders rather than the neck. Just a matter of engaging lower than the opposing front row so the engage catches you on the traps, not the neck. You do it correctly and you’re already underneath your opposite; in your case, you have already split the loosehead/hooker and you have the leverage advantage.
I really do think the toe comes from the new boots. I heated up a steak knife on the stove this morning and speared my left big toe. NOT a good feeling, or smell, when a hot knife melts through your big toenail. BUT, the pressure is relieved and the soreness is relatively gone, but man did that fucker drain a ton of blood and fluid… [/quote]
hey, thanks for the reply, I think I understand what you mean by taking the engage on the shoulders. Unfortunately, at 6’2" it’s not easy getting lower than the opposing front row (I swear every team we play has a front row at like 5’8" or shorter).
Although, now that I think about it, I might be able to work with the second rowers and flankers and set up a little differently to get lower. Oh well, doesn’t matter right now anyway as I strained my back pretty badly playing this weekend.
Glad to hear the toe’s getting better, how’s the ankle healing up?
Jay
Scrummaging is one of those things that takes time bro; there’s a reason that you see props getting called into national squads when they’re in their early/mid 30’s. Guys like John Hayes (Ireland/Munster), Julian White (England) and Perry Freshwater (England) who have been around for ages.
I’d suggest finding some video of Carl Hayman from the All-Blacks. He’s a relatively tall prop and he’s probably about the best prop in the world (not to touch off an argument).
Toe is manageable, still ugly as hell but no worries. As we have a bye this week, i’m taking the week off of training to heal my ankle. Also need to heal my shoulder a little, as i’ve been picking up a stinger every single match so far. Hate sitting out of training but we have four regular season matches after this week, not including playoffs. I need the time to heal, plus I need to catch up on some school work and find a job!
4/4 Random Lift
Rotator Cuff Work
Box Squat 135x5 185x2x3 225x3 245x3 275x3 (ankle felt frisky, all really easy sets)
Lat Pulldown 130x10 140x 140x10 150x10
Elbows Out Incline DB Extension 25x10 30x10 35x10 35x10
Abs
Hanging Leg Raise x8
Pendulum x8
Ab work is REALLY hurting my lower right abdomen so I cut it…i’m starting to get really nervous that I have a small hernia…can I get any more banged up?
4/5
Various rehab drills in water; running, hopping, etc. Swam some sprints as well.
Just trying to heal; no match this weekend so i’ll be spending it on the couch frantically searching for gainful employment. Anyone in the Denver area looking for a business school grad, preferably for some stock market work, PM me! I’ll buy you a Surge!
Another kick ass day of aquatic rehab/prehab work and sprints in the pool…also a ton of foam roller and a ton of stretching. My hips and hammies have been really locked up…I think its a function of not training as much as usual; I always get super-tight when i cut back on training…
4/10 AM Weights
Zercher squat 135x5 165x5 185x5 195x5 205x5 (all easy)
Std Cable Row 110x5 120x5x4
Iso Bench 55x5 60x5 65x5 70x5 75x5
Elbow Out Triceps 25x5 30x5 35x5x3
Felt good to do some actual lifts instead of the pussy stuff i’ve been doing…ank;le is heaps better although i think I have a sport hernia developing…lots of superficial pain in my lower abdominals…one injury heals, another one opens…
PM Team training
Skills and continuity drills
Scrummaging
Fitness
Came through training fair to partly cloudy
4/11
Therapy for ankle
Foam roller work and stretching
4/12 Team Training
Skills
Scrummaging
Lineouts (1st session in two weeks, pretty rubbish)
Live Team session
Ankle is surprisingly good right now. Stingers have subsided and even my sports hernia is ok…that’ll all probably change in about 24 hrs…early flight to Dallas and match vs the Harlequins tomorrow.
Also have a ton of work hanging over my head and i’ll be taking my laptop to get work done while everyone else is out on the town Saturday night…ahh the joys of business school…
Had a long overdue long think today and took a long hard look in the mirror. I’m not where I need to be to achieve my prestated goals of making the NA4’s and the Eagles.
