Sven's Rugby Training Log

[Sven Draconian]

Long story short:
Started lifting (again) back in October. Worked up to solid maxes (300 bench, 450 dead, 385 squat) at about 205 pounds, a tick over.

Started playing Rugby March 1st. Have dropped some weight (just under 195 now), got in much better shape cardio wise. Obviously my lifts fell off (I lifted a little in-season, but not enough).

August 1st is the start of Fall Season.
-Goals:
Improve Cardio and "muscular endurance"
Get weight up into the 210 range.
Deadlift 500.
Major hypertrophy in the neck and shoulders.


I'm going to begin the off-season with straight linear progression (ala Starting Strength). Once I finish that I plan on moving to a more hypertrophy based workouts.

I also plan on doing 3-5 days of cardio work a week. I'll seperate this into three categories.
HIIT style- Traditional circuits/intervals. Usually this will be resistance based (IE, barbell complexes, kettlebell stuff, bodyweight work ect.).

LDIT (Long Distance Interval Training)- Long sprints work. IE, 100meters-400 meters. Tire Flips, Sled Drags ect.

SLD (Slow, Long distance).

HIIT being the primary means, LDIT being the main means to improve my aerobic capacity and SLD being thrown in on occasion.

I'll also have once a week summer practices, and the odd 7s/10s tourny.

[Sven Draconian]

March 9th 2011
Workout #1
LDIT Cardio

Found a hill near my house, it's about 25 feet high and pretty steep. Not a monster, but nothing to sneeze at. It has about 30 yard opening in front of it. I'll call the total distance (from start to top of the hill) about 40 yards with the last 10 yards being up hill. Not a perfect measurement, but I'll go with it.

5- 40 yard shuttles (40 there, 40 back), the last 10 uphill.
5- 30 yard shuttles (no hill)
5- Hill sprints

Took around 15 minutes including stretching. Decent workout, not a killer but I got some work done. Hitting the weights tommorow, so I didn't want to fry myself.

[BombDonald]

And we are off.

[Sven Draconian]

And we are off.

One day I'll learn to BombDonald.

One day....

[BombDonald]

One day I'll learn to BombDonald.

One day....

I wish I knew what that meant. Lol.

[Sven Draconian]

I wish I knew what that meant. Lol.

It means squatting 5 plates for breakfast.

[Sven Draconian]

May 11th 2011
Workout #2
Weights + HIIT

Squat:
Bar x some
135 x some
225x5
245x5
275x5

Bench:
Bar x some
135x some
185x5
225x5
245x1

Deadlift:
135x several
225x5
295x5
345x5

HIIT Cardio:
http://www.powerfitnessinc.com/myimages/powerrunner.jpg
(Power Runner)

and

http://uk.commercial.lifefitness.com/resources/category/1/1/5/9/images/thumb-HS-Jammer.jpg
(Jammer). Except ours has a straight bar across instead of 2 seperate ones

Power Runner with 25 pound plates.
Jammer with 55 pound plates.

30 seconds on each, 1 minute rest. So each "circuit" is 2 minutes. I did 5 circuits.

Thoughts:
I'm a pussy.

[Sven Draconian]

May 13th 2011
Workout #3
Squats and HIIT

Squats:
Bar x many
135x5 or so
225x5
285x5x2
285x4 (fail on 5).

It was raining, so I did my cardio in the garage. I have about a 8 yard clearing and did some shuttles. I ran it with 5 shuttles (down and back 5 times) so it was about 80 yards...maybe a little less.

80 yard shuttles x 10

Mountain Climbers (30 seconds on, 1 minute off) x 5

Thoughts:
I'm still a pussy.
Despite failing the last rep, I"m going to ignore that and go for 295 on monday.
Went pretty easy on the cardio, want to save my legs for tommorow.

[Sven Draconian]

May 14th 2011
Workout #4
Long Distance Interval Training (LDIT)

400m x 6

Thoughts:

Decent challenge (for a fatty like me), but not a real killer. Didn't put much emphasis on time (I only timed the 4th, which I did in 2:00 give or take a few seconds). My legs were getting mushy on the 5th lap, so starting with 6 seems like a solid number.

