Hey Paul, thanks for your question, just to clarify, I am not employed by Get Strength, I provide the answers as a free services to interested people, in using bands ideally you will work off of a percentage of your best lift, this starting percentage is not set in stone, I have some of my rugby players who start a cycle of band use using 40% whilst other will use 50% to begin with, so I would look at your progressions for bench press like this:

week 1 50% + bands 8 x 3 reps

week 2 52.5% + bands 8 x 3 reps

week 3 55% + bands 8 x 3 reps

week 4 50% + 2 bands 6 x 3 reps

week 5 52.5% + 2 bands 6 x 3 reps

week 6 55% + 2 bands 6 x 3 reps

and squat like this:

week 1 60% + 1 light bands 10 x 2 reps

week 2 62.5% + 1 light bands 10 x 2 reps

week 3 65% + 1 light bands 10 x 2 reps

week 4 60% + 1 medium bands 8 x 2 reps

week 5 62.5% + 1 medium bands 8 x 2 reps

week 6 55% + 1 medium bands 8 x 2 reps

cheers, ash

Hey Paddy, glad to hear you are following a quality program in
DeFranco's, if more rugby players took the time to understand the value
of program's such as this one they strength training issues would
disappear over night. As to your questions, firstly with the ME training
days, I feel for rugby players it is better to hold the exercises over a
slightly longer adaptation phase of three weeks and to micro manage over
those three weeks by following a 5RM, 3RM and finally 1RM protocol then
changing the movements and going back to a 5RM to begin the next three
week mini cycle, I would include the good morning as one of your options
in the ME lower body group, even a Simmons/Combo Good Morning is an
excellent additional exercise, alternating between a box squatting
movement and then a pulling/hamstring/glute/lower back movement would be
great as you are doing:

Box Squats at parallel
Good Morning Combo
Box Squats at 5 cms below parallel
Rack Deadlifts
Box Squats at 5 cms above parallel
Good Mornings

That is 18 weeks of variation, before you may want to cycle through the
same list again.

As to your use of chains I would use them on the DE day and maybe cycle
them over a 3 week period keeping the percentage of maximum the as per
bar weight and add a set of chains per week, then increase the
percentage of maximum by 2.5% or 5% and cycleup in chain weight again,
as long as you can maintain the speed of the bar.

I use a lot of jumps in my player's training and often super set them
with the DE exercise a selection of these are below:

Knees to feet jumps
Box jumps
Jump outs with a band
Depth jumps
Seated box jumps

I would also use the olympic lifts on DE days and super set the jumps
with them. Go well and enjoy, thanks for such a well thought out
intelligent question, cheers, Ashley

Hi John and glad that the porgrams have been of use to you, it is very hard to add upper body mass duirng season with the demands of the game and recovery, we attempt to bypass this by maintaining a higher rep per set strategy, instead of our usual three week program of:

Week 1: 6,5,4 Week 2: 5,4,3 Week 3: 4,3,2

we would use:

Week 1: 10.8.6 Week 2: 8,6,4 Week 3: 7,5,3

for our players that need more work on maintaining size in the upper body, we will still do our usual reps for lower body training, we also try and get an extra upper body workout in on a Thursday for a Saturday game, combining it with some lower body power work, Usually we will do a 2 x Upper body push pull super set on a monday or a tuesday (4 exercises in total) then just a single upper body push pull superset to accompany the lower body power program on a thursday, hope this gives you a lift in the areas you are needing, cheers, ash

Hey Ben and thanks for the feedback, DeFranco's interpretation and implementation of the West Side principles is a superb contribution and I would suggest that anyone who wants to be ahead of the pack put some time into training in this style. As for your schedule with Medical School, and training and games it is indeed difficult to get in the required number of sessions each week, I would incorporate the speed day elements of the West side program so weight train 2 times per week during the season and use the entire program during the off season or you could utilise the program I posted here combining both speed and power in the one program, here is the program side of the article:

Dynamic Movement Warm up

Micro Fastfoot Ladders and Quicken Micro and Mini hurdle sequences

Medicine Ball throws and acceleration sprints over 10 – 15 metres

Depth or Box Jumps in gym

Assisted sprints utilizing short (mini slingshot overspeed trainers)and/or long (slingshot overspeed trainers) bungees cords

Power Snatch from blocks set at knee height, Block Cleans or Jump Squats (6 sets of 3 reps at 30 – 40%)

Maximal velocity work over 30 – 60 metres

Clean or Snatch Pulls from the floor or Band Box Squats (6 sets of 3 reps at 60 – 80%)

Resisted speed efforts utilizing either pro power speed resistors, power speed chutes, power speed sleds, these are often performed with a contrast sprint after the loaded sprint

Trap Bar Dead lifts or Front Squats (6sets of 3 reps at > 90% 1RM loading)

This entire speed and power complex training is completed inside of 60 minutes

An upper body speed strength day would compliment this program and I would schedule that for whichever day suits even the Friday as a number of fitness coaches I know are doing an upper body workout the day before the game as a primer but also it appears to have no adverse effect on performance, the caveat being low volume and high intensity, I do believe that speed and repeated speed are essential elements of any rugby program, you could put the repeated speed into the Wednesday training session with your team, cheers, ash

Hi Andy,
thanks for your comments, 12 weeks gives you a good length of time to strengthen explosively as you move towards your season, I prefer a modified Olympic lifting approach, which I include below, but also a great articel by DeFranco using the Westside template is also a great off season plan to follow for rugby forwards, more tight forwards than loose forwards, go to www.elitefts.com or www.t-nation.com and check back articles and look for WestSide for Skinny Bastards, outstanding. Below is my fully programmed approach using Olympic lifting, go well, ashley

Training Month with Weekly Variation

* Olympic- Strength/Speed Movements (all workout weights are written as %)

Week
Work Out
Intensity Rating
Volume

1
(70 x 4, 73 x 4, 76 x 4) x 2
Medium/Heavy
24

2
(82 x 3, 85 x 3, 88 x 3) x 2
Heavy
18

3
61 x 5, 64 x 5, 67 x 5
Medium
15

4
91 x 2, 94 x 2, 97 x 2
Very Heavy
6

# Strength Movements

Week
Work Out
Intensity Rating
Volume

1
(70 x 5, 73 x 5, 76 x 5) x 2
Medium/Heavy
30

2
(82 x 3, 85 x 3, 88 x 3) x 2
Heavy
18

3
61 x 7, 64 x 7, 67 x 7
Medium
21

4
91 x 2, 94 x 2, 97 x 2
Very Heavy
6

Basic Program Example – Pull, Push, Squat, Posterior Chain – Heavy, Light, Medium

Monday
Wednesday
Friday

Snatch Pulls*
Power Snatch*
Power Clean*

Rack Jerks*
Military Press#
Push Press*

Back Squats#
Overhead Squats#
Front Squats#

Romanian Dead Lift#
Glute Ham Raise#
Good Morning#

Program follows the sets and reps and load/intensity protocols as listed

Weekly Volume
Week 1 330 reps – Medium/Heavy Load 39%

Week 2 216 reps – Heavy Load 26%

Week 3 222 reps – Medium Load 26%

Week 4 72 reps – Maximal Load 9%

Total for month – 840 reps

This volume only refers to work weights and does not take into consideration the number of sets or reps that would be required to get to the working weight required for the session.

