Fitness Sessions

[Leonormous Boozer]

pic of Groundhog showing off his legs

Generous.

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

I went to the gym today and had a go at some deadlifts. Did a few sets and then maxed out the weight. My lower and mid back is aching, is this normal or do I need to put work into my form?

 

[MadDog1999]

I went to the gym today and had a go at some deadlifts. Did a few sets and then maxed out the weight. My lower and mid back is aching, is this normal or do I need to put work into my form?

The pain could be just from working out the muscles in your back. They probably weren't used to that exercise and now you are most likely suffering g from DOMS which is delayed onset muscle soreness. If this does not go away in a few days or a week max talk to your doctor about it because it could be something more. But most of the time it is nothing just sign that you did good work!

I will be taking up Road cycling so I can use that along with running for my fitness sessions. I have no access to a gym, I am so rural. 20 minutes both directions to gym by car. There is a lot of queit roads so just thought I'd make use of them with the bike.

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

I'm just wondering how these stats are for a 15 year old:
137.5kg Deadlift
115kg Squat
90kg Bench
65kg Overhead Press

Obviously not many on here are 15, but how am I getting along? I appreciate any input.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

What's your weight?? Looks pretty impressive to me.

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

90kg-ish

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

90kg-ish

****, that's big. Still really solid stats, similar stats to what I'd have, your deadlift is bigger, and I'm about 10 kg lighter but being 5 years more developed would explain that. I wouldn't be to caught up on gym stats at 15 anyway you're still growing. Try to maintain a loose 3:4:5 ratio between your bench, squat and deadlift like you have and you'll be golden, I'm kind of jealous of your consistency, I deadlift like a *****!

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

****, that's big. Still really solid stats, similar stats to what I'd have, your deadlift is bigger, and I'm about 10 kg lighter but being 5 years more developed would explain that. I wouldn't be to caught up on gym stats at 15 anyway you're still growing. Try to maintain a loose 3:4:5 ratio between your bench, squat and deadlift like you have and you'll be golden, I'm kind of jealous of your consistency, I deadlift like a *****!

Haha thanks . I like the 3:4:5 ratio, that sounds like a good rule of thumb to stick to.
I don't usually get caught up on gym stats, it's just because it's the pre-season so I thought it would be a good time to see where I am strength wise. I only lift twice a week (Tuesdays - Lower Body, Thursdays - Upper Body. Sometimes I may do some stuff on the weekend too) and the other days I focus on cardio/fitness and speed. I don't really agree with lifting at my age and think skills should be what is predominantly focused on, but the fact is that other players will be lifting so I do too to stay ahead of the curve.

 

[Zed]

Don't over-complicate it. Your training doesn't have to resemble what you do on the rugby pitch for it to be effective. I'm a triathlete at a reasonably high level and some of our training, you could argue, doesn't represent what you do in a race e.g doing 10 x 800m intervals when the run leg is a half or full marathon.

Download the beep test (or a similar V02 max test) and do that initially to get a baseline of your fitness. I can't really advise you on gym stuff, but running wise, concentrate on intervals and at least one long, slow (talking pace) run a week to build endurance.

There are many variations of intervals, a good simple one is 15 - 20 x 400m with 1 mins rest. These are done at around 80% and if you're fittish, you should be coming in 1.10 - 1.20 consistently. You do that 4 times a week for a month you will notice a big difference, especially in your recovery. You watch a top level player sprint the length of the field and he's all smiles, chatting away after scoring his 100m try, whereas most club players are lying on the ground slowly dying... those 400s allow you to operate for a minute or two on the pitch at a high intensity and then you have a scrum, lineout, which takes a minute or two by which time you have fully recovered and are ready to go again. I've tried to introduce a few people to this workout, but it's pretty brutal at least when you first start out. It's a good reality check though, you see guys that think they're fit do 400s and after 2 - 3 they're nailed. You can do 200s, 800s and 1km intervals for variety, but I'd build your cardio fitness around 400s.

I am a back, but personally I wouldn't get too caught up in gym stuff, it's obviously important, but the most effective back rowers I've played with have been fit, mobile and quick.

 

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

I used to be able to deadlift 140, now I am deadlift 190. While that's great it hasn't actually made me a better rugby player.

Out of everything working on fitness is the biggest thing and general rugby skills.

 

[Every Time Ref]

I used to be able to deadlift 140, now I am deadlift 190. While that's great it hasn't actually made me a better rugby player.

Out of everything working on fitness is the biggest thing and general rugby skills.

Toby - it sounds like you are very big for your age, 90kg at 15 years old sounds like you would dwarf most of your teammates or opponent, am I correct?

In which case, my advice would be the same as Living Sacrifice - you want to improve as a player then work on skills. Being the biggest kid in the Under 15s is great fun but people WILL catch up with you especially if you step up to better levels. The danger is that in the mean time you rely on size, so when things have evened up at age 20 you don't have the skills. And it is a lot easier to learn techniques and skills at 15 than at 20. The older you get, the harder it is to learn anything, from a sport to a language.

Honestly, I would almost forget the gym and work obsessively on skills, handling, passing, stepping, kicking whatever.

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

^^^ as I said in a previous post I only go to the gym twice a week, as other players to do so I have to stay ahead. All the other days I focus on fitness and skills. I just got back from a fitness session with my club and I topped the 1 mile run and came 5th overall in the hill sprints. So although my size doesn't suggest it, I do have good fitness levels and in games I usually get through the most work in the team. I try not to use my size too much when playing and try to focus on workrate and using a good passing/offloading game.

So the gym and me building muscle is far from my only game. I can't stand players who are just big but can't catch a ball or run further than 50m without stopping for a breather. And I'm definitely not 1 of them.