Getting Ready to hit the Rugby Pitch.

[Slic3y]

Hi there. Ive been lifting for about a year now. I put on quite a bit of size and strength in that time. Little about myself.

I am 19yo
220 pounds 6"2
I play the Flanker Position
I'm about 20 pounds heavier than I