Hi Thomas, as a 14 year old I made my first start in the the gym, I may have been luckier back then since there was not the vast array of equipment available to you today, I was given a very basic diet of the "big bang" exercises, and when I read your question I see that you have been seduced into thinking that more is better, you are one of many and this is an often asked question, we need to build a base which is going to support you throughout your rugby and other sports life and way into the future, Reg Park a very famous South African bodybuilder, who was actually teh man that Arnold idolised when he was growing up once said"show me a man who can press his bodyweight over his head and I will show you someone who never needs to do lateral raises", honestly you need to cut out the exercsies where you can only use light weights and focus on the exercsies that will have a marked effect on your body both hormonally and also mechanically:

Squats
Dead Lifts
Presses - Bench, Incline, Overhead
Pulls - Bent Row, Chins,Upright

A program of these initially twice a week and then 3 times a week on non-alternate days using a set and rep range of 4 - 6 setsof 6 - 10 reps, wil set you well for a strong powerful physique for all you want to do, cheers, ashley

Hi there Jaimie, sounds from your letter that you should be qriting this column, you are right on the money, actually there are a lot of coaches that teach the front squat first, I like this approach since as you say, it keeps the person more upright, it also allows in my opinion a person to go deeper into the squat as well, and a major plus of the front squat is that it is the receiving position for the clean so there is a structural advantage in learning the front squat as well as a psychological advantage, since if you can front squat say 25 kgs more than you can clean once you rack the clean you know you have the leg strength to be bale to stand up with the weight, the front squat is not an inferior exercise in any terms and in a lot of ways maybe a superior exercise for athletic performance, cheers, ashley

Hi Diederick, and thank you for your kind words, in regards to the training of the rotator cuff group of muscles I would use a straight sets approach initially with a higher rep range say 3 x 10 - 15 and alternate this with a lower strength range of 4 x 6 or 5 x 5, I tend to use exercises such as Cuban Press, made popular by Coach Charles Poliquin, and then super set that with overhead shrugs, a range of the Dumbbell exercises are also very useful as are cable and theraband movements, but I also believe that the program shoudl be progressive and that a person should not just stay on the one modality ad infinitum but should experiment with a range of techniques till they find th eregime that works best for them, cheers, ashley

Hi Steve, I do not use a power phase but I use power workouts on a regular basis, I integrate power into many elements of the training year, often I will alternate between 3 x 5 with 60% and 5 x 3 with 80%, or will incorporate a plyometric contrast with a heavier attempted acceleration compound movement, say block power cleans to 80% with knees to feet jumps, with strongman work I use usually time say 1 minute on 1 minute off in pairs and then jog to the next event and a circuit usually lasts about 45 mins in off season, do not use in season, cheers, ashley

Hi Paul, thanks for your question, the deFranco site is an excellent site for all your strength training information, you can not go wrong by following any of his programs, I work specifically in rugby performance conditioning but the reality of training is that if you improve your strength you will improve your performance so do not try and get too specific initially just get strong, so stick to the basics, and then you can branch out as your training age increases, When you can 1.5 BW bench, 2 x BW squat and Dead Lift, >.8 BW Military Press and Bent Over Row 1.2 BW, you can add some more variety, I find that most trainees want to get too fancy early and move away from what works, as for your other training fitness is important so use any of the interval programs that have been listed on this site and spend most of your time on the skills of the game which will be addressed by your coach, this element is key to your enjoyment and improvement in the game, but most of all have fun, as I have always said in relation to all aspects of life if it stops being fun it stops being, so enjoy, best wishes, ashley

Hi Harry, the concept of building muscle is quite interesting in that each person adapts slightly differently, so the reality is that you need a deal of time to go through the trial and error phase to work out what works best for you, but in saying this you must place an overload on the muscles before an adaptation can occur. So irrespective of whether you are doing a one set to momentary concentric muscle failure, or performing what has been used as a beginners program of 3 x 12 on a range of movements, you must gradually add either initially reps or sets and then load onto the training equipment, to improve. So you will need to invest in some heavier DB's with time, or go to a commercial gym where you have a wide range of exercises to work with. It is okay to work to muscular failure although you will experience a high degree of muscle soreness, it will not damage your muscles. I like to use the basics to build size, Squats, Dead Lifts, Bench Press, Bentover Row and Shoulder Press will be the movements to use, and a set and rep scheme of 4 sets of 6 - 8 reps and see how that goes, cheers, ashley

Hi Spida, thanks for your feedback, I am sorry but I can not design you a full program, but if you glean the basics form my articles and send me a program that you have put together I would be happy to adjust a few things if I thought it would make it better, again just stick with the basics and you can not go wrong, my whole career I have emphasised that the key to programming is to do the ordinary things extraordinarily well, I see a lot of programs that are just far too complicated to get results, cheers, ash

Hi there Dustin, glad you have got something out of the posts to date, we specifically use the Gilbert weighted rugby ball for a lot of our pass specific strength training, just be careful since the laws of specificity come into play with the strengthening of a skill activity and if you do too much of the weighted ball work it may work against you, sets of 5 passes with the weighted ball then sets of 5 with the regular ball would work well, I will check with our rugby development managers and see what specific drill they have and will forward them on via this site, cheers, and all the best, ashley

Thanks for your details and the pdf file of the research study with the EMS, I really feel that isolated use of EMS is not warranted and that it should be a supplement to an overall strength program, to ensure transfer of strength to rugby activities which are never just isolated single muscle events,, so i would definitely be following a comprehensive strength/power program whilst undergoing EMS treatment, you could use it as a potentiator prior to the strength training, so firing the motor units with the EMS and then training them in multi join compound movements, and then also potentially as a recovery technique post training as well, all the best with your treatment and training, ashley

Hi Gavin and Paul, I know you sent me separate email questions but I can deal with your questions together as you both come from the same club in Ireland as well maybe you can pass the material on to your fellow players and get together and train in the gym as well.

Mondays – Full Body Strength

Select exercises (4 in total) from options chart, stay with same exercises for 3 weeks, then select similar but different exercises and start the three week program again



1 x Olympic or Hamstring/Lower Back

1 x Bilateral or Unilateral Squat

1 x Upper Body Vertical or Horizontal Push

1 x Upper Body Vertical or Horizontal Pull



Weeks
Size Group
Strength/Power

1
8,6,4
6,5,4

2
5 x 5
5,4,3

3
6 x 4
4,3,2





Tuesdays or Wednesday – Speed/Power complex (Alternating speed activities with gym based power training.)



