M6W1D5

Lift Day 3
Back Squat 3X4 80%
Push Jerk 5X3 80%
Weighted Walking Lunges 3X10 (5L5R) with 40% of 1RM back squat
Thrusters 3X5, work up to 5 rep max

Core Work
2x
20 med ball toss sit ups w/20lbs
20 med ball lateral toss (feet off ground
Dead Bugs - (45 sec, alternate leg and arm, 45 sec, same leg and arm)

M6W1D4

Conditioning Day 2


2 min max rep burpees
1 min rest
2min max 15 yd shuttle runs
1 min rest
2 min max reps jumping squats
1 min rest
2 min max 15 yd shuttle runs
1 min rest
2 min max reps squats

M6W1D3

Lift Day 2


Front Squat - 3X5 80%
Push Press - 3X5 80%
Hang Power Clean 5X3 85%
Bent Over Row 5X5 80%

Core Work
Total 3 minutes of "L" sit hold.  For the "L" sit, hang from a pull up bar and hold your legs out parallel to the ground, putting yourself in an "L" shape.  The clock only runs when you are holding your position.  If your legs fall below parallel, stop counting the time.  Try and keep your legs up for at least 20 sec at a time.  If you must drop your legs more than 12 times, you incur a 5 burpee penalty for each time they drop over 12 times.

M6W1D2

Conditioning Day 1
Tabata Run - Horrible version

Tabata intervals are 8 sets of 20secs max intensity (run as fast/far as possible) followed by 10 secs rest.  One complete set of Tabata intervals will take 3min 50sec.
For our terrible Tabata we will have three special conditions.
1. This will be performed while wearing a weight vest or a well fitting backpack filled with weight.  20-35lbs is recommended.
2. All rest periods will be spent lying face down.  You must jump to your feet at the start of each work period.

3. After completing the first set of Tabata runs, you will rest 2 minutes and go again with a second set of Tabata runs.

M6W1D1

Practice is back in full swing so we will be reducing our workout volume to 3 lifting days per week and 2 conditioning days per week.  


Lift Day 1:
Back Squat - 3X5  80%
Bench Press - 3X5 80%
Hang Snatch - 5X3 85%
Weighted Chins - 5X4-6 85% (4-6 means range of 4 to 6 reps.  If you get 6 or more, add weight)

Core Work:
2X
20 V-Ups with 20lb plate
20 Berry pickers w/ 20lbs (sit on butt, hold feet off ground, touch plate to ground on both sides of body to count 1)
20 weighted sit ups w/20lb

M5W4D3

Medium Lift Day

Back Squat 60%/4, 70%/3, (80%/3)x3

Muscle Snatch 60%/3, 70%/3, 75%/3, (80%/3)x2

Super Set

Bench Press 60%/5, 70%/5, (85%/5)x3

Max rep Pull ups

M5W4D2

Heavy Lift Day

Front Squat 60%/5, 70%/4, (80%/4)x4

Power Clean 60%/5, 65%/4, 75%/4, (85%/4)x2

Hang Power Snatch 75%/4, (85%4)x2

Super set

Push Jerk 60%/3, 70%/3, (85%/3)x6

Weighted Chins 3 sets of max weight on 4-6 reps

M5W4D1

Practice and school start this week so we're going to go a bit light, only three days lifting, no met-cons.  Listen to Shack and wear your practice kits!

Medium Lift Day

Back Squat 60%/4, 70%/3, (80%/3)x3

Hang Clean 60%/3, 70%/3, 75%/3, (80%/3)x2

Super set

Bench Press 60%/5, 70%/5, (85%/5)x3

Bent Over Rows (85%/5)x3

M5W3D5

Medium Lift Day

Back Squat 60%/4, 70%/3, (80%/3)x3

Muscle Clean 60%/3, 70%/3, 75%/3, (80%/3)x2

Super set for last three sets only

Bench Press 60%/5, 70%/5, (85%/5)x3

Bent over Rows (85%/5)x3

Endurance

1:2 work to rest ratio

100m

rest

200m

rest

400m

rest 

X3

M5W3D4

Heavy Lift Day

Front Squat 60%/5, 70%/4, (80%/4)x4

Clean 60%/5, 65%/4, 75%/4, (85%/4)x2

Snatch 75%/4, (85%4)x2

Super set

Push Press 60%/3, 70%/3, (85%/3)x6

Wide Grip pull ups, max reps.

M5W3D3

Met Con

Tabata Push.

Using the tabata interval (20 sec on, 10 sec. rest X8), push either a prowler sled or your car (in a parking lot, put it in neutral).  Repeat 3 times, resting 4 minutes between each set of tabata intervals.  If pushing a car, feel free to do this in teams of two.  I also recommend having someone in the driver's seat to stop the car during rest/avoid running into things.

M5W3D2

Heavy Lift Day

Back Squat 60%/5, 70%/4, (80%/4)x4

Hang Power Snatch 60%/5, 65%/4, 75%/4, (85%/4)x2

Hang Power Clean 75%/4, (85%4)x2

Super set

Bench Press 60%/5, 70%/5, (85%/5)x3

Weighted Chin Ups 60%/5, 70%/5, (85%/5)x3

M5W3D1

On the minute for 12 min. Deadlift 2/85%  5 push ups

then

On the minute for 12 min run 5-10-5 shuttle  5 push ups

M5W2D5

Medium Met-Con Day

5 rounds

Max Reps Body Weight Front Squat (whatever your body weight is, load the bar with that much weight)

Max reps Chin Ups - close grip (hands should be inside of shoulders)

