In Season Training – Max Effort Days

Depending on how you program your training week will dictate what format you put in
place for your weight training. Also whether you are a starter versus a replacement or not
selected for the game will vary the number of sessions that you can program into any given
week.
Let’s look firstly at Starters and Reserve players. Depending on the turnaround time
between games each week plan may look quite different. In this example we will look at a 7
day period between games, let’s say a Saturday to Saturday.
I favour a split lower body upper body maximal effort days to start the training week. So
depending on levels of muscle soreness and fatigue these days would fall on either a
Monday (Game Day GD+2) and Tuesday (GD+3) or a Tuesday (GD+3) and Wednesday
(GD+4). Most teams I have spoken to favour a Wednesday as a day off so you may have to
train on your day off in order to optimize training and allowing for recovery.
I am a huge fan of using specialty bars due to the fact that most players after their first year
of professional rugby are never 100% due to various injury niggles, so straight bars can be
problematic. So using the safety squat bar, cambered squat bar, athletic training platform
(Belt squat) for lower body and the Swiss bar for any upper body pressing will be my
preferred training tools.
I also like to alternate blocks of training focusing on knee dominant movements for 3 weeks
then hip dominant movements for 3 weeks in lower body training and horizontal pressing
with vertical pressing for upper body training. When focusing on one type of movement the
other movement will be a secondary focus at the same time in order to maintain strength
and size levels.
Workout 1 (Upper Body)
Swiss Bar Bench Press or Swiss Bar Military Press
Week 1: work to a max set of 5 reps
Week 2: work to a max set of 3 reps
Week 3: work to a max set of 1 rep
Javelin Press or Close grip Bench Press 3,4,5 x 10 (add a set each week)
Superset with
Yates Row or Pulldowns 3,4,5 x 10 (add a set each week)
JM Press s/s EZ Bar Curls 2,3,4 x 6 – 12 reps (add a set each week)
Choose one from each group and perform 3 sets x 12 – 15 reps
Shoulder/Rotator Cuff: Incline YTI’s, Bottom up KB Press, Cuban Press, DB Scarecrow, Plate
Bus Driver
Neck: Rotary Neck, Wrestler’s Bridge 2 ways, Neck Planks 3 ways, Band Look Aways

Workout 2 (Lower Body)

Safety Bar Box Squat or Trap Bar Deadlift
Week 1: work to a max set of 5 reps
Week 2: work to a max set of 3 reps
Week 3: work to a max set of 1 rep
Good Morning or Belt Squat 3,4,5 x 10 (add a set each week)
Superset with
Bulgarian Sprinter’s Squat or Split Stance Romanian Deadlift 3,4,5 x 10 (add a set each week)
Glut Ham Raise or Reverse Hyper 2,3,4 x 6 – 12 reps (add a set each week)
Choose two from each group and perform 3 sets x 12 – 15 reps
Core: ½ Turkish Get Up, Windmills, Rollouts, Suit Case Dead Lift, Combat Twist, Weighted
SitUp, Leaning Pallov Press to Overhead position on the TRX.
Hips, Hamstrings, Calf & Knee: Copenhagen Plank, Crab Walk with Band, Lateral Lunge,
Nordics, Swiss ball Leg Curl, Banded Leg Curl, Hip Thrusts, Calf Raise, Petersen Step Ups