Group 1 – Band Box Squat/1/4 Explosive Squat/Band Power Sprinter/Jump Split Squats



Group 2 – Power Tackler/Block Clean or Pull/Power Snatch/Hammer Push-Pull



Group 3 – Rack Split Jerk/Jammer/Band or Weight Release Bench Press/Push Press



Group 4 – Box Jumps/Knees to Feet Jumps/Seated to Box Jumps/Band Horizontal Jumps



Alternate each week:



Weeks 1 & 3 – 5 sets of 3 reps

Weeks 2 & 4 – 3 sets of 5 reps



Thursday – Upper Body



1 x Upper body Horizontal Push Pull super sets



1 x Upper Body Vertical Push Pull super sets



Select exercises (4 in total) from options chart, stay with same exercises for 3 weeks



Weeks
Size Group
Strength/Power

1
8,6,4
6,5,4

2
5 x 5
5,4,3

3
6 x 4
4,3,2




For the footwork we always include a lot of ladder sequences into a 10 - 15 metreacceleration during our speed warm ups, we will do ballistic movements first, either plyo jumps or KB swings or MB throws then into the gym for exercise group 1, then out side for assisted speed work then back into the gym for group 2 exercises, then outside again for maximal speed work then back int the gym for group three then back outside for resisted methods and finally to the gym to complete the speed power combo session. Hope this helps you guys out and all the best for your season, cheers, ash

Hi Jonathan, well it still amazes me that fitness tests are not more specific, having you a goal keeper do a 1.5 mile run test is crazy, I would have you doing a repeated 10 metre sprint testfrom say a central poin on your goal line and returing to this point then sprinting out on another line of an imaginary compass, say 5 sprints, ah well that maybe
another Q & A for down the track, as per your questions I have copied them below and will try and answer them for you:

1. What set/rep periodization would you recommend? I would say lower reps sets because I want mainly strength, but I'm also a relative beginner/intermediate in the weight room (as you can tell by my stats). I also want to do a different one for upper body than lower body, as I would like to gain a little mass in my upper body. I tend to favour low reps for lower body, say nothing over 5 or 6, and then for upper body bring them down from 6 - 8's. I do not agree with some experts who say that beginners should do high reps, since technique
breakdown usually occurs with the onset of fatigue, so I am getting these people to do multiple sets of an appropriate number of reps. I would do 4 - 5 sets of 6 - 8 reps for upper body and 6 - 8 sets of 3 - 5
reps for the lower body.

2. Do you recommend any deload weeks? I'll be doing this program for a few months (until August or so).

I only tend to deload if we are coming into games, so I would just change the exercise selection stilumuls and then continue to load. When we go into game preparation mode we will tend to drop the volume of all sessions back but maintain the intensity, we will try and get a more power based training program in place, my article on Power Play would work well in your case.

3. Is it OK to do the tabatta strongman and cardio separately? My strongman stuff is at home and the cardio stuff is at the gym. So I'd do the cardio stuff first and then go home and do the strongman stuff a little later.

Would this be alright?

Sure thing that is fine you do not need to keep them together, you may want to do something in the morning and then something different at
another time, whatever suits your time schedule, short sharp and intense sessions through out the day will keep priming your metabolism as well, as you mentioned you need to drop a few pounds.

And a final thing to help with that pesky time trial you have to do, if you have to run it in sub 9 minutes, then that is 90 seconds per each 400 metre lap, as a 1.5 mile is a 2.4 km, so a session for you could be 6 x 400m in 85 seconds going every 3 minutes, and then over the weeks start bringing the recovery time down. My main problem with my advice is
that I am training you to pass a test and not training you for the demands of the game, but sometimes obstacles are placed in your way
that you just have to deal with, all the best, ash

Hey Nick, thanks for that, if I can help just one person it is a joy for me, so let's see, depending on what you need most going into pre-season is what you need to speand a majority of time on. One big area is increasing game specifics, with possible anaerobic games, if you can get a few people together it is a much better way to train with ball in hand and increasing awareness through spatial and visual acuity, we have a few we use regularly, some of these are:

Goal Line “D”



Attackers have 2 extra players than defenders.



Attack starts 5 metres away from goal line place another cone 2 metres out from goal line the defenders can not move out past this cone, attackers just have to run across the line to score they do not have to ground the ball, if an attacker is tagged (2 handed) the ball is passed back to the 5 metre line to start the next attack, attackers have 2 minutes to score as many points as possible, any time the ball is dropped, knocked on, passed forward that attacking raid is finished and the ball has to go back to the 5 metre line to go again.



Offside Touch



First pass must always go back then attack to furthest try line, attacking team gets 2 touches, after 2nd touch turnover, ball can be passed after the restart pass in any direction, to ensure everyone is working all the time all the attacking team must be inside the 22m area before the try can be scored, the team that scores retains possession and defending team must push inside the attacking half way line otherwise the try is worth 2 points, another version is man on man where you can only tag your partner and vice versa, plus you can add a sweeper that can tag anyone as well, can be played as a kicking game grubber kicks only and no running with the ball post reception of the grubber kick.



Speed Ball



Played with a soccer ball, normal soccer rules apply but if you can catch the ball on the full you then play on for three touches with normal touch football rules applying after the 3rd touch the ball is dropped and neither the defender or attacker involved in that last play are allowed to touch the ball. The same rule applies for forward pass or knocked on ball. Play on full field.



One Touch



Best played across the field 50m line to try line being sidelines, both teams start on the sidelines (now try lines) one in possession the other being defenders, normal touch rules apply attackers only get one play when touched they all have to sprint back to their respective try line before they can push up in D, the new attacking team must pass once from the breakdown and then play continues in same fashion. Upon a try being scored the scoring team stays in possession and both teams swap side and restart from the try lines.



Drop Off Touch



Normal touch rules apply, other than when a person makes a touch he has to sprint around his own goal posts before being eligible to be on D again, attacking team gets 6 touches, no kicking is allowed.



Cone Ball



Field set up with cones on the junction of the 22m both ends and the 50m lines with the 5 m lines, this is when you are playing on the full field playing across the field. Scoring is as follows if you run the ball in and put it down on a cone 5 points, if you score other than putting the ball on a cone 3 points and if you receive a grubber kick in the scoring area you get 1 point. Ball must be passed backwards at all times, you get 2 touches and then have to hand the ball over, you can grubber to yourself and to another players once per possession.



You can of course do the speed sessions and anaerobic sessions as per the off season but since you are doing more technical tactical work you may just want to cut back on the number of sessions.



Strength training shifts more to a power base with something similar to the following:



Power Play



A simple and basic approach to inseason power training for all sports specifically rugby. Alternate weekly between two different set/rep/load protocols.



In the first week utilize a schedule based on light and fast, an inter muscular co-ordination approach (Schmidtbliecher): 3 x 5 @ 60% of max, light and fast



The next week utilize a heavier load with attempted acceleration, even if the bar does not move fast you are still selectively recruiting the fast twitch motor units, an intra muscular co-ordination approach (Schmidtbliecher): 5 x 3 @ 80% of max, compensatory acceleration (Hatfield)



Now for the exercises, select one exercise from each group:



Explosive Rotational
Explosive Pull
Explosive Push
Explosive Squat

Hammer Push/Pull

Power Tackler

Rotational Jammer
Clean

Snatch

Pull
Band Bench Press

Push Press

Jammer
Band Squat

¼ Explosive Squat

Jump Squat



There are many derivations from these four exercises per group, so it is up to you to select the movements that provide you with the best results.