M5W2D4

Heavy Lift Day

Back Squat 60%/5, 70%/4, (80%/4)x4

Power Snatch 60%/5, 65%/4, 75%/4, (85%/4)x2

Power Clean 75%/4, (85%4)x2

Push Press 60%/5, 70%/5, (85%/5)x3

Snatch Pull 95%/3, 105%/3

M5W2D3

Medium Lift Day

Back Squat 60%/4, 70%/3, (80%/3)x3

Muscle Snatch 60%/3, 70%/3, 75%/3, (80%/3)x2

Bench Press 60%/5, 70%/5, (85%/5)x3

Pendlay Rows (85%/5)x3

Endurance: 

1:1 work to rest ratio

20m

rest

40m

rest

60m

rest

80m

rest

100m

rest

120m

rest

140m

rest

160m

rest

180m

rest

200m

rest

180m

rest

160m

rest

140m

rest

120m

rest

100m

rest

80m

rest

60m

rest

40m

rest

20m

M5W2D2

Met-Con
1min. on, 1 min. off repeat five times (total of 5 mins work, 5 mins rest)
During minute on cycles, perform max reps of burpee kettlebell snatches.  See video of combine for example.
Score using the least amount of reps completed in any of the 1 min work sessions.

M5W2D1

Heavy Lift Day

Front Squat 60%/5, 70%/4, (80%/4)x4

Clean 60%/5, 65%/4, 75%/4, (85%/4)x2

Snatch 75%/4, (85%4)x2

Rack Jerk 60%/3, 70%/3, (85%/3)x6

Clean Pull 95%/4, 105%/4

Rugby Combine

Last Friday I was in town before heading to SF for a Crossfit Football clinic and I did a "Combine" for rugby players.  It's a work in progress at the moment but I think we got some good results.

We ran through 7 tests: Vertical Leap, Broad Jump, 40yd dash, 5-10-5 shuttle, "L" shuttle, 60yd shuttle and a new "Work Capacity" test which was 1 minute of max reps burpee to KB snatch w/1.5 pood.

The first 6 tests are the same as you will see in the NFL combine.  I think some of them have merit for rugby players and some do not, a fast 40 time is great but even among football coaches it's efficacy in determining true "game" speed is questionable.  Athletes don't run in straight lines with nothing in their hands.  Having a good vertical leap is nice too but there really isn't a whole lot of solo jumping in rugby and even if you do, absolute height is more important than vertical leaping abilities.  I feel that the various shuttle runs do the best job at displaying athletic ability relative to the rugby athlete.  The other major difference between rugby players and football players is the time domain we work in.  Football plays virtually never last more than 15 or 20 seconds.  This requires a tremendous amount of repeatable explosive power.  A sequence in rugby can last for 3 to 4 minutes of sustained work.  For our test I went with 1 minute as the time domain to simulate something on the longer side of one player constantly working using a complex movement, the burpee/snatch. I think it's a pretty good start and we're going to keep messing with this thing until we get it right.

M5W1D5

Met-Con
7 rounds for time
7 Power Snatches 115lb
2 70m runs

M5W1D4

Heavy Day

Back Squat 60%/5, 70%/4, (80%/4)x4

Power Snatch 60%/5, 65%/4, 75%/4, (85%/4)x2

Clean 75%/4, (85%4)x2

Push Jerk 60%/5, 70%/5, (85%/5)x3

Clean Pull 95%/3, 105%/3

M5W1D3

Light Met-Con

20-14-8

95lb thruster

30m run (cones 15m apart, run out and back for 1 rep)

M5W1D2

Medium Day

Front Squat 60%/5, 70%/4, (80%/3)x4

Clean 60%/3, 70%/3, 75%/3, (80%/3)x2

Clean Pull 95%/3, 105%/3

Bench Press 60%/5, 70%/5, (85%/5)x3

Endurance: 

40m sprint on the minute for 15 min.  Stop early if you fail to maintain a true sprint.

M5W1D1

You should have tested new maxes last week.  We will be going to 5 workouts a week for the next 4 weeks.  I recommend going 3 on 1 off 2on 1 off.  this would look like Mon, tue, wed work, thur, rest fri, sat, work, sun rest.

Heavy Day - Remember to recalculate your percentages off your new 1RMs

Back Squat 60%/5, 70%/4, (80%/4)x4

Snatch 60%/5, 65%/4, 75%/4, (85%/4)x2

Power Clean 75%/4, (85%4)x2

Press 60%/5, 70%/5, (85%/5)x3

Snatch Pull 95%/3, 105%/3

M2W4D4

Heavy Lift/ 1RM Retest Day

Back Squat: Find New 1RM

Snatch: Find New 1RM

Power Clean: Find New 1RM

Press: Find New 1RM

Become a savage like Ma'a Nonu

Reminder!   We will be conducting a Rugby Combine Test this Friday at Toomey Field, UC Davis at 10am

M2W4D3

Medium Lift Day

Front Squat 60%/5, 70%/4, (80%/3)x4

Clean 60%/3, 70%/3, 75%/3, (80%/3)x2

Clean Pull 95%/3, 105%/3

Bench Press 60%/5, 70%/5, (85%/5)x3

Endurance:  Tempo

2K run

1st 400m 85%

2nd 400m 80%

3rd 400m 90%

4th 400m 80%

5th 400m 95%

If possible, try to get split times for every 400m.  Times should not necessarily be faster, percentages are based on perceived exertion, not actual speed increase although you may find that to be the case.