I might go for a timed mile tommorow, it'll depend on how my legs feel in the morning. I'm looking at 8 hours on my feet at work until about 2:30 in the morning. Monday's squat workout is more important than running a mile.

[Sven Draconian]

May 16th 2011
Workout #5
Lifting + HIIT

Squats
Bar x some
135 x some
225 x 5
295 x 5 x 2
225 x 8

OH Press
95 x 5
135 x 5
145 x 5

Power Clean
135 x 5
155 x 3
175 x 3

Jammer/Power Runner circuit. 110 on the Jammer, 35's on the Power Runner. 30s/30s/1m rest. 6 circuits.

Thoughts:
Squat form felt really nice. I'm hitting good depth and my knee's are not traveling forward at the bottom. I'll get a vid up of one of my upcoming lifts. The only issue I"m having is I'm descending really slow to concentrate on my form, so I'm almost doing a negative. It'll be easy to fix.

Cleans and Press I was just guaging where I'm at, and didn't get after it too hard.

The circuits left me as jelly.

[Sven Draconian]

May 17th 2011
Workout #6
HIIT

bkD9LwDBWW0

Corny video, but it was a tough workout.

I managed a whooping 5 sets. I took a rest in between each set to make sure I'm working the right energy system, under a minute between the sets. I was barely getting off the ground on the last set, so I called it a day to make sure I have a little something in the tank for squatting tommorow.

EDIT: I did my jump squats going ATG, not that 1/4 squat sh*t he does in the video.

[Sven Draconian]

May 18th 2011
Workout #7
Squats

Squats:
Bar x some
135 x some
185 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 3
305 x 4
225 x 5

Chins
BW x 8
BW x 6

Thoughts:
Wanted a light day so I'm solid for practice tommorow.

[Kirra]

In on this. Have you read The Strongest Shall Survive? I think that book will be really useful for you.

[Sven Draconian]

In on this. Have you read The Strongest Shall Survive? I think that book will be really useful for you.

I have not, it's somewhere on my reading que.

May 20th 2011
Workout #8
Weights and HIIT

Squats:
bar x some
135 x some
185 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 5

-It was scheduled to be a light day, which was good, because I didn't have much in the tank.

Bench:
bar x some
135 x some
185 x 5
225 x 3
245 x 3
185 x 10

Felt awful. No rhythm, felt unstable. Just ugly.

Deadlift:
135 x some
225 x 5
315 x 2
365 x 5

Nice and smooth. This 365 set felt much easier than 345 last week.

--Beachwork--
DB shrugs:
75 x 10 x 3

-Meh, I'm a little sore from them, but not enough weight to be really effective. 75s were the largest they had. I'll use a barbell and Bill Starr's "Power Shrugs" next time.

Curlz for girlz

35x x 10, 8, 6

-Teh Gunz explosion

Cardio:
Power runner. 45 pounds per leg. 10 seconds on, 20 seconds rest. I did 10 reps. Pretty much a waste of time, it destroyed my legs but was minimal "cardio." I stopped because of boredom.

Next time I'll up the weight on them and see if that helps.

[Sven Draconian]

May 22nd 2011
Workout #9
HIIT

20 yard shuttles x 20
40 yard spring x 6

Thoughts:
Felt pretty good. 87 degrees when I was running (easily the hottest yet this year). Maybe got to a 7/10 on the fatigue scale during the shuttles. Did the sprints after a mini-rest (say, 10 minutes), since I still felt pretty good. Cut it off after 6 because the legs were getting heavy and I was getting slow, I have to squat tommorow afterall.

Sidenote: Went out and bought some Chuck Taylor high tops. Brand new for $30. Excited to try them out squatting tommorow.

[Sven Draconian]

May 23rd 2011
Workout #10
Weights

Squat:
bar x some
135 x some
225 x 5
275 x 3
315 x 5
335 x 2
315 x 2
235 x 8

Felt really good on everything. My 335 x 2 were borderline on depth. I have a vid of the 315 x 5, if it'll upload.