Another way to organize your program is to select from only three (3) categories as below. Then superset a plyometric exercise immediately after the main movement for each category; for example; Band Box Squat then Box Jumps.


Group 1 – Band, weight release or chain Box Squat/1/4 Explosive Squat/Band Power Sprinter/Jump Split Squats

Lower Plyos – Box Jumps/Knees to Feet Jumps/Seated to Box Jumps/Band Horizontal Jumps


Group 2 – Power Tackler/Block Clean or Pull/Power Snatch/Hammer Push-Pull

Lower Plyos – Box Jumps/Knees to Feet Jumps/Seated to Box Jumps/Band Horizontal Jumps


Group 3 – Rack Split Jerk/Jammer(conventional or rotational)/Band, Weight Release or chain Bench Press/Push Press

Upper Plyos – Clap Chest Push ups, Push Up Jumps to box, Drop Push Ups, Medicine Ball Crossover Push ups


This can be performed as a circuit or just as a series of super sets.

Hope that helps you out Nick, go well and have a great season ahead, ash

Hi Richard and thank you for your email enquiry, unfortunately at thie time I would be unavailable to host your group here at our training complex as we are getting close to starting our season if you were to contact me later in the year we could possibly see what we could do for you. To be honest we have no secret methods or ideas just the basics done well, which have been readily available on this site, so you have access to all the programs and methods I would use. Below is a complete list of the exercises we would use throughout a training year and also the methods that we would use to program with, so as you can see, simplicity is the key and a work ethic, as Mother Teresa is quoted as saying "we do no great things, just little things with great love", cheers, ashley (email sent with methods to you)

Hi Stefan, and thanks very much for your kind words, I hope that I can assist a few people along the way, it is often a difficult path, with lots of side tracks and let me tell you I have been down quite a few of those, so if I can keep just one on the highway, although I must admit some of those side tracks have been quite scenic.

If you are trying top gain more mass I would probably advise you to do at least 2 full body and even possibly three per week, or go full body Monday and Friday and a more extensive upper body only program on Wednesday. Thanks for listing th exercsies but you have not told me what your rep and set structure is. I have my guys on the following if I want them to gain more mass:

Week 1 - 8,6,4
Week 2 - 5 x 5
Week 3 - 6 x 4

IN season for most players we follow the following unless there is a need for continued emphasis on mass gain:

Week 1 - 6,5,4
Week 2 - 5,4,3
Week 3 - 4,3,2

Then we select new exercises and repeat the weekly sequence, irrespective of whether it is inseason or in off season.

I like a very basic program and feel that 4 or 5 exercises per session works well, I also like to start the day with an explosive movement, like you have listed, my suggested program would look like this:

Full Body - 3 Days per week

Monday
Wednesday
Friday

Power Snatch
Clean Pulls
Power Clean

Back Squat
Combo Good Morning
Front Squats

Good Morning
Incline Bench Press
Dead Lift

Bench Press
Chins
Push Press

Bent Over Row

Upright Row




Or Full Body - Monday/Friday and Upper Body only on Wednesday



Monday
Wednesday – Upper Body
Friday

Power Snatch
Incline Bench Press
Power Clean

Back Squat
One Arm DB Row
Front Squats

Good Morning
DB Flat Bench Press
Dead Lift

Bench Press
Upright Row
Push Press

Bent Over Row

Chins



All the best and have a great year ahead, cheers, ash

Hi Ben, here are some options that we would use for both repeated speed and hill repeat sessions, we would do a cross country run over a varied terrain as well, this could be a 20 minute initial and increasing each week, we usually do repeated speed on a Monday, Hill Repeats on a Wednesday and the Cross Country on a Friday, we would do a fullbody weight session either on the morning with the running in the pm or if this proves too much do the full body program in the gym on the off days, our full body plan looks like this:



1 x Olympic

1 x Squat

1 x Hamstring/Lower Back

1 x Upper Body Push/Pull super set



loading is usually lower body

week 1 - 4 x 6

week 2 - 5x 5

week 3 - 6 x 4



and upper body:

week 1 - 4 x 6

week 2 - 6 x 6

week 3 - 6 x 4



Running examples, select one for each workout, cheers, ashley



Repeated Speed:

20 x 40secs on 20secs rest distance based on 110% of VO2 max from 2,400m time trial range 150m to 220m



30 x 100 m every 60 seconds



5 minute continuous run then 5 x 10 x 50m every 30 secs with a 2.5 minute walk recovery between sets, then 5 minute continuous run



5 minute continuous run, then ladder 25m, 50m, 75m, 100m, 125m, 150m, 175m, 200m, then down the other side walk back recovery between each x 2



20 x 100m every 45 seconds, 20 x 50m every 30 seconds, 20 x 25m every 15 seconds (2 minute break between sets)



200m in 40seconds rest 20 seconds, 100m in 20seconds rest 40 seconds x 10



1200metres @ VO2 max pace

Jog 75metres then sprint 25metres, turn jog 50metres then sprint 50metres, turn around jog 25metres then sprint 75metres, turn jog 75metres, then sprint 25metres, turn jog 50metres then sprint 50metres, turn around jog 25metres then sprint 75metres, turn jog 75metres, then sprint 25metres, turn jog 50metres then sprint 50metres, turn around jog 25metres then sprint 75metres, turn jog 75metres, then sprint 25metres, turn jog 50metres then sprint 50metres, turn around jog 25metres then sprint 75metres, turn jog 75metres, then sprint 25metres, turn jog 50metres then sprint 50metres, turn around jog 25metres then sprint 75metres.

1200metres @ VO2 max pace

Hill Repeats



60secs/45secs/30secs/15secs walk backs equal to work effort x 10 repeats of the ladder



5 x 1minute, 10 x 30seconds, 5 x 1minute, 10 x 30seconds, walk back recoveries



1 x 5 minutes, 5 x 3 minutes, 5 x 1 minute.walk back recoveries

Hi Kevin, I am sorry to let you know that Crusaders are only together till the end of May and we will be unable to assist you in what you seek, the shift to domestic competition is in August so I will forward your details to our Air NZ Cup trainer, Greg Thompson, cheers, ashley jones

Hi there Gareth, thanks for your kind words, and I am glad that you have been able to put some of my ideas into practice, as to your current question, I think a number of options maybe useful to you:

A circuit on the field using bodyweight exercises such as, clap push ups, tyre flips, body weight exercises, yes the Brian Jones book is excellent, also the Twisted Conditioning book, Bud Jeffries, www.strongerman.com and the best of them all Combat Conditioning, Matt Furey, www.combatconditioning.com DB or KB work, swings, snatches, clean, push presses all are excellent choices, the rang e of lower body plyos are useful, I usually keep the reps lowish say 3 - 6 and do multiple sets, you could set up a I Go You Go style with a partner and then sprint a certain distance and go again, have had very positive responses since this style of training is tough but motivating, hope you have some fun with it, any odd size implements work as well, say bags of fertiliser, cheers, ash

Cheers for that Elliot, appreciate your feedback, as to your question,
the main reasons for using each type of bar would be as follows:

Buffalo Bar - very rigid, minimal flex and capable of very high loads,spcefically for squatting, no other specifics other than it's high tensile strength.