M2W4D2

Light Met-Con

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes:

Max Rep Pull Ups

Run 200 m

Max Rep. Push Ups

Run 200m

*Goal…total pull ups+push ups

Endurance:  Interval Day

1:3 Work to rest ratio

40 sec. max effort sprint

2min. rest

X8

M2W4D1

Heavy Lift Day

Back Squat 60%/5, 70%/4, (80%/4)x4

Power Snatch 60%/5, 65%/4, 75%/4, (85%/4)x2

Power Clean 75%/4, (85%4)x2

Push Press 60%/5, 70%/5, (85%/5)x3

Snatch Pull 95%/3, 105%/3

Kelly Starrett's Mobility WOD

Listen up you bunch of inflexible, stiff jointed, injury prone messes!  Kelly Starrett A.K.A. K-Starr is a jjoint mobility rockstar.  Normally, he costs lots of money to go see or you can pay even more to go to one of his certs and in the end, you will move pain free and be a more flexible/better athlete.  Well, now, you can get some K-Starr for free.  He just launched a new blog where he gives out a bunch of free mobility exercises.  These are all really good to do, especially if you play a sport like rugby.  Check it out and incorporate what he says into your daily routine.  This stuff will keep you on point and in the game longer.

http://www.mobilitywod.blogspot.com/

Here's a taste. Go to the site, subscribe to it, do what he says.

M2W3D4

Medium Day

Back Squat 60%/4, 70%/3, (80%/3)x3

Muscle Snatch 60%/3, 70%/3, 75%/3, (80%/3)x2

Bench Press 60%/5, 70%/5, (85%/5)x3

Pendlay Rows (85%/5)x3  Pendlay rows are similar to bent over rows except the weight should touch the ground between each rep)  For weight, use the same as you would for bench press.

Endurance:  Interval day

1:1 work to rest ratio, perform sequence 3 times

200m run

rest

400m

rest

800m

rest

M2W3D3

Light Met-Con

21-15-9
Dead Lift 100kg
Knee to Elbows (hang from pull up bar, touch knees to elbows)

Endurance: 5K tempo run.  Run first 1600m @75%  Run 2nd 1600m @90% run next 1200m @80% run final 600m at max effort.

M2W3D2

Heavy Day

Front Squat 60%/5, 70%/4, (80%/4)x4

Clean 60%/5, 65%/4, 75%/4, (85%/4)x2

Snatch 75%/4, (85%4)x2

Rack Jerk 60%/3, 70%/3, (85%/3)x6

Clean Pull 95%/4, 105%/4

M2W3D1

Medium  Metcon Day

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 reps of:

Overhead Squat 60kg

Handstand Push Ups  -  If you can't do handstand push ups, scale this work out by either putting some rolled up towels/a pillow under your head or do an inverted push up with your knees on a box above your head.

Endurance:  Tabata Run  Increase speed 5% from last tabata run, incline remains the same.

M2W2D4

Back Squat 60%/5, 70%/4, (80%/4)x4

Power Snatch 60%/5, 65%/4, 75%/4, (85%/4)x2

Clean 75%/4, (85%4)x2

Push Jerk 60%/5, 70%/5, (85%/5)x3

Clean Pull 95%/3, 105%/3

Endurance:  Swim, 20 min. for max distance, all out effort.

M2W2D3

Front Squat 60%/5, 70%/4, (80%/3)x4

Clean 60%/3, 70%/3, 75%/3, (80%/3)x2

Clean Pull 95%/3, 105%/3

Bench Press 60%/5, 70%/5, (85%/5)x3

Endurance: Set up cones or markers every 20m over a 100m field (goal line to goal line).  Every time you get to a cone, preform 2 burpees.  Work to rest ratio is 1:1 (rest same time as you work.

100m

rest

60m

rest

200m

rest

40m

rest

200m

rest

60m

rest

100m

rest

400m

rest

40m

rest

40m

rest

40m

rest

40m

M2W2D2

15, 9, 6 reps of:

DB Thrusters 50lb

KB Swings 2pood (72lbs)

Ring Pull Ups (chest to hands)

Endurance:

2k run @ 90%

M2W2D1

All lift percentages based off 1 rep max

Back Squat 60%/5, 70%/4, (80%/4)x4

Snatch 60%/5, 65%/4, 75%/4, (85%/4)x2

Power Clean 75%/4, (85%4)x2

Press 60%/5, 70%/5, (85%/5)x3

Snatch Pull 95%/3, 105%/3

Endurance:  20X 20 sec sprint followed by 20 sec rest.  Go for max distance.

Paleo Brands New Site Launches Today

The best internet food company in the known universe is Paleo Brands.  Granted, there isn't a whole lot of competition but on the whole they do a great job of offering super healthy, prepackaged food for the power/performance minded athlete in addition to general nutrition information.  Guys, I can't emphasize this enough, NUTRITION IS CRITICAL!!!  It can literally make or break your athletic career.  I'm not saying you guys need to go out and spend all your money on prepackaged cave man fodder but you do need to educate yourselves and you probably should reevaluate how you spend your food budget.  People always complain that they can't afford to eat healthy, that grass fed beef costs an extra buck or two at the market and yada, yada, yada.  I see those same people drop $50 a night at the bar three nights a week.  I promise you that if you spend one less night a week at the bar and instead invest that money into buying high quality, fresh, local foods you will see an improvement in your fitness.  This is not rocket science.  For those of you who are too lazy, incompetent or just not good with fire, try getting some pre-made paleo food from Paleo Brands.