OH Press:
135 x 5
155 x 4
145 x 5

Felt alright, nothing special

Glute Ham Raise (GHR)
BW x 8 x 2

Chin Ups
BW x 8
BW x 4

Thoughts:
The new shoes seemed to help the squats a little. Went easy on GHR since they are new and I was taxed from Squats. Chin ups continue to suck, what else is new. All in all, pretty happy with this session.

[Sven Draconian]

Rf6ylqH2lw0

There's black nobbie thing blocking the view of my knee (obviously).

[Kirra]

Strong. Bad angle though, it kinda looks like you are an inch or two high, even though I don't really think so.

[Sven Draconian]

Strong. Bad angle though, it kinda looks like you are an inch or two high, even though I don't really think so.

It was a bad angle. If you ninja pause it at the bottom you can see my thighs paralell (which puts my femur just below since I have thick legs). But between the lighting, length of shorts, angle of the camera and the fact everything is damn near the same color it's not real clear. I'll go from the side next time.

I absolutely burried my 315 x 2 set though, which isn't good because they weren't well controlled descents, but I bottomed out. Which is why I only did 2.

Thanks for reading.

[Sven Draconian]

May 25th 2011
Workout #11
Squats and such

Squats:
bar x some
135 x some
225 x 5
275 x 3
315 x 2
335 x 3

Added a rep of 335 from Monday. It was a slow, grinding, unstable rep, but it went up. My old PR of 335 x 5 is in the works for next week.

Power Clean:
135 x 5
155 x 3
185 x 3 fails
185 x 1
185 x 2 fails

I'm a retard who can't rack a power clean. Back to Hi-Pulls. Waste of my damn time.

Power Shrugs
235 x 8 x 2-- Much better than their DB cousins.

DB Kneeling Rows
45 x 10
55 x 10 x 2

Knee and hand on a bench, rowing a DB from the floor. These were pretty light. I might just go over to barbell.

Thoughts:
I was still pretty worn out from Monday (and drinking last night) so I'm happy to have hit 335 for a triple. Power Cleans are stupid.

I have a little imbalance I need to work out, with my shoulders pulling forward because my chest is stronger. Thus, the sudden interest in rows. They'll also help strengthen the shoulder joint and help with injuries. Shrugs are along the same lines.

I weighed in at 199 on Monday and 200 today. That puts me 6 pounds up in just 2 weeks, a little fast. Some of that is milk weight/bloat from doing nearly 1/2 GOMAD. I probably need to trim back on the milk and clean up some of the bad carbs. Just something to keep an eye on.

[Sven Draconian]

May 26th 2011
Workout #12
HIIT

Did the circuit posted in the Vid above.
10 Burpees, 10 mountain climbers, 10 jump squats.

I believe I did 6 sets (maybe 5? I got mixed up between the 3rd and 4th). Short rest between sets.

Low back and right hip started to hurt after the 6th so I called it (My hip was pretty sore yesterday after squats). Those circuits are pretty brutal, and doing them on concrete isn't helping.

No practice today due to Rain, and I missed cardio on Monday (and didn't make it up on Tuesday).

[Sven Draconian]

May 27th 2011
Workout #13
Deadlifts et al.

Snatch (First of my life)
65 x 5
95 x 5
115 x 3
135 x 2

Testing these out as a replacement for Power Cleans, since I'm too stupid to rack them. Liked it, felt good.

Deadlift
135 x 5
205 x 5
275 x 3
345 x 1
365 x 5
375 x 3.5

I'm stupid (again) and loaded the bar wrong. Meant to go for 385, only did 365. Tried to rectify wit the 375 set. I got about half way up on the 4th rep, started to round, so I just set it down. The plus is I did make progress (and the 365 set was really easy, thus why I noticed my error) the downside being I was hoping to hit 385.

Bench
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 3
245 x 5
235 x 3
225 x 5
185 x 8

Happy to hit 245 x 5 again, still isn't feeling great form wise, but it was a solid day.

Bombdonald Curlz
95 x 5 x 3 (barbell)
Sexy.

