Pre season fitness

[Thingimubob]

I use to be in great shape, then I went to uni. I really need to get out and train, but easier said than done.

I know that feeling all too well... I don't exactly eat more/unhealthier than before uni (if anything I eat less and healthier here in Germany!), I've just gone from playing rugby and a bit of 5 a side at least 2 - 3 times a week to not doing any exercise at all. The pain in my body was unreal when I tried to chuck myself back into a proper training session a few weeks back!
My severe weakness for epic German beer isn't exactly helping my beer gut go away either...

 

[Howzy]

Yes!! Squat till you puke!!

Somehow I don't think that's a good idea

 

[ratsapprentice]

If you can't walk the next day due to doms, then you need to squat more, it will pass after a couple of sessions.
TBH I think you need to read up on basic strength training principles if you're not even squatting.

 

[Howzy]

I've heard bad stories about squatting that just put me off

 

[ratsapprentice]

What?

Squatting (and deadlifting) is the cornerstone of strength training.
Pretty much every professional athlete in the world will use them.

Honestly, I don't mean to sound condescending, but you really need to educate yourself, otherwise you are completely wasting your time.

 

[TRF_heineken]

Yeah i agree! Squatting is one of the most important parts of strength training. I'm currently on a fat loss/crossfit training regime. I squat with kettlebells and do between 100 and 200 squats per session. It improved my leg strength, core strength and my back considerably.

I can't however do deadlifts due to a back injury i had when i was in a car accident. Squatting is literally one of the cornerstones of strenght AND fitness training. It even improves your knees! If you're not doing it then don't even bother as you will not make the cut.

 

[Howzy]

Well what sets would u recommend ?

 

[ratsapprentice]

First off, you should really learn how to squat correctly, there are several (hundreds) schools of thought on this. Do not underestimate the technicality of any form of weightlifting.
This sort of education will directly aid your ability to apply your strength and power on the pitch, regardless of any physical changes as a result of your training.
Personally, I have always done the powerlifts as powerlifters generally do them.
I cannot overstate how important it is to fully understand, in detail what you are doing and why you are doing it, you will be rewarded no end for doing this.

That being said, you will probably want at least something to get stuck into...

http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/The_Starting_Strength_Novice/Beginner_Programs

 

[Howzy]

First off, you should really learn how to squat correctly, there are several (hundreds) schools of thought on this. Do not underestimate the technicality of any form of weightlifting.
This sort of education will directly aid your ability to apply your strength and power on the pitch, regardless of any physical changes as a result of your training.
Personally, I have always done the powerlifts as powerlifters generally do them.
I cannot overstate how important it is to fully understand, in detail what you are doing and why you are doing it, you will be rewarded no end for doing this.

That being said, you will probably want at least something to get stuck into...

http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/The_Starting_Strength_Novice/Beginner_Programs

Thanks for that but what is a power clean ?

 

[ratsapprentice]

http://stronglifts.com/the-ultimate-beginners-guide-to-power-cleans/

I'm sure everyone on here will agree on at least one thing, learn the techniques inside out.
Really understand the concepts. Simply doing that will be more fruitful than months in the gym knowing jack ****.

 

[Howzy]

That was the purpose of starting this thread

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Yeah, learn technique and start with the bar and move up slowly.
Technique is so important.

Check out starting strength (above) and stronglifts 5x5: http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-beginner-strength-training-program/
It's worth downloading and reading the Stronglifts eBook even if you're not going to follow the program as it has a lot of great info.

 

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

Both those programmes are amazing and they have worked for me as i have used both. I think every one will agree that Squats and deads are the best place to start and those programmes really are a must.

When i started my sessions used to take weeks to get over now i squat twice a week and run, your body will get used to it and it will massivly improve your power for rugby.

Good work on the advice guys!

 

[bethanator]

So would you recommend just sprints for a kid who's reeeeaally slow? I'm not the slowest on my team and I've obviously got a lot of work to do, but I don't know what else to do other than jog around my street. I'm a forward, so I know I don't need to be the fastest, but I need to improve quite a bit.

 

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

So would you recommend just sprints for a kid who's reeeeaally slow? I'm not the slowest on my team and I've obviously got a lot of work to do, but I don't know what else to do other than jog around my street. I'm a forward, so I know I don't need to be the fastest, but I need to improve quite a bit.

When people say they want to increase speed what they really mean is they want to increase their aceleration as in rugby you never get a full gallop on as a forward (very rarely). So i'd focus on increasing your acceleration which will make you feel faster as you can reach your top speed sooner.

From my experince increasing power (squats and deads focusing on power low reps) with some jumps added in combined with maybe 1 sprint session a week will help you out.

At the moment i do sprints at rugby training so work on power on my gym days with 3 sets of 3 reps focusing on power (doing a lowerr amount as of the amount of running in pre season).

Hope that helps.

 

[loyalblue]

hill sprints will mega-boast your fitness. 10 tiimes at least and decent sized incline hill.