Carrying far too much fat (13%), far too weak in the upper body and the injuries have taken their toll a bit. I thought I had a decent pre-season lead up but, in hindsight, the severe sprained ankle in September and the broken hand in December really did impact my training.
With this stuff in mind, i’ve started thinking about some of the things I need to get done during the offseason…I suppose new goals need to be established but that is for another day…
When the season ends (depending on playoffs, late may to early june) i figured i’d go into V diet straightaway and just get LEAN. I’ll even start a thread so everyone can feel my pain! As Dan John said, just need to go on an all out assault and see what happens.
It’d be an ideal time to let my body recover and just focus on nutrition and do some complexes and some different stuff like swimming and cycling.
Regarding training, i’m actually contemplating going back to a Western Periodization scheme for the majority of my offseason. Two big reasons: I haven’t added much in the way of new 1RMS or much in the way of muscle mass for roughly a year and I will have an assload of time to train. In the last two years I have followed a modified conjugate system.
My 1RMs jacked up (function of nerve stim) but I feel like, with my current levels of muscle mass, i’m topped out strength wise. Or maybe my nerves are shot…plus Jason Ferruggia wrote an excellent article arguing for western periodization with more than 12-16 weeks of training time…just thinking out loud here…
man its way too late to still be typing…
Match v Dallas L 15-23
I’m not gonna say much about this one. I had a mediocre game, we all had a mediocre game and to top it off, Dallas was dirty and cheap. Lots of punches getting thrown, i got a couple thumbs in the eye and my nose nearly broken. And i’m done with it…moving on…
I’ve had an interesting idea: What if I did the V Diet DURING the season, in order to slash weight for the playoffs? I’m thnking really hard on it right now, as I would be done just in time for the playoffs and losing the useless weight would be excellent. We will see…
I’m trying a low-carb diet mid-season right now was well, I am not sure if I would advise it. My energy levels suck, I’m’ getting seriously winded by the 60 minute mark, and I’ve been sorer for longer after games. Overall, I would say that it is not worth the trade off, at least in my case.
Enjoy reading your blog, keep it up.
Wahhay! Fellow ruggers…
Great to see the sport being taken seriously and by what seems to be as very decent and smart people (aka. you lol)
I’m 6ft1, 204 pounds and play wing/fullback at Edinburgh in Scotland (half the year) and Nyon, Switzerland (the other half).
I’ve dislocated my shoulders several times. (right 3 times, left 3 times) in the space of… 4 years. Latest injury was right shoulder, 6 weeks ago.
4 days after I was back in the gym training. lol.
no pain. no gain.
I couldn’t sit at home cuz all my flat mates would go “psssssssst” mimicing the sound of my guns deflating.
after all that hard preseason bulking I just couldnt let it all go to waste.
Oh how I miss playing (6 weeks) waaaaay to long.
I’m already pretty low-carb as it is which makes me feel a little easier about it…I follow precision nutrition, my carbs come from all veggies and fruits besides my Surge around training…and I havent had any major issues regarding running out of gas during matches or anything…
I figure a blog is for writing off the top of my head…dunno, gonna mull it for the next few days and se what happens…if I think I can handle it, Biotest is gonna be getting a big assed order here in the next week!
Damn its been a long time since i’ve posted here. Been swamped with school, rugby, work and trying to find a real job and havent really been able to sit and type. Regarding rugby, we’re finishing our season in Seattle this weekend; currently sitting at 2-4. We had two tough losses in Dallas and Santa Monica and a 39-36 loss to OMBAC this past weekend.
Heartbreaking season all around but those are the breaks I suppose. In all honesty, i’ve kind of checked out for this last week, i’m nursing badly bruised ribs, a bum ankle and a bad shoulder. Plus i’m in the middle of interviews with two financial firms here in Denver plus WAAAAAAYY behind on school.