Squat circuit cardio.
Done as such:
5 reps of low bar back squat. 5 sets of weighted jump squats (95 pounds). 5 box jumps onto an 18 inch box. Rest of around 1 minute between each.

1 circuit with 265 (followed by jump squats, then box squats).
1 circuit with 245
1 circuit with 225

Brutal. Lower back stiffened up pretty bad after the 2nd set, pushed through the 3rd set and called it a day. I dreamed this up last night, so I wasn't sure what to expect. We'll see how I recover if it stays in the routine, but it did exactly what I wanted it too fatigue wise.

[Sven Draconian]

Now that I'm back, more or less, to where I left off at, the good stuff starts on Monday. Here's what I'm looking at.

Mondays:
Squat (5x5, ramped)
Snatch (5x3, ramped)
Bench (5x5, ramped, followed by some high rep volume sets to taste)
Chins
GHR

Weds:
Squats (High intensity, low volume, to taste)
Hi Pull (high intensity, low volume)
Shrug (high intesntiy, low volume)
BB Row (3x8, done as assistance)
Chins
GHR

FRI:
Squats (High volume)
OH Press (5 x 5 ramped, extra volume sets to taste)
Deadlift (5 x 5 ramped)
Beach work

Logic:
Mandatory 3 times a week squats.
Emphasis is on the upper back and pulling work. This is for injury prevention (to the neck and shoulder, and to correct my imbalance).
Shoulders will get hit during the Snatch and OHP.

[ngolsen]

subbed bro. diggin rugby, havent played since high school. but a mad wallabies fan.

where you from?

[Sven Draconian]

subbed bro. diggin rugby, havent played since high school. but a mad wallabies fan.

where you from?

Thanks for checking in. I live near Toledo, OH.

[ngolsen]

Thanks for checking in. I live near Toledo, OH.

Didnt think they played rugby in the US...

[Sven Draconian]

Didnt think they played rugby in the US...

Not well by international standards. But it's growing.

[Sven Draconian]

And, of course, now that I have a shiny new workout plan in place I can't lift Monday due to memorial day. School is closed, no access to the weight room. Damn.

So I'll make up for it in cardio.

May 29th 2011
Workout #14
LDIT

Decided to push my truck around a little. I have a 98 Dodge Ram 1500.
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ3baFT0f2a0qj0bQUVeQNGt-ruCXvIWhi53Y6IcA88kA61onc7

Weighs 6600 pounds according to the VIN sticker.

Did 8 sets, 30 seconds a piece (with 1 set being 1 minute). Roughly a minute rest between sets. Did it in the school parking lot, uneven ground, a pair of speed bumps and wet ground that was killing my traction. I started off pushing the bumper (like on a prowler, arms extended and locked), but eventually had to move to the tailgate. Sometimes I had to use my shoulders to get it moving.

I could barely get it moving by the 8th set. I eventually want to take it to an open field and push it through some grass.

[Sven Draconian]

May 30th 2011
Workout #15
LDIT

Did some 40(ish) meter shuttles. Did them as follows
1 shuttle (80 meter)
2 shuttles (160 meters)
3 shuttles (240 meters)

Give or take a little. I did 4 sets of the above. Very little rest early on, slowed down a bit heading into the 3rd set and was dragging ass by 4.

And it was 90 degrees, humid, and mosquitos were eating me alive.

Total distance sprinted (and I mean that loosely) 1900 meters, approximately. Or, pretty close to 1.25 miles.

Definately the most work I've done yet in this log. Considering it was close to double what I did last sunday (which I gave a 7/10) I'm pretty happy with the effort. It's been good progress so far.

[Sven Draconian]

June 1st 2011
Workout #16
Squats and such (Intensity day)

Snatch:
Wamup x some
135 x 3
145 x 2
145 x 3
135 x 3
140 x 3

I'm not really dropping to catch the bar, basically I'm just pulling it a few inches above my head and pressing it up. The last set felt better though.

Squat:
135 x some
225 x some
275 x 2
315 x 3
335 x 1

****ty. 335 was a 5 second + grinder rep. Just a bad day.

Bench:
135 x some
225 x 3..or 5 don't remember. Probably 3.
245 x 3
255 x 2
225 x 5
185 x 8

Form felt a little better. These were slow at the top, I'm assuming from my push press snatching.