Safety Squat - a very useful alternative to front squats which may be difficult due to upper body flexibility issues, increasing loadng a little on lower back but forces you to stay more upright, takes stress off of shoulders as well, you can also hands free self spot, although this does place a high degree of stress on the rotator cuffs.

Cambered Bar - My personal favourite, great for removing the stress off of the shoulders, a snmall amount of swing in the bar ensures that you really have to stay in a rock solid position, an increase in loading for the lower back but this is a benefit, great to do Simmons Good Mornings with as well. Also a great variation of overhead pressing with the bar
as well.

Hope this helps your choices, cheers, ash

Hi Ant, with splitting the lower body you would have all squatting based movements as one group and choose from either bi-lateral or uni-lateral movements and the other grouping would be pulling dominant movements which would be hamstring and Glute dominant, such as all your olympic movements or Dead Lifts and Good Mornings and the such like. On a four day per week off season plan, you could do upper body push and pull on say Tuesday and Friday and do a lower body push and pull on say Monday and Thursday, you could also split it down even further and do:

Monday: Olympic + Hamstring/Lower Back

Power Snatch from Floor 12 x 2
Power Cleans from Low Blocks 8 x 3
Trap Bar Dead Lifts 6 x 4
Good Mornings 4 x 6

Tuesday: Upper Body Vertical Push/Pull

Wednesday: Off

Thursday: Bi-lateral and Uni-lateral squat movements

Band Box Squats 12 x 2
Front Squat 8 x 3
Single Leg Sprinters Squat 6 x 4
DB SteP Ups 4 x 6

Friday: Upper Body Horizontal Push/Pull

Calf work and other specialist or rehab work can be done at the completion of each lower body day, along with core movements, hope this answers most of your questions, I will have a few more versions of my Arithmetic Progressions published soon, cheers, ash

Hi Dave, the working out of weights is really a trial and error approach, just basically seeing what weights you can lift for the required number of reps, if it is to increase mass you are going to be training in the 6 - 10 range, so if you can get more than 6 but less than 10 you are spot on, if you can not get the 6 reps you need to lower the weight by say 15% and try again, after the first few weeks you should be more or less on the money. As for alternatives to the Bench Press, if it is because you have some shoulder issues, you can get and tightly rolled up towel and place in on your chest giving you a reference point to go to, or if you can some 2 x 4 blocks of wood they will do nicely or if you have access to a power cage, do the Bench Press off of pins set about 10 cms abover your chest, cheers, Dave and I hope that helps you out, ash

Hi Gianni, thanks for your mail, after reviewing the Warrior Princess article I feel that it may have too much non specific muscle training for an athlete since it was more specific for a bodybuilder, as a track and field athlete and at your stage of development I feel it is important to work on strength and power, and specific muscle size increases will follow on from this, to this end I would like to show you a program I wrote fr another athlete recently, she was wanting a program to emphasise power and strength, previously she had been doing long drawn out workouts which took almost 2 hours to complete, also attached is a more Olympic lifting based program which is also very specific to power production which I feel you would benefit, I would alternate them as I have lifted, hope they are of use to you in your sport, also I would say go ahead and play 7's you will have a good change of pace and it is as much for the head as the body so go for it, cheers, ash

Read more of Ash's answer to this question including Program prescription in the articles section.....

Hi James, very sorry to hear of your injury, but I have known many players who have suffered the same injury and have come back better than ever after the appropriate rehab and training, if you are having it
surgically repaired I would say to follow your surgeon's and physio's full advice as there guidelines will be imperative to your long term
well being. When you can progress to weight bearing upper body movements then we can chat again but at present I would say to limit your self to all non weight bearing movements and possibly even use
machines to enjoy you are completely stable and can work your upper body effectively without placing any undue stress on your knee. A program of upper body machine exercsies working your entire upper body on 3 non sequential days per week and working in the 4 - 6 sets x 6 - 12 reps per exercise would be an ideal way to increase your upper body mass and help
you psychologically as well whilst you are rehabbing the lower limb, just ensure you are doing some work on your uninjured leg as well if you can as this will hasten your progress when you return to full body training, cheers, ash

Hi Tom and thanks for your letter, firstly although I am an advocate of box squats it is not the only tool in my arsenal and I use all varieties of squats as well as Olympic squats, Bulgarian single leg squats, front squats in fact here is a listing of the lower body movemwnts we will use in our gym:

Back Squat
- Cambered
- Safety
- Regular Bar
- Box ( high or low)
- Belt Squats
- Assisted
Chains
Weight releasers
Bands

Single Leg
- Bulgarian (Sprinters)
- Cambered
- Safety
- Regular
- Power Sprinter
- Box (high or low)
- Belt Squats
Chains
Weight releasers
Bands

Front Squat
- Regular
- Harness

Step Ups
- Camered
- Safety
- Regular
- DB / KB

Kneeling Squat

Lunge
- Static
- Dynamic
- Reverse
- Walking
- Cambered
- Safety
- Regular
- DB / KB

As for my rational for Box squats I feel it teaches a good tight body position when you are squatting and also breaking at the hips engaging the hips and pushing back ensuring activation of the glutes, also you sit back to the box not down on the box and you stay tight, it is when you relax and sit that the risk of injury is increased, also it provides a reference point so that every squat is to the same depth, thanks again Tom and I wish you and Bristol a good season, cheers, ash

Hi Jon, thanks very much for your comments, as to your question, I think by adding some GPP work at the end of each strength training session will help in losing body fat very quickly, using a Tabata protocol and selecting maybe an aerobic exercise and then also a strongman exercsie and perfroming 10 Tabata sets of each, for a totoal of 10 minutes work will see some amazing results, for example 10 x 20 seconds work 10 seconds rest on a Concept 11 rowing ergometer, then doing a heavy object lift and carry for the same protocol, we use granite stones from Atomic Athletic in the US.

General mobility work needs to done in a game specific mode as much as possible at training but also can be achieved by doing a lot of ladder/fast feet drills as well, hopefully this can be a start for you to work from, off season is the time to really develop these ideas, for a prop we will perform 3 - 5 strength/power sessions each week, with 3 agility/power sessions as well as the main frame for his overall traiing, cheers, ash

G'day Scott, yes mate it has been years, good to hear from you and to see that you are still in the game and producing fine rugby league athletes, we go to 40kg KBells, but we will need heavier very soon, a lot of our explosive circuit work is done with the 28' and 32's as to the strongman shopping list I feel the bare minimum is as follows:

Yoke Walk apparatus
Large Tyre
Farmer's Walk Implements
Conan's Wheel
Stones, I have some on order from Roger LaPointe at www.atomicathletic.com
Conditioner or Prowler
Sled
Anchor Chain

We work strongman as a circuit training option, usually in pairs 1 minute work one minute rest then jog together to the next station, although I am going to include more of strongman as a finishing exercise after the mainstream strength/power workout, say 4 x 22 metres timed farmers walk with the heaviest weights you can.