M2W1D4

Warm Up:
Run 200m forward, 200m backward
10X OH Squat
        push ups
        Bulldog Pointers (Bulldog position - hands and knees.  Extend right hand/left leg and vice versa)
        Bulldog Fire hydrants (raise leg like peeing on fire hydrant)
        Bulldog Hip Circles (rotate bent leg 360)
        Bulldog Straight leg hip circles (same as before but with straight leg)
        Mountain Climbers (lay on belly, alternate bringing knees up to elbows)
 5X  Clapping push ups


Core training
25X Med Ball Crunch/extend
20X Partner Straight leg Throwdowns (lay on back with legs straight up in air.  Partner pushes lags to ground)
20X Bicycle crunches (ea. leg)
25X med ball side throw/catch (ea. side)


Lift: Press 8-8-8-8


Met-Con: 12 min AMRAP 3 Press (60% 1RM), 6 Pull ups, 9 Box Jumps (24")


Endurance: (note once again, endurance is always done with significant rest time before or after main workout)  1 mile tempo run, first 800m at 85%, second 800m at 95%

M2W1D3

Warm Up:
Run 100m, run 100m Backwards X 2
10 squats
10 lunges
10 back lunges
10 lateral lunges
10 high leg kicks
20m high knees (focus on fast touches, pump arms)
20m butt kicks (same focus)
10 push ups
hold planche for 1 min.
10 push ups
L.W.T.Y X 10 w/5lb plates/dumbbells


Lift: Spend 20 mins working up to a 1 rep max back squat


Met-Con: Death By Back Squat
Using 50% of the 1RM Back Squat you just established, perform 1 back squat on the minute, adding 1 rep every minute. i.e. time = 0sec-1min, 1 squat.  1:01-2:00 = 2 squats. 2:01-3:00 = 3 squats... etc until you are unable to complete the required number of reps in the minute.  If you fail before the 10th minute, continue on at what ever rep you failed at until 10 minutes is reached.

M2W1D2

One more note, at this point you should be moving to 4 work outs per week.

Warm Up: Your choice of about 2-3 mins of light aerobic activity.
Spend about 10-15 mins on dynamic warm up, make sure to cover hip and shoulder mobility as well as core areas.

Lift: Bench Press, 8-8-8-8

Met Con: 21-15-9 reps of 95lb bench press, Chest to bar chin ups

Endurance: 1:1 work to rest ratio, run 100m, rest, run 200m, rest, run 400m, rest repeat sequence three times straight through.

M2W1D1

Sorry for the delay in between workouts guys, Friday was my 30th birthday and things got a bit out of hand.  I am mostly recovered now and I'm pretty sure every thing can either be replaced or will grow back...

Anyways, we're now on to mesocycle 2 where we will be going a bit heavier with the weights and doing crossfit style metcons more often.

For the warm ups, use the old warm ups, mix and match what works for you but don't ignore any of the movements.  Try and incorporate the muscle groups you will be using in the work out into your warm up.

Lift: over the course of 15 minutes, work up to a 5 rep max dead lift.

Metcon:  On the minute for 15 minutes: 3 DL, 3 Hand Stand Push Ups.  For DL, use 80% of 5RM established earlier.

Endurance (to be done 3+ hours before or after rest of workout): Tabata run on treadmill, use 7 min mile pace and at least 10% grade.

Crossfit Football Clinic August 28th & 29th In San Francisco

Hey ruggers, if you're interested in taking your training to the next level in terms of fitness and nutrition, I would highly recommend you attend this clininc.  It is a two day event run by John Welbourn, creator of Crossfit Football and it contains everry thing you need to know about programming your workouts, lifting technique and guest nutrition lecturers.  It will also feature me, as a guest coach.  This is great for players but it potentially has the biggest impact for coaches so let all your old highschool or college coaches know about this.  The title is Crossfit Football but it definitely applies to Rugby.

Crossfit Football Clininc

What Would Chuck Norris Eat?

I get two basic questions via email over and over again; A) Are you interested in great deals on Viagra and Cialis! and B) What should I eat?  Well, the answer to A) is YES! and the answer to B) is a bit more complicated.  Every person is different both in body composition and in regards to what your fitness goals are.  For the majority of readers on this blog the answer is to become jacked and powerful so you can dominate on the rugby pitch and as Thomas Jefferson famously said "slam mad hoes".  Recently on John Welbourn's blog, "Talk to me Johnny", there was a great article titled "Just Tell Me What To Eat", in which Chuck Norris tells you what to eat and then roundhouse kicks you in the face.

"It seems that I needed some counseling, so I did what any intelligent individual would do, I contacted Chuck Norris for his views on nutrition. I asked for an accurate prescription for what I should be eating. Chuck responded and delivered the information via a mechanical winged messenger given as a gift by the Gods of Olympus..."

Read up and educate yourselves!

M1W3D3

Warm Up:
3 Mins. jump rope
10 squats
10 push ups
10 sit ups
10 pull ups
30 sec. samson stretch

10 squats

10 push ups

10 sit ups

10 pull ups

30 sec. samson stretch

Work Out today is from CFFB; "Lizzie"

12, 9, 6, 3 reps of:

Power Cleans 185 lbs ( scale down to 155 or 135 is necessary)
Ring Dips (use regular dips if necessary)

Record time, this  should be done as fast as possible.

Endurance:

60 yd. shuttle started every other minute X 10

60 yard shuttle - set up a cone at starting line, 5 yds, 10 yd and 15yds.  Sprint to 5 and back, 10 and back 15 and run straight through the finish.

For this drill you will run the shuttle 10 times starting ever 120 seconds.

Time yourselves, if your effort falls below 90% of your first time you incur a 5 burpee penalty for every slow shuttle run.

Finally, if you want to learn more about nutrition for the power athlete, check out the site "Talk To Me Johnny", it has lots of great info and quick replies if you post in the comments.