Bent Row
Back paralell to ground. Keeping the hips still. Each rep started from the ground.
115 x 8 x 3

Felt pretty good.

Thoughts:
Overall. I've had better days, but work was done.

[ngolsen]

What position do you play? flanker? or in the backs?

[Sven Draconian]

What position do you play? flanker? or in the backs?

Hook. I'm slower than ****. What did you play?

[ngolsen]

Hook. I'm slower than ****. What did you play?

Started out as winger in under 7's but ended up as a flanker ;) I had decent size, quick and a tackle that broke ribs (or so i liked to think :p)

[Sven Draconian]

June 3rd 2011
Workout #17
Deadlifts et al

Deadlift:
135 x some (plus a few snatches)
205 x 5
275 x 2 (grip was failing on the double overhand)
325 x 3
385 x 5 (ties a PR)

lVy6HmV31u8

First time ever pulling with a belt. Felt good.

OH Press
135 x 5
145 x 5
165 x 3
155 x 3
140 x 7

Tweaked my shoulder a little. The 165 and 155 were basically to failure. Might have a bodyweight press by the start of July.

Box Squats
135 x 5
185 x 5
205 x 10
255 x 7

Light day for squats. Box squats felt awesome. Starting the lift from a dead stop in the hole felt completely different. I haven't had that activation in my ass since...


I think I'll keep these around for my Fridays. Fried my lower back though (after DL that is).

Chins
BW x 8, x 11, x 4 (lol)

Curlz
100 x 3 (lol)
95 x 5 x 2

Thoughts:
I'm pooped.

[ngolsen]

Watching Super Rugby ATM? Force brought it home well last night in carisbrook!

[Sven Draconian]

Watching Super Rugby ATM? Force brought it home well last night in carisbrook!

Didn't catch that, but Super Rugby is one of the few leagues that I can actually watch. Sevens world series is starting up, with a few guys I've played against.

Sidenote:

We had a full contact practice last night, 7's, (and we are probably going to a 10's tourney next saturday). Went knee to knee with someone 3 minutes into and immediately got water on it. I was getting used to NOT having water on my knee. Plus, I woke up with some nice swelling on my jaw, no idea what it's from.

My cardio was a lot better. I'm still not used to this playing in space nonsense, but atleast I'm keeping up with the backs cardio wise. I'd say I'm about 80% of where I need to be for the fall.

[Sven Draconian]

June 6th 2011
Workout #18
Squat, Dead, Bench

Squat
Bar x some
135 x some
225 x 5
275 x 5
315 x 5
335 x 5
wtzBneEbrHo

315 felt real heavy and slow, but I had to suck it up and went for 335 anyway. Knees went forward at the bottom; depth was good. 335 technically ties a PR.

Bench
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5
255 x 4
225 x 5

xqmVloJ42g0

Meh. My right hip started cramping pretty bad, which is why I do that little kick on the last rep. My previous bench PR is 275 x 3, but 255 for 4 reps is (technically) a very weak, 1 rep PR with that weight.

Deads:
135 x 3
225 x 3
315 x 3
405 x 5 PR +20 on 5 RM

jA891R-DLVg

I pulled with straps for the first time, and it was noticeably easier. Old PR was 385 with nothing but chalk. So this 405 is a PR, but it's belted with straps, not exactly equivalent. Still pumped to rep 4 plates.

Thoughts:
Still a pussy.

Sidenote: I did some box jumps between bench sets.

[Sven Draconian]

June 7th 2011
Workout #19
HIIT

10 sets of shuttles (10 there, back, there, back) 40 yards total.

I was focusing hard on accelerating quickly and trying to hit full speed.

I did these at 1:30 in the morning, and only because I hadn't conditioned in 4 days. Quick and dirty, cut down on the rest, get breathing hard and get it done. Not as much distance as I've been doing, but good intensity.