I’ve got an eye on the offseason right now. I’m thinking of starting the V-Diet in the next week or two. I’m weighing 218 right now @ 15.6%bf, it has increased during the season and my overall weight has decreased, which means i’ve been losing muscle…shitty…I think i’m gonna double check these measurements at the end of the weekend…
there have been some unfortunate things going on in the last 6 days and i’ve been eating all garbage (burger king, wendy’s, some dairy queen, taco bell, etc), my weight has ballooned from 208 to 218 since Friday and i think i’m holding a bit of water and garbage that will shed pretty quick once I get back into my usual Berardi diet…thinking of remeasuring Monday and seeing where i’m at. We will see…anyways, i’m off to training…
great thread.
Sledge, what exactly is it that you do for “rotator cuff work”?
Also, to break in new cleats, here’s what I have done ever since I was like 9:
Take off the studs and simply wear them around the house. And take a shower with them on. Be sure to pat dry with a towel afterwards. I have yet to have blisters / sore feet from my boots unless they were a horrible fit for my feet.
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
bluebear wrote:
ah, its nice to see another fitness and rugby obsessed hooker on T-Nation.
Why is it always us Hookers ??
…
Little man syndrome?
Face it. You are an ugly forward without the impressive size other forwards have.
Backs may not be huge but at least we are dashing and handsome.[/quote]
You hit the nail on the head Zap. And us wingers are the most dashing!
Uh huh…I do my grunt work banging around rucks, crashing ball in the centers and scrummaging so you prettyboys can dot down in the corner…sunsabitches…
The shoulder work is a ton of different plane movements, usually with either bands or dumbbells…to be honest, I couldnt tell you what all i’m doing, i just know it has kept my shoulders from popping and cracking…and a bunch of band traction work to keep mobility…
This V-Diet is getting me more and more excited for the season to be over…is that wrong that I’m almost looking forward to off-season training more than I look forward to the actual season? I’m mostly excited at the prospect of getting my BF% back down (gonna retest it monday, I can’t believe I added 10 lbs in 4 days), getting ripped and being able to cleanly eat my face off and put some good weight on, i’ve been really stagnant with my lifts and body comp for nearly a year now…excited to add the Oly lifts back into my workouts too, i was lacking dynamism this year (although that was a result of my jacked up ankle more than anything)…
W 31-7 over OPSB
Record: 3-4
They competed well in lineout and at the breakdowns, spoiling my first two throws, but went to shit after that as we asserted control. Scored a try (thats three in our final 3 matches), maybe missed out a chance for a second and had a decent match otherwise. Got punched in the forehead and I have this huge, knuckly sized bruise. Looks like a huge birthmark/goiter!
Anyways, that ends the season and not a moment too soon. My ankle is shite and my ribs are bruised badly. They need time to heal. Plus I need to shed some bodyfat so I can add some good clean weight over the summer.
Obviously WC 2007 is out. I may have been unrealistic but I dont know any other way than to aim for the moon. I’m focused now on RWC '11; i’ll be 31 yrs old. Kinda weird to think about something so far off, but it allows me to stop doing this short term fix stuff with training and take a long view.
I would never be able to V Diet under normal circumstances, as I would need to be doing intense fitness work on top of the lifting. But I have to be honest with myself about my body and make the sacrifices, which means chopping away all of this excess and getting lean and smaller to progress to being bigger and stronger. I’m looking at this as needing to take two steps back in order to take three steps forward.
Plus, I havent been able to use a western periodized program in years, as i was always trying to add max strength through a conjugated program. With taking time away from the field (at least 3 months, possibly as many as 6 depending on fall), I think a solid 8-16 weeks of western will be a great way to build a base and gain weight post V-Diet before getting back onto a conjugated plan.
With that in mind, i’ll direct everyone to my new V-Diet thread. Its titled Rugby Offseason+V-Diet=?
I’ll post all the workouts, meals, weird assed cravings and goodies that go along with the V-Diet. Should be entertaining for everyone involved, including myself.