M1W3D2

Warm Up:
Run 100m
skip 100m
run 100m
skip 100m

10 walk outs to arches
10 cobras
10 mountain climbers
10 bird dogs (bull dog position, point left arm/right leg and switch)
10 Hip circles (from bulldog pos.)
10 squats
10 lunges
10 back wards lunges
10 lateral lunges
10X through ITWY
hold dead bug position for 2 mins

Core work
30 bicycles, full extension
25 v-ups w/25lb plate
30 berry pickers w/25lb plate
cycle through twice

3A Back Squat 10-10-10
3B Bench Press 10-10-10

4A Weighted step ups 5ea leg X 3 (hold 50lb dumbbells in each hand, step up to a 20-24" box)
4B Man Makers 5ea. side X 3 (hold 50lb dumbbells in hands in push up position, do push up then pull up one db to chest)

5A 1 min hand stand hold X 3
5B 1 min L sit hold X 3

Endurance:
It's pretty hot out there, lets do some swim intervals!
1:2 work to rest ratio 50m all out sprints X 10

Also, I'm doing a lot of work for Crossfit Football these days and we have some cool new features coming out that you should like including some rugby stuff and a new look website so be sure to check the site often and let me know what you think.

M1W3D1

Warm Up:
Bear Crawl 50m
Bear Crawl Backwards 50m
10 Planche Push Ups
10 Cobras (lay on stomach with arms stretched out to side. Arch back and go from thumbs down to thumbs up)
10 Mountain climbers (lay on stomach, touch knees to elbows)
Flip over onto back
3X30 sec. dead bugs.  First do same leg/arm, then alt. leg/arm and then both legs and arms
10 squats
10 scap pull ups
10 pull ups
30 sec. hand stand hold

Core Training:
Hold L-sit from hanging position. Use a stopwatch and hold until failure.  Rest 1:1 ratio, repeat 4 times

3A Romanian Dead Lift 8-8-8-8
3B Dumbbell Push Press 8-8-8-8

4A Weighted Reverse Lunges (barbell on shoulders, step backwards to knee and then back up) 10-10-10 (5 on ea. leg)
4B Weighted wide grip pull ups - grip should be 4-6" wider than shoulders.  3 sets, work up to max weight you can pull for 5 unbroken pull ups

5A Weighted Dips 5-5-5
5B I.T.W.Y.  3X10 for each w/5lb plate in each hand

Endurance:
1K time trial w/35lb sand bag or plate

M1W2D3

Warm Up:
Run 100m, run 100m Backwards X 2
10 squats
10 lunges
10 back lunges
10 lateral lunges
10 high leg kicks
20m high knees (focus on fast touches, pump arms)
20m butt kicks (same focus)
10 push ups
hold planche for 1 min.
10 push ups
L.W.T.Y X 10 w/ no weights

Core training:
25 sit ups
25 v-ups
25 berry pickers (feet off ground, move med ball side to side)
25 full extension bicycle crunches

3A Power Snatch 5-5-5
3B Lateral Box Jumps 5-5-5

4A Dead Lift 10-10-10
4B Inverted push ups (feet on box at least 20" high) 3X max reps

5A Weighted Chins (hold dumbbells between feet if you don't have a dip belt) 5-5-5
5B Swiss Ball leg curls - single leg 10-10-10

Endurance:
AFAP (as fast as possible)
8 rounds of
25 squats
200m run

M1W2D2

Warm up:
3 min jump rope
10X Hip Thrust
        Alternate arm/leg dead bugs (lay on back, raise alternate arm/leg straight up while other arm and leg ar 4" off ground)
        Push Ups
        Forward Lunge
        Backward Lunge
        Lateral Lunge
        Clap Push ups
Alternate 3X 30 sec handstand hold/L sit hold

Core training
A15X Knee to elbows (hang on pull up bar, touch knees to elbows)
B20 sec. Hold "L" position while hanging from bar
Repeat complex twice

3A Hang Clean/Jerk 5-5-5
3B Dumbbell incline 10-10-10

4A Hang Whip Snatch (use between 45-65lb) do as many reps as possible in 00:10 - 2 sets
4B Pull ups 2 sets of max reps

5A Standing dumbbell shoulder press 10-10
5B Leg Curl Complex (using swiss ball, lay on back w/heels on top of ball.  Pull ball back to butt w/both feet then extend ball back out with only one leg/other leg extended up into air) 6ea.-6ea.


Endurance:
12 min. Tempo run.  Maintain 85% run effort for 12 mins.  Pace should not change at all during run.   Record distance.

M1W2D1

First off, some clarification on the scheduling of the workouts.  At the moment there are only 3 workouts per week (ex. Mon, Wed, Fri).  The title post, today's is "M1W2D1" means M = meso cycle 1, W = week 2 and D = day 1.  I'm only doing the three per week because I know you're busy but you should be able to commit fully to at least three per week.  Additionally, get out there and play some touch, go swimming, chase loose women, etc.  Stay active!

Warm Up:
Run 200m forward, 200m backward
10X OH Squat
        push ups
        Bulldog Pointers (Bulldog position - hands and knees.  Extend right hand/left leg and vice versa)
        Bulldog Fire hydrants (raise leg like peeing on fire hydrant)
        Bulldog Hip Circles (rotate bent leg 360)
        Bulldog Straight leg hip circles (same as before but with straight leg)
        Mountain Climbers (lay on belly, alternate bringing knees up to elbows)
 5X  Clapping push ups

Core training
25X Med Ball Crunch/extend
20X Partner Straight leg Throwdowns (lay on back with legs straight up in air.  Partner pushes lags to ground)
20X Bicycle crunches (ea. leg)
25X med ball side throw/catch (ea. side)

3A Power Snatch 5-5-5
3B Lateral Box Jumps 5-5-5 (w/ box to your side, jump side ways onto and then off box then back on other side)

4A Weighted Push ups (put weight plate on back or weighted vest, 45lbs) 2 sets of max reps
4B Dumbbell snatch 5-5 (each set is 5 with each arm)