[Sven Draconian]

June 8th 2011
Workout #20
Squat Intensity Day

Squats:
Bar x 5
135 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 3
315 x 3
345 x 3 (Kind of a PR)

Hi Pull
135 x 3
185 x 3 x 2

Chins
BW x 8, 6, 7

Thoughts:
It was hot.

[Sven Draconian]

We won our Tourny yesterday (9 teams) on the final play of the championship game. We ended up playing 5 games (20 minutes per game). I played 80/100 (I think the most on the team by atleast 10 minutes). I played alright, a few big hits (especially heading into rucks, I buckled a couple guys and put a few more air-borne) and just one missed tackle (Barely got a hand on the guy, but it wasn't really my tackle either).

All in all a pretty standard game for me. Scrum, ruck, maul, tackle....scrum, ruck, maul, tackle. I'm sore as **** today.

[Kirra]

Congrats!

[Sven Draconian]

Thanks Kirra.

Today's meal:
1.5 lb ground beef (80/20)
12 oz Macaroni Noodles.
2 Cups Pasta Sauce (Just store bought, pre-spiced stuff)
Some cheese (didn't measure)
Cayenne Pepper, Ancho Chilli Pepper, Cumin, Corriander, Kosher Salt, Black Pepper

Nutrition Info:
2600 cals (approx)
200g of protein (approx).

Brown the meat, boil the noodles. Once meat is browned, pour out the fat. Add sauce + spices, let the sauce reduce. Add noodles when they are ready. Stir. Add cheeese. Stir.

It took about 30 minutes to prep + cook. Should be 3 meals today.

[Sven Draconian]

June 13th 2011
Workout #21
Recovery Day?

This wasn't planned as a recovery day, but I was still pretty beat up from Saturday so it ended up as one.

Squats:
Bar x some
135 x some
225 x 5
275 x 5
315 x 5
275 x 5

Bench:
135 x 5
185 x 5

Waiter carries with 45lb DBs, 2 laps around the weight room.
Farmer walk with 70s, 1 lap around weight room.

Thoughts:
I strained something in my elbow/bicep during the game making a tackle, which eliminated any pulling motion. It effected pressing enough that I couldn't budge 225 with my normal, un-racking, efforts so I didn't risk it. There's a fairly deep bruse higher on the bicep, which may be unrelated...or a burst blood vessel or something.

Squatting was way harder than it should have been. 315 left my low back/right hip crying (same spot that is normally aggrevated) and the last 2 reps were grindish, so I skipped the planned 345 x 5 until Weds. The backoff set of 275 x 5 was pretty tough, which made me feel better about pussing out.

The carries were tough. I'm going to try and incorporate more of this type of finisher.

[Sven Draconian]

June 14th
Workout #22
HIIT

12, 50 yard sprints.

Emphasis was getting up to speed + reducing rest time. Pretty light session, just for mantenience.

[Sven Draconian]

June 15th
Workout #22
Squat Intensity and such

Squats
Bar x some
135 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 5
315 x 5
345 x 2 (failed coming out of the hole on 3)

Vsh-1Hy8qaQ

Lulz

OH Press
95 x 5
135 x 5
145 x 5
150 x 5
135 x 7

These were tough. The last rep on 150 was a killer, same with 135 (last set was AMRAP)

Hi Pull
135 x 5
185 x 5 x 3 (3 sets of 5)

Felt nice. Since I'm a weakling at these, I'm going to try to SS them up.

Chins
BW x 6

Aggrevated the bicep, so I stopped.

Thoughts:
I'm weak and beatup. Must consume more food. Over-training is imminent.

[supbrew]

Was told to check out your thread by Nick.

Numbers are looking solid man! Keep it up!

Subbed!

[Sven Draconian]

Was told to check out your thread by Nick.

Numbers are looking solid man! Keep it up!

Subbed!

Thanks for checking in.

[Sven Draconian]

Good news and bad news:

Good News: I bought a lacrosse ball to try and bang out some soft tissue work.

Bad News: Awful practice tonight. I felt like ****, played like **** and had no gas. Hurt my elbow/bicep again (same exact way) and something in my knee popped when I was being tackled, feels alright and I was able to finish practice. It's just getting tight as I sit here.