Will be back in Sydney for Christmas, hope to catch up with you then, cheers, ash

Hi Ben, I always advise players to work for power and strength in the lower body, size will come from this but by doing hypertrophy work I feel you run the risk of adding non specific bulk which has the potential to slow you down, so i would advise that you do not go above 6 reps for the lower body exercises. I would keep the same structure and change the exercises every 3 weeks, rotating through a set and rep scheme, week 1 - 2 x 5, 3 x 3, week 2 - 2 x 3,2,1 wave week 3 - 5,4,3,2,1 for lower body.

AS for gym fitness sessions you could, do intervals on any piece of aerobic equipment my personal favourite would be the grappler (www.thegrappler.co.uk) or the versa climber or the Concept II rower, work for 45 seconds and then only have 15 seconds rest and go again, a set of 20 reps at the conclusion of each gym session will greatly enhance your metabolic ability on the field. Cheers, ash

Hi Dave, thanks for your question this is a common area with younger players, particularly if you have had the misfortune of a shoulder injury early, we use a board press with all our guys who have a history of shoulder problems and this helps immensely, start with a 3 or a 2 board and get some time under the bar with this, I would estimate you current 1RM to be about 80 - 85 kg's, a basic program will work best for you, like the one I started on over 30 years ago the basics do not change;

Squat or Front Squat
Dead Lift or Romanian Dead Lift
Bench Press (3 board for you) or Incline Bench Press
Bent Over Row or Seated Row
Standing Shoulder Press or DB Shoulder Press
Chins or Pull Downs to Chest

4 - 5 sets of 6 - 8 reps, 2 or 3 days per week over a 3 month period of time will put mass on parking meters, do the first group of exercises on monday and Friday and the second group on the Wednesday for best results, limit your conditioning to speed and repeated speed work at the same time and you will amaze yourself, make sure you are eating correctly 5 - 6 meals per day.

Cheers, ash

Hi Terry and thanks for your kind words, as to your questions

1. Where can i find examples/images and explanations on how to perform the exercises as i am yet to try a few of them?

best place I have found is just to google the exercise name up or see what videos are on the www.elitefts.com or www.t-nation.com web sites, also Bill Pearls Keys tho the Inner Universe book is filled with figures of exercises, also www.nsca-lift.org will be of great assistance in showing techniques and pictures.

2. Do you recommend wearing a weight belt to perform the exercises, or will this stop me from using my core muscles?

we do not use weight belts at all in our program, but there is good evidence that you will lift more using a belt so there are times when during a very heavy phase it may be advised but not throughout the year

3. Will the program also help me build size?

Yes, it will depending on you level of nutritional support and how hard you are pushing yourself in the gym

4. Is there an alternative to the Masoe full body sit up as i train alone?

The turkish get up is a great substitute for the Masoe sit up

5. Will running on grass help me build my calve muscles and strengthen the shins, or should i add some exercises?. This is because i have small calve muscles and am prone to getting shin splints during the season.

If you can run a little on the beach will help, but yes grass running will be much better for your calves and legs.

Hope this of some assistance, cheers, ash

Hi Michael and thanks for your mail, originally I got most of my material from the Science of Football conferences held every 4 years they were wonderful and the books of proceedings published are very relevant to the game of rugby as well, since rugby is a mixed metabolic sport, repeated speed is of paramount importance, 7's in particular is a fitness game so any combination of phosphate, lactate and aerobic is going to be of a major assistance in preparing players, so the Phosphate Decrement Test as a drill is a great conditioning tool, 10 x 40 or 50 metres every 30 seconds, check through my article son this site and you will find many conditioning sessions posted, best wishes, ash

Hi Tim, and apologies for the late return, I have used 5 minutes between the phosphate and the lactate components of that test and then 10 minutes between the lactate and aerobic tests, all rest if of an active nature, I do find I get some good data so as to specifically plan interval sessions for specific team members, hope this helps some for you, cheers, ash

Hi Tim, and apologies for the late return, I have used 5 minutes between the phosphate and the lactate components of that test and then 10 minutes between the lactate and aerobic tests, all rest if of an active nature, I do find I get some good data so as to specifically plan interval sessions for specific team members, hope this helps some for you, cheers, ash

Cheers Mat there should be no reason why you can not get back to your former level of quickness, there is a great article in www.elitefts.com at present which should be mandatory reading for all personal trainers and athletes in general, deFranco's Westside for Skinny Bastards part 3, it will make you re-think a lot of what you do, any of the programs I have posted especially the I go you Go which I co-wrote with Luke Thornely will be what you need for lower body power to optimise you speed programming, I also like harness and release sprints, resisted for 10 then release for 20 - 30m, since your position demands a quick acceleration all hip and glute work will assist, also the contrast programs with a compound exercise for 3 - 6 reps followed by a plyometric exercise will be a potent mix for you as well, this style is what we are currently doing a lot of on tour, we have a power circuit once or twice a week which helps our metabolic conditioning as well:

Hang Clean + Push Press
Knees to Feet jumps
Split Snatch from floor
Box Jumps
Quarter Explosive or Band Box Squats
Repeat Hurdle Jumps
Power Tackler or Standing Full Body Twist
Band Bench Press
Clap palms to chest push ups

3 - 6 sets of 3 reps on each movement

Go well, ash

Hi John, I like the philosophy of Billy Johntsone, the legendary trainer in the NRL, he divides, or used to, it has been a while since I saw his programs, his group of athletes into various categories, one of which is a seniors group, these guys may well do less weight bearing work, and do more cross training, also the ageing player has a higher risk of hamstring injury, so ensuring that recovery is optimised, I also like to give them a bit of of a free rein when it comes to what they do within the overall program, they have earned the trust and know their bodies better than anyone, so we institute a university style off season plan where there are mandatory sessions and then a range of tutorials sessions that are optional or directed learning sessions, cheers, and best wishes for your off season, ash

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Hi Lloyd, some sessions on the bike or rower that I have found useful are interval based conditioning:

Rower: 45 seconds on: 15 seconds off @<1:45 x 20, or 30 on 30 off @ <1:35 x 20, or 15 on 45 off @ <1:25 x 20 this can be done on a bike as well

my favourite running fitness is to firstly do a 2.4 km time trial on the track, from there determine what your metres per second is and then do after a 5 minute warm up 20 reps of 40 seconds on and 20 seconds rest, followed by a 5 minute cool down, for example if you run the 2.4km in 9 minutes your metres per second is 4.44 m/s so you would be running 177.6 metres every 40 seconds so round it up to 180 metres.