5A Good Mornings 8-8
5B Bench Press 8-8

Endurance:

2 mins max rep burpees
1 min rest
1 min max rep 40 yd shuttle (run back and forth a distance of 40 yds as many times as possible)
1 min rest
2 mins max rep jumping squats (squat then explode off the ground at least 6")
1 min rest
1 min max rep 40yd shuttle
1 min rest
2 mins max rep squats
1 min rest
1 min max rep 40 yd shuttle
1 min rest
2 mins max rep lunges

M1W1D3

(1) Warm up -
1. Hip Thrust X 12
2. Scorpions X 10 ea.
3. Supine Scorpions X 10 ea.
4. Rollover/V-sit X 10
5. Air Squat X 10
6. Push ups X 10
7. Forward Lunge X 5 ea.
8. Backward Lunge X 5 ea.
9. Lateral Lunge X 5 ea.
10. Clap push ups X 5

(2) Core Training -
1. Med Ball Sit up toss X 25
2. Med Ball Partner twists X 15 ea. Lock feet
3. J-knife X 25 ea.
4. Alt. Heel touches

3A/B, 4A/B and 5 A/B are super sets.  Alternate exercises between sets.

(3A) Hang Clean & Jerk 5-5-5
(3B) Plyo Box Push Up 5-5-5 (set up 2 boxes outside hands. Dynamic push up, land hands on top of boxes. See how high you can go)

(4A) Incline Bench 8-8-8-8
(4B) Swiss Ball Leg Curl 6-6-6-6 (lay on back, place back of leg on swiss ball, contract hamstring to pull ball toward butt)

(5A) Y.T.W.L X 10 (use 3-8lb dumbbells) X 2
(5B) Bar Curls 12-12

Y.T.W.L. Explained



6 - Endurance workout.  Do 3+ hours before or after main workout

2K time trial (5 laps around track)

Pre Season M1W1D2

A
10 X Walkouts
         Planche Push ups
         Samson Stretch (5 ea. leg)
         Air Squats
         Scap pull ups
         Chin ups

B
2X20 RDL @ 45% 1RM
     20 Bent Over Row @ 45% 1RM

C
2X  1 min. Dead Bugs (lay flat on back, hold legs straight up w/ toes pointed back at chin.  Lower alternate leg and hand-left&right- to 4" off ground and raise back slowly. Switch off for entire minute.  don not bend knee ever)
       1 min. Plank hold (like a push up position but rest on forearms)
       30 sec oblique plank hold each side (Side version of plank, rest on one arm only and side of foot)

D
Endurance Work:
Run 800m, do 5 burpees.  Rest the same amount of time it took to complete - this is a 1:1 work to rest interval
Run 400m, do 10 burpees.  Rest 1:1
Run 200m, do 20 burpees. Rest 1:1
Run 100m, do 40 burpees. Rest 1:1
Run 200m, do 20 burpees. Rest 1:1
Run 400m, do 10 burpees. Rest 1:1
Run 800m, do 5 burpees.
Record total time and time of each interval for future reference.

Off Season Training

Off Season Training

Beginning today, I will be posting a program for off season training.  We will initially be focusing on injury rehab/prehab work and conditioning before moving into strength and then power programs.  These phases will follow 4 week cycles to get you ready for the season.

Rehab/Prehab Workout 1:
For all sets, do sets in order and then repeat however many times are prescribed.

3X10 Front raises
     10 Lat raises
     10 Bent over Row
     10 Scapula pull-ups

3X20 Weighted V-ups (hold med ball/weights, try to touch toes while laying on back, keep feet elevated)
     20 Berry pickers (with med ball/weights, move load from grond on left side of body to right & vice versa. keep legs elevated)
     20 Full extension crunches  (extend legs fully at every crunch)

3X15 Lateral dumbbell pick up (set a 40-50lb dumbbell a foot to the left of you. Step laterally to your left while remaing forward facing. Lateral squat down, pick up DB and return to original stance.  Perfomr 15 on each side of body)
     15 Forward Dumbbell pick up (same as before but place the dumbbell in front of you and pick up from lunge position)
     15 Reverse DB pick up (place DB behind you and reverse lunge to pick up)

4X10 Cobras (lay on belly with arms stretched out to the sides, thumbs pointing down.  Arch up and rotate arms to a thumbs up position)
     10 Archers (Maintain a tight back, arms stretched above head, legs held up off ground.  Maintain this position and rock back and forth from arms to legs)


Endurance Workout:

Tabata Run, 8 intervals of 20sec on, 10 sec rest.
Set a treadmill to an 8 min mile pace (7.5mph) and grade to 8%

Using a stopwatch or the timer on the treadmill, run for 20sec and then step off the treadmill to rest for 10 sec.  Let the tredmill run while you rest so you can hop back on again.  Repeat 8 times.  For faster runners/better conditioned players start out at 8-8.5 mph pace but do not go so fast you fail or have to grab the rail on any round.

Stanford Collegiate 7's

UCD, 2010 Stanford Collegiate 7's Champs!

With only about two weeks introduction to the 7's game, the boys came together and put forth a tremendous effort to beat out many of the best collegiate teams in California to take home the cup.  The Ags went 2-1 in pool play, losing only to a strong St. Mary's "Blue" team (St. Mary's fielded two teams in the tourney) after only a 15 minute rest from the previous game.  In the semi-final, the boys came back to beat the St. Mary's "Red" team which looked suspiciously similar to the "Blue" team and in the final they played St. Mary's "Blue" team once again.  The keys to victory seemed to be a better understanding of the 7's game, thanks largely to the coaching of Steve Gray, former Eagle, USA 7's rep and USA 7's coach and Jon Schafer, All American at UCSB and Olympic Club standout.  The other key was conditioning; playing 5 games in one day including a final with 10 minute halves was a test of endurance.  As the day wore on the teams lacking fitness were exposed.  In the final game with the 10 minute halves St. Mary's nearly mounted a comeback but clearly lost their legs in the extra time.

Well done boys!  Skill + Fitness = Victory

Rugby Data

How Hard Do Rugby Players Work?

One of the hardest parts of training effectively for rugby is the variable nature of the sport.  In American Football, you have a fairly good idea of how long a play will last and how many plays you will have in a game.   In a game of rugby on the other hand you may have 5 seconds of high intensity play or you may have 5 minutes of high to moderate intensity.  
The best way to figure out how to train is to replicate game situations as much as possible and we now have some new data to help us with this.  Recently, Ross Tucker, an Exercise Physiologist from South Africa who writes for my all time favorite blog, Science of Sport, used GPS hardware on players in Super 14 games to find out just what's going on out there.  His full article can be found here and you should absolutely read it!  In case you don't, I'm going to repost a few of his findings and offer some insight on what they mean to you and how we can incorporate the data into our training.


From Ross Tucker's "Physiological demands of rugby"

These studies have shown the following:

- A backline player will experience about 120 ‘impacts’ per match – an impact is any involvement in a tackle, ruck/maul, or collision with the ground. Not surprisingly, forwards are involved in more impacts than backline players, with about 300 per match. Of these, 70 have a g-force greater than 8g, and the majority of impacts, somewhat surprisingly, come in the second half (65% compared to 35%).

- In terms of running, backline players can expect to cover between 7km and 7.5km a match, while forwards cover between 5km and 7km, depending on their playing position (loose forwards covering the most distance). About 70% of the match is spent standing or walking, 25% is spent jogging, and 5% running at sprinting speeds. This means that for every second spent running, players will rest or move slowly for about five seconds. 

- However, the real challenge lies in the number of times players have to change speeds, either accelerating or decelerating for short periods. The average ‘sprint’ is 20 metres long, and it happens 30 times a match, while fast jogging for 20m happens 90 times a match. In total, there are shifts in speed approximately 750 times per player per match, or once every three to four seconds. The challenge in terms of conditioning is to prepare players for this constant shifting of pace and direction.

- Forwards spend more time doing very high intensity exercise, and less time walking or standing than backline players (65% of the match for forwards, compared to 75% for backs). This is explained by the forwards having more ‘static exertion’ periods – scrums, rucking and mauling. The result is that overall, even though backs do more running during a match; they actually do less total work than forwards. For example, in an 80-minute match, a loose forward can expect to burn about 2000 kCal, compared to 1 700 kCal for backline players. This is 25% higher than what has been measured for professional soccer players. By way of comparison, a 90kg man running a half-marathon (21km) burns about the same amount of energy as a Super 14 player every weekend!

- Finally, the physiological load is actually greater in the second half of matches. Players run further in the second half, with more accelerations and short sprints, and there are twice as many impacts in the second half. More time is also spent doing high-intensity running and less time walking in the second half of matches, especially for forwards, which says that play is more continuous in the second half. It’s perhaps not surprising then that scorelines often remain tight for 50 minutes before opening up – the last 30 minutes is where the physiology begins to tell!

OK, good stuff, this data tells us a lot about how to train for our matches.  It tells us how many tackles or hits we will make in a game, how far we will run, what kind of running we will do, how often we change direction and the difference between forwards and backs (also proves that soccer players are pussies). 

One of the first things to take away from this is the type of running rugby players require.  We see that 70% of the time we're standing around, 30% of the time we're jogging and 5% of the time we're at a full out sprint.  On average, we see that 30 times a match we are sprinting for 20m and 90 times a match we are "fast jogging" for 20m.  We can then look at the changes of speed or direction, roughly 750 times per match.

Based just on these numbers, lets look at what a 10 minute section of a match would include on average in terms of just running: 3.74 sprints of 20m, 11.25 fast jogs of 20m, 93.75 changes of speed or direction and about 7 minutes of staying in one place.  Of course, this varies by position with the forwards running more and probably sprinting a bit less and the backs running less overall but probably with a greater number and length of sprints.

Next, lets take a look at "Impacts" per match; about 120 for backs and nearly 300 amongst the forwards.  Again, the discrepancy between the positions is no surprise but it does give us a pretty good idea of how to block out a training program for each.  In our 10 minute training block we'll have 15 "impacts" or high intensity bursts for the backs and about  37.5 for the forwards.  Using this data, lets make up a backs and a forwards work out.


Backs: We're going to have these guys focus mainly on sprints, change of direction and some max intensity efforts.  I'm going to go with a series of 1 -1 work to rest periods of 90 seconds, that is 90 seconds of work followed by 90 seconds of rest.  During the work period we're going to have a measurable amount of work so we know when to stop the workout, I want my guys to maintain at least 90% of their fresh work capacity so they'll do as many sets as they can while maintaining that intensity.
The 90 sec work period will be done on the pitch.  Starting on the goal line, the player will fast jog to the 22m line, do three bupees, fast jog back to the goal line, perform 2 power snatches at 60kg (more or less depending on strength but around 75% 1RM) then sprint as hard as possible through the 22m into a slow jog out to the 50m.  Turn around at the 50, on the way back, have cones set up in a random zig-zag pattern, cones should be spaced every 10-20m.  At each cone alternate between a sprint and fast jog.  When you get back to the goal line repeat the whole sequence as many times as possible in the 90 sec period.  If it's only one time, that's ok as long as it was a max effort.  Rest 90 seconds and repeat until you fall more than 10% off your first effort.