I was struggling on the warmup lap. We ran lines (in essence, 14 80 yard sprints passing the ball around) and I was dieing. I had no agility or acceleration during scrimmage, couldn't tackle and made a few bone-head decisions due to fatigue. Blah.

I need to pick up on the cardio. Hopefully lifting goes alright tommorow (Attempting 415 x 5 on deads).

[ngolsen]

Those squats had a fair amount of GM. Need to keep that chest up (sternum pointing upwards). You were out of the hole on that failed rep, just needed more glute recruitment. Butt clench!

[Sven Draconian]

Those squats had a fair amount of GM. Need to keep that chest up (sternum pointing upwards). You were out of the hole on that failed rep, just needed more glute recruitment. Butt clench!

Yup. If I didn't have so much GM on them, I probably had enough drive to push the weight up. Ironically, the Glutes/Low Back have been destroyed for about a week..which makes sense why I couldn't hold my back angle.

The Lacrosse ball was money. Brutal while I was using it, but loosey goosey afterwards.

[Sven Draconian]

No workout today. Knee is pretty stiff which ruled out Squats and Deads. Bicep/Elbow is still sore which eliminates pressing and chins. Not a lot left.

Since I don't have gym access on weekends, I think I'm going to do a strong-man style workout tommorow. Tire flips, sledge hammers, farmers walks, heavy carries. Get a good mix of cardio and strength work in. Probably throw in some plyo's too.

[Sven Draconian]

June 18th 2011
Wokrout #23
Birth of the Prowler

Built a prowler this afternoon (picks forthcoming) and worked out with it. Made it out of tube steel, welded together. It weighs about 30 pounds or so. Just pushed it around without weight today, it was still a bitch. I also ran about 3/4 of a mile as a warmup of sorts.

[Sven Draconian]

June 24th 2011
Workout #24
Strongman stuff

Decided to deload after my prowler work Saturday. Just too many nagging issues and I was starting to pile up on the injuries (Knee, Elbow, tweaked hammy plus my shoulder was complaining again). Coupling the physical signs with poor motivation and I realized I was just over-trained and needed some time away, so, 4 days rest and I'm back in the saddle.

I've decided to take a few weeks and work on "Strongman" style workouts. This is for a few reasons:
-1) My gym access is going to be sketchy to non-existant for 2-3 weeks due to renovations.
-2) I really need to improve my cardio.
-3) I need to start doing some movement stuff .

First workout was:

Tire Flips + Clapping pushups. 5 flips followed by 5 pushups. I did 5 sets. (Plus a few flips to warmup). Sets took about a minute and I rested for 1-2 minutes between sets.

Prowler sprints- 30 yards, in the grass, with a 25 pound weight, 6 sprints total. First 4 sprints were with 30 seconds rest (Sprints took 17, 19, 21 and 23 seconds respectively). Final 2 were slower with more rest.

Prowler carry- Carried it over my head (weighs around 25-30 pounds, somewhat awkward) around the football field twice. Absolutely fried my shoulders, triceps and traps. Decent burn in the abs.

Pretty sore now (6 hours post-workout) but it wasn't a killer. The Prowler is a terror on the glutes and hams.

[Sven Draconian]

June 25th 2011
Workout #25
LDIT Cardio

100 meter (110 yard) "sprints" x 20.

I did the first 10 solid. Little rest, decent pace. Took a little water break and was really sluggish the second 10. Oh well.

[Sven Draconian]

June 28th 2011
Workout #26
Strongman + LDIT

200 meter sprints, timed. 5 sprints.
41.70 seconds
48.81
40.43
48.81 (again...)
45.21

Seconds are accurate, miliseconds might be off a tick. Fluxutations in time are due in large part to wind direction (Headwind at start is not so bad, headwind to finish is a killer).

-------------
Tire Flips + Tire throws (superset)
Giant tractor tire flips (500+ pound tire) + regular tire throw (same size as my pickup).

5 flips + 5 throws for 2 sets.
10 fips + 10 throws for 1 set.