As for the weights check on this web site for the power work and do one full body strength and one full body power workout per week in season, cheers, ash

John, I will search my archives and try and find it and then post it on this web site, cheers, ashley

hello Ashley,
when I was boxing I experimented with nautilus.( I have a mind block on whether it is called this or not, the machine had resistance in both ways concentric and eccentric , you could adjust pressure to make it harder or lighter ) I quiet enjoyed it for a good weights conditioning circuit and had the theory that it would give me overall muscle balance in strength development.allot of injuries are coming from muscle imbalance and so forth.I believe that in rugby and rugby league that our game calls for strength in every direction that we can move.would you recommend this training today, if so, what part of the season.

looking forward to your response

john rahme
Sydney Australia

Hi John, glad to be of assistance, I think the variations you speak of are just as good as others, to be able to squat and deadlift and overhead press may well be a blessing in disguise, I would do the triple treat pressing workout, where you start with military press, then when you can no longer press go to push press then finish with push or split jerk, I think you will have less shoulder related problems than those props who live entirely by the "how much can you bench" credo, also check out www.combatconditioning.com for some fantastic bodyweight exercises which will enhance your at home program, you could also do the front squat back squat routine, where you go to failure with front squats then immediately go to back squats with the same weight and work to failure again, a fantastic workout, hope that helps, stay strong, ash

Hi John, when thinking of a sports performance program you need to think the bigger picture than just getting athletes stronger, it is a combination of power training, speed work, flexibility, years ago i wrote an article entitled "Strength without Flexibility is in fact a Liability" I still believe this. So when designing a program the area of strength training although very important is not the be all end all of training, in fact we regularly test an athletes performance variables such as 10m speed to see if a gain in say squat strength contributes to an improvement, if not maybe we need to do some more reactive work and less strength, so all are intertwined, no man is an island and no one element of training should be trained in isolation to the many others that contribute to overall performance, cheers, ash

Hi Lloyd, firstly the Deadlift is not a power exercise but a strength exercise, we have it as an option on all lower body pulling days and use it a lot with our developing players, it is a great true test of strength and a wonderful exercise to incorporate in any phase of your training. In season I would not worry about bicep/tricep work. Performing 2 workouts a week you could do a full body strength on monday and then a full body power on thursday, i would use the following for the first workout:

Squat options
Hamstring/Lower back options
Upper Body Push
Upper Body Pull
Core

rotate the sets and reps: week 1 - 4 x 6, week 2 - 2 x 5, 3 x 3, week 3 - 6 x 3 then change the exercises and start the progression again

the thursday power workout

Squat or Jumps options
olympic movement
Upper Body Push

alternate 3 x 5 @ 60% with 5 x 3 @ 80% each week, stay with these for 6 week then change the movements.

Cheers I hope this is of some assistance to you, cheers, ash

Hi Alister, I do not charge for my time or my programs, unless of course someone is making money off of them, what you have asked is quite a detailed question with many angles to look at training from, training age, specific strength's and weaknesses need to be examined and also what type of game you want to play based on the skill levels of the players in key positions, I do not prescribe much to the ideas of position specific strength progams as all players need to be strong, as they also need to be quick and fit, what i recommend is that you come up to Christchurch and we can have a sit down chat and you can bring a memory stick and I can down load some specifics for you, if you email your contact number to this web site they will pass it on to me, I will be away till early August but you are welcome to come up any time after August 6th, cheers, ashley

Hi Alister, I do not charge for my time or my programs, unless of course someone is making money off of them, what you have asked is quite a detailed question with many angles to look at training from, training age, specific strength's and weaknesses need to be examined and also what type of game you want to play based on the skill levels of the players in key positions, I do not prescribe much to the ideas of position specific strength progams as all players need to be strong, as they also need to be quick and fit, what i recommend is that you come up to Christchurch and we can have a sit down chat and you can bring a memory stick and I can down load some specifics for you, if you email your contact number to this web site they will pass it on to me, I will be away till early August but you are welcome to come up any time after August 6th, cheers, ashley

Cheers John very nice of you to offer such kind words, I remember when I first stared out and people of the calibre if Harry Wardell, Lyn Jones, luke Borreginne, Mike Stone, John Garhammer, Bill Kraemer, always stopped to talk to me and answer my questions so anything I can give back is my gift back to them for the time and consideration they gave me, cheers, ash

Hi there Brendon thanks for your interesting question I will do my best to answer your specific questions:

1. What are your general thoughts on kettlebells? I believe they are useful tool to the arsenal of the s & c coach, they provide variety in programming, they are useful in unilateral training, they challenge the stabilisers, and they are very useful in warm up activities.

2. Do you use kettlebells with your players and are there noticeable benefits in their strength and conditioning compared to traditional barbell and dumbbell work? We integrate the use of KB's into our program with all other both traditional and non traditional tools for the development of power and strength. A regular use of KB's is in warm up when the players will super set skipping and KB swings for 3 sets of 30 - 45 seconds of each, also they are used as a KB complex in warm up, and as an option in the general strength program, we have also had great results from suspending them on bands when squatting.

3. Do you think that the double/single kettlebell snatch is a better exercise than the barbell snatch due to better range of movement, more stabilizers coming in to play? I do not think it is a better exercise but I like it as an option, possibly when a player has a damaged shouder, also I use it in a rotational fashion as well, the snatch produces the highest power output of any weight training exercise, so it is an essential in any s & c program.


4. What are the main exercises you use and how do you integrate them into your programs. Single leg pistol squats holding a KB, KB's attached to squat bar by bands, Turkish Get Up, KB Swings, See Saw Row, Press, Upright Row, Prone Alternate One Arm Row, Snatch, Clean, they are used as options in the strength program also often used in a circuit style or as a change of pace workout.

6. Do your players do heavy bell work 32kg -40kg? Yes we do, 40kg is our heaviest KB and 8kg is our lightest.

Hope that is of some assistance to you, cheers, ash

Thanks very much Spida, I am so glad that you found some of the points I made in that article relevant to yourself, there are so many people who have guided my thoughts over the years, and my players do so every time we train so the journey goes on and on, as Bilbo Baggins said, stay well, ash

Hi Scotty, we tend to reduce our volume quite considerably over the season, we work over a 3 week block, and do 3 - 5 exercises early in the week on either Monday or Tuesday or we split the program and do lower and upper body programs on both Monday and Tuesday, and then on a Thursday we do either another upper body or a power based workout. Every 3 weeks we change the exercises and start the progression again:

Week 1: 6,5,4
Week 2: 5,4,3
Week 3: 4,3,2

With our power work on the Thursday (3 - 5 exercises) we alternate on a weekly basis:

Week 1: 5 x 3 @ 60 - 80% of 1RM
Week 2: 3 x 5 @ 30 - 40% of 1RM

Hope that is of some use to you, train wel, ash

Hi there Jason, I remember Charles Poliquin telling me years ago that he likes to put a Gi onto a lat pulldown bar and do rotational pulls in a standing position, we also do a lot of grip work which would also be good for you to consider, eagle loop chins (www.ironmind.com) and the range of blocks for grip strength from get strength will see you in great position, as for your periodised program, I believe in training all variables concurrently, and then to emphasise your weaknesses in proportion to the rest of your training, also if you can get a thick bar I would recommend that you do a majority of your exercises with this thick bar, 2 - 3 inches in diameter, would be most effective, also lots of copmplexes with a pulling/Olympic emphahis will be great for you as well, hope this helps, ash