Now, this workout seems a bit convoluted and it is because I tried to fit every element into one.  You don't need to do this, focus on just one or two elements per workout and on occasion get crazy like the one above.  Don't just stick to one time domain, mix it up but try to keep it somewhat applicable to the sport you're playing.


Lets do a forwards workout now.  For the forwards I want more of a grinding workout so we'll do a 10 minute AMRAP session (AMRAP means As Many Rounds/Reps As Possible).  Again, starting on the goal line we'll use our 60kg barbell (about 135#).  Start with a barbell complex, power clean-front squat-thruster then bear crawl out to the 22m, then fast jog back to the goal line.  Repeat this 4 times and the 5th time when your bear crawl reaches the 22m, get up and sprint to the 50m line and then fast jog back and restart then entire sequence.

Parasympathetic Recovery

Parasympathetic Recovery


The website Elite FTS is one of the best strength and conditioning sites on the web because they have a great store where they sell things like the Prowler and they post cool articles pretty much every day.  Every once in a while, they have a really good article that can benefit anyone.  Today, Charlie Cates submitted a fantastic article on parasympathetic recovery.  You may be wondering "what is parasympathetic recovery and why should I care?"  Well, the article explains the finer points but generally, it has to do with a specific part of your nervous system which regulates body functions.  When you get your nervous system out of whack you can have a hard time recovering from exercise (physical or mental btw although the article only goes into training recovery, it's true for over worked individuals as well).  Being able to recognize the signs of an imbalance between your sympathetic nervous system and your parasympathetic nervous system is important; it allows you to address the problem and get back to performing at 100%.

The Parasympathetic Secret

By 

Charlie Cates

Published: May 10, 2010

You wake up after a restful night’s sleep to hit up the gym before the sun comes up. The last few training days have been pretty taxing on you, but surprisingly, you were able to hop out of bed with very little soreness. But that was gone three minutes into your warm up. Today is your deadlift day, and even though your legs, back, and arms feel strong, the weight feel heavy. Way too heavy. Why is this? Why do you feel so weak and unmotivated to lift heavy and strong? Because while your muscular system may have recovered from your previous workouts, your nervous system hasn’t.

If you’ve ever felt this way in the gym, odds are that it can be attributed to your nervous system being in a sympathetic state. To understand how to fix the problem, you must first understand the problem, so a brief physiology lesson is due. The nervous system is broken down into two main components—the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The CNS is made up of the brain and spinal cord while the PNS is broken down into subdivisions—the sensory-somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS controls much of what goes on internally in the human body to make sure that it functions normally, such as breathing when we aren’t thinking about it, stimulating the release of bile from the gallbladder, and controlling our heart rate.

The ANS is once again divided into two categories—the parasympathetic nervous system and the sympathetic nervous system. These two systems serve opposite roles in the body, with the parasympathetic nervous system signaling for the body to be in a more relaxed state while the sympathetic nervous system signals the body to be in a more aggressive or alert state. This is important to know because when you spend prolonged periods of time in a sympathetic state (i.e. when you work out), metabolites begin to build up in the bloodstream. As these metabolites continue to collect, your average heart rate will begin to rise with everything you do. And there, my friends, lies one of the best indicators as to whether or not you have truly recovered from your workout.

One of the best ways to go about monitoring the state of your nervous system is to check your resting heart rate (RHR) upon waking every morning. This is a habit that I’ve gotten into and it has paid off tremendously. I know that when I’m fresh, my RHR is around 44 beats per minute (bpm). However, by the end of every week, my RHR starts to creep up around 60 bpm. That’s when I know it’s time to head to the gym for a recovery session, which always brings me back down into the 40s by the next morning. Not only will someone’s RHR increase, but their heart rate during other activities will be higher than normal as well. This is why many professional and collegiate athletes are being required to wear heart rate monitors during their workouts, so coaches can watch their heart rate that day during specific drills and compare that to what it has been on other days. This is also to make sure that their heart rate doesn’t get too high or too low during their training session, so they can get the most out of the athletes both on that day and in future training sessions.

Many people think that it’s best to take a day off from the gym when they start to feel groggy and unmotivated. While not seeing the gym for a day may be good for their mindset, what their body more than likely needs is a light training session, working basic movement patterns, easy cardio, or a brief skill session, depending on whether or not this person is a competitive athlete. Regardless of which activity the subject chooses, the most important thing is that his or her heart rate is kept between 120 and 130 bpm. I can’t stress this enough. When doing recovery work, you must monitor your heart rate and make sure that it stays between 120 and 130 beats per minute. If you own a heart rate monitor that gives you constant feedback, your possibilities for recovery work are endless. If not, you will be confined to using some sort of cardio equipment that has a heart rate monitor on it. These activities should be performed for 20 to 45 minutes on a day when no other training is scheduled. For athletes, I recommend doing something that is low impact on the joints, such as biking, using the elliptical, or wearing a heart rate monitor in the pool.

So what is so special about the 120 to 130 bpm range? The secret is that within this range is where the body makes a switch from the parasympathetic to the sympathetic nervous system. Below 120 bpm, the parasympathetic nervous system still sends signals to the body while above 130 bpm the sympathetic nervous system is completely in charge. Within this heart rate range, the body is best able to flush out the metabolites of previous workouts. Therefore, it allows your body to optimally recover and sends your nervous system from a sympathetic state back to a parasympathetic state.

So the next time your legs are fresh but your head is in a fog, try some nervous system recovery work to get back to “beast mode.” Get big or die trying.

Charlie Cates is the owner and operator of Self Made and selfmadefitness.com. He is CPT- and PES-certified through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. He has worked with athletes of all ages and ability levels, from nine-year old kids to NFL MVPs.