Thoughts:

My speed is terrible, a fairly strong wind wasn't helping matters. My cardio is improving.

The 10 flips on the giant tire was brutal. Coupled with the throws (which fried my Obliques) I was feeling a little nausea. Absolutely fried my traps and lats with this workout, and it's obviously explosive for the hips, with a bit of front squatting thrown in.

[Sven Draconian]

June 29th 2011
Workout #27
100 meter sprint

Ran some timed 100s. Realized I was using the wrong lines on the first two. My "official" time on my 4th run was a 16.63, which is slow. It was also timed by me starting the watch when I started, running with it, and stopping it when I think I finished, so the accuracy is "meh."

I'm probably mid to low 15s if I was "fresh" (IE, hadn't ran/lifted the day before and wasn't on my 4th sprint already).

Ran a total of 8 100m sprints. I did the last 6 "on the minute". My goal was to do a lot more than 8, but my shins started groaning and with my history of shin splints and practice tommorow I just called it.

[Sven Draconian]

Had one of my best practices last night. Cardio was solid, made a nice 30 meter try on a scissors. Some solid rucks, pushed a maul around and made a few decent tackles. Mostly excited because it was the first time I wasn't dragging ass fitness wise. I'm still not in all-over-the-field type of shape and I still don't always sprint in support, but I can atleast play my spot without being constantly winded.

[Sven Draconian]

07/04/20111
Workout #28
LDIT

Little late logging this. I've been celebrating the holiday, went swimming on the 2nd which was a decent enough session. Nothing specific, just swam hard enough to get winded a few times.

Anyways, the workout on the 4th:

40 yard dash x 3 (times were lulzy at 5.7)

Superset of 200 meter followed by a 100 meter, for 5 sets. IE, 1500 meters. Coupled with the 40s, that puts me at just over a mile sprinted for the day.

Going camping the next few days around some big sand dunes on lake michigan. Probably going to run the hills and do some solid swimming for my workouts. Wont' be logged, but be aware that it's happening.

May have a 7s tourny on Saturday, unsure yet if I want to play or not.

[Sven Draconian]

07/12/2011
Workout #29
Tires

Gym is still under construction. Facking a.

Tire Flips:
3 sets of 10
2 sets of 5

Pretty tough. I was doing 25 or so flips before, I did 40 flips today. Good conditioning and plenty of strength in there too.

Sand Dunes this week were pretty rough. All in all I walked/ran around 10 miles over 3 days, most of that carrying a 30 pound bag. It was hot, walking up sand sucks and I got a decent sunburn. My legs were done by Friday.

[ngolsen]

07/12/2011
Workout #29
Tires

Gym is still under construction. Facking a.

Tire Flips:
3 sets of 10
2 sets of 5

Pretty tough. I was doing 25 or so flips before, I did 40 flips today. Good conditioning and plenty of strength in there too.

Sand Dunes this week were pretty rough. All in all I walked/ran around 10 miles over 3 days, most of that carrying a 30 pound bag. It was hot, walking up sand sucks and I got a decent sunburn. My legs were done by Friday.

Nice :)

Btw... GO DA REDS!!! :P

[Sven Draconian]

Nice :)

Btw... GO DA REDS!!! :P

Lol, thanks.

Its nearly World Cup time (2 months). I don't think the USA will stay within 25 in any of their games, but I'm still excited.

[Sven Draconian]

I had a real nice practice yesterday. We ran 4 or 5 sets of passing lines (About 800 meters total) and then ran unopposed for a solid 45 minutes (probably 1200 meters). I was sprinting up, running loops, chasing kicks ect.. for most of it. Started to die off at the end, but not too bad.

We tightened down the field and ran some semi-condensed 7's, full contact, after that. I was crushing backs in the rucks.

We have a 10s tourny tommorow (Saturday), so no lift today. Hopefully the gym will re-open Monday so I can get going on 5/3/1

[Sven Draconian]

Won our 10s tourny on Sat. 8 teams, we played 3 games. Competition was solid, we were down in the semi's and finals before winning. We dominated scrums all day. I had a pretty typical game for me, a handful of decent carries and blew up some rucks.