Hey Steve, thanks for your question, I think any of the Rule of 24 programs that are on this web site will work for you and your brother, as for protein we use Musashi brand which has been great for us and one that I know is beneficial and productive for the players that i train, if you have neglected your back and legs over the years then I would recommend that you do 2 pulling workouts and 2 leg workouts for every pushing workout that you do to ensure you get some balance back in your training, maybe combine back and legs to get maximum benefit, go well, ash

Hi Brice, I would have you doing more gym work, I think 3 full body workouts each week, and then also do 3 anaerobic/aerobic sessions as well,

Gym - Full Body - a different one each training day (mon/wed/fri)

1 x Olympic movement
1 x Squat
1 x hamstring/lower back
1 x Upper Body Push
1 x Upper Body Pull
100 core reps

1 x hill repeat session - warm up then 3 x 5 min, 3 x 3 min, 3 x 1 min with 1/2 time walk back recovery in between each rep

1 x repeated speed session, warm up then 20 x 50m with jog through 50m going every 60 seconds, then 20 x 22m off the ground in a different position going every 20 seconds or 200/100 drill x 10, 200 in 40 seconds rest 20 seconds then 100 in 20 seconds rest 40 seconds

1 x Fartlek run or cross country run 45 - 60 minutes

short speed session before the weights, see my sprint program listed on this web site, hope that is of use to you, cheers, ash

Hi Max, I think in order of importance that I place on exercises I would list them as follows, I work more for movement than specific body parts in my training programs and I am strongly influenced by olympic lifting so my bias may well come through:

Split style snatch
Power Clean
Bulgarian Single leg squat
Push Press or Split Jerk
Simmons Good Morning combo

So you would say that hip strength is the key for me, check my 5 favourite series here on this web site (article section) for more exercsie selection, cheers, ash

Hi Gareth, thanks for your words, I am constantly amazed that people are actually reading what i write, it is very gratifying to be able to assist, to your questions.

1. You certainly have the physical credentials, I would suggest that you use some power complexes or power circuits, which may so the trick, such as say:

Block Cleans/Band Box Squats/Push Press/Dominator (or full body twist)/Band Bench Press

Hang Snatch/Push Press Behind Neck/Jump Squat/Good Morning

Hang Clean/Split jerk/Front Squat/Romanian Deadlift

constantly change your set/rep/load set ups and see which one works best for you

2. I started off as a PE/Maths teacher and then did a Masters Degree in Human Movement, but I did my CSCS from the NSCA as I went along and then got a lucky break from a professional basketball team in Sydney, after bombarding the head coach with letters and phone calls, so I would recommend getting a certificate from BAWLA and then volunteering to get experience and then pick up work form there, never give up, I almost did after I was not renewed at a rugby league club in Sydney in 2000, I almost went and taught english in Japan, but I got a break when I met Mike Anthony at a conference and then he recommended me to the Canterbury rugby union, so magic does happen, cheers, ash

Cheers Nick, thanks for your kind words, I guess the ones I would program the most frequently would be:

Single Leg back Extension
Seated wood chop with cable
Russian Twist
Leg Raises
Med Ball Sit up and Throw

A good one my friend Peter Harding taught me many years ago on a back extension bench which would work even better on a Swiss Ball in a thoracic rehab where you wrap yourself around the SB and raise your self up almost joint by joint into a back extension position, cheers, ash

Hi Tom, thanks for the interesting question, it actually gets me onto my pet topic of gym training specificity for rugby, for me the only thing that transfers for sure from the gym to the field is CONFIDENCE, since all positions need to be strong and explosive then i think they all need to be following basically the same program depending on training age, I would split your training up if you are failing to recover from two days straight, i would have the Tuesday off and then either alternate the programs you listed over 2 weeks and do a more explosive based workout on the wednesday or thursday before a saturday game, some teams or individual players needing to increase muscle mass are doing another upper body only workout on Friday and experiencing no ill effects for the game on saturday, maybe worth a try during your pre-season games.

I would work on your explosive power and strength in the lower body and hypertrophy in the upper body. lots of super sets and complex training for the upper, also by adjusting your volume for your lower body explosive movements you will get a good overall body size improvement as well, also I would recommend more repeated speed for your position rather than just aerobic work. As for your core work what you are doing sounds fine, all is well based in results, but experiment with some Turkish get ups, side dead lifts, go well, ash

Hi William, a little difficult not knowing the age group of your players, but generally I like to do power circuits which work on repeated anaerobic ability and lactate tolerance, if you set up say 3 - 5 explosive exercises my favourite of all time is as follows:

One Arm DB Snatch
Hang Clean + Push Press
Band Box Squats
Band Bench Press

work through 3 - 5 sets of 5 reps with little rest between sets of each exercise, also outside you may incorporate some wrestling drill with your repeated speed workouts, working in pairs of like strength, you could do the following drill:

Have one player lay on his back and the partner lay across him, the drill is that the player on his back has to try and get to his chest, no standing up, you might go for time say 60 seconds then sprint 10 x 22m going every 15 seconds and then change roles and wrestle again. Another drill is to have the player kneeling with hands on the ground and the partner wraps his waist/chest area in a bear hug, the guy on all 4's has to try and stand up, then another repeated speed set, say 10 x 50m going every 30 seconds.

Cheers hope that gives you some ideas, ash

Hi Craig, thanks for your kind words I hope I can assist you with some programs, let me assure you first that size will come with the maturation process so do not be in too big a hurry as with your height it may take a few years to reach your optimal size, say between 115 and 120 kilogram, but with these new rule changes being trialled at present prop mobility and good scrummaging technique will be essential for survival in the modern professional game.

That being said I would probably have you follow a program very similar to the WestSide approach, when you see the powerlifting supermen that they turn out it looks like a prop forward assembly line. I would ensure that you include lots neck work as well, as well as doing some wrestling and or judo as an adjunct to your training. This may sound quite radical but I would follow this for the off season program and then do an Olympic lifting style program for the season as a power focus as well.

There are some very interesting articles on both www.t-nation.com and www.elitefts.com that will provide a wealth of information, one great article is westside for olympic lifters written by Louie Simmons, so read through those and if you have any questions please send them in, these programs are ones we have used at the Crusaders so hope you can make some great gains on them as well.

Cheers Craig and all the best, ash

Full answer including sample programs can be found in article section of website.

Hi Phil and thanks for your question, in 1 session a week you could either prioritise your team areas and work from highest to lowest over the course of the time you have or you could follow a more overall program and attempt to optimise as much as you can, my suggestions would be to follow a neural to metabolic approach, where you train activities of the highest neural demand first in the workout and progress to more aerobic and less neural activities over the course of the 90 minutes. So a plan could be:

General movement warm up 10 minutes: all the movement drills you can us from sprint training, include some ladder patterns as well and gradually build into acceleration work, add a game such as predator and prey to get them really warm or a 10 pass competition between backs and forwards

Speed work 20 - 30 minutes: as per some of my work on using partners to provide resistance, also forwards can be powering through pads and giving an offload behind or in front of the line, include some speed games like rats and rabbits

Anaerobic games 20 minutes: choose any of the ones you have, work hard on these as they will provide all the elements you want, such as decision making, peripheral vision