Off season training

[lewis2000]

Hi guys,

This is my first post, so go easy!

I've just finished my first season (well, half a season) playing rugby, and looking for some input for my off season training!
I currently play on the wing.

Strengths:
Fairly quick - but this does not last the whole pitch, normally about 4/5ths of pitch)

Weakness:
Fitness over the whole 80, especially if long sprints are needed in quick succession.

Now my main question is this, given that the season starts again in a few months, what order should I be doing things? I have been told that pre-season training run by the club is fairly good at increasing fitness. In this case, my proposed plan is:


2 x lifting gym sessions (focus on oly lifting for explosiveness, whole body exercises, and finishers to tire me out)
1 x plyometrics session + barbell complex + finisher

1 x hill sprint session

1 x sprint session (along the lines of 1 x 5m, 1 x 10m 1 x 20m, 1 x 50 m, 1 x 100m and then repeat all of this 5-6 times)


Does this appear appropriate, or should I be working on long distance runs + similar?
I will post up my gym routine in the next post, again, any feedback would be brilliant!

 

[lewis2000]

Mon:

Clean and Jerk 3 x 5
Front squat 4 x 5
DB Chest PRess 3 x 8
Bent over rows 3 x 12
Lunges 3 x 20m
Calf Raises 3 x 12

Finisher



WED

Snatches 5 x 3
4 x plyo (3 sets of each) (usually one form of weighted exercise like 30kg squats x 12, and then hurdle jumping )
Barbell Complex

Finisher


Fri

Power Cleans 3 x 5
Superset: Back squat 5 x 1 (10 seconds in the hole)
Box Jumps 5 x 5

Push Press 5 x 5
Pull up 3 x Failure
Dips 3 x 12

Finisher

 

[TRF_heineken]

That's all good, but you need to do core excercises as well, it doesn't help you do power and explosive excercises but no balance and core workouts... That's a quick way to injure yourself!

 

[lewis2000]

Cheers - I normally do a quick circuit of core exercises (do about 3 and repeat the circuit a couple of times) at the end of each gym session, I forgot to put this in!

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Sounds spot on to me - good mixture of quality movements in the gym, and sprint/plyometric work.
A summer of that and you'll be well on your way

 

[lewis2000]

Sounds spot on to me - good mixture of quality movements in the gym, and sprint/plyometric work.
A summer of that and you'll be well on your way

Cheers mate, so you don't reckon fitness is needed? I don't know what pre-season is like, other than I have been told intense. I imagine that when I do start pre season, will probably switch this around to try and really build up speed over a shorter distance, but that's all in the future!

 

[TRF_Olyy]

If you're not getting fitter from the hill sprints and sprint sessions then you're not doing them right! :lol:


You could add in a rowing workout or two a week if you wanted an extra boost for fitness. On the concept 2 site they have some examples of the workouts rugby teams do using rowers:
Scarlets - http://concept2.co.uk/training/rugby_llanelli
Leeds - http://concept2.co.uk/training/rugby_leeds

 

[lewis2000]

That is true, I was just thinking whole match fitness, but I guess if I can do 10+ hill sprints in a row, 80 minutes shouldn't be too bad!

Thanks for the concept link though, those look brilliant!

Cheers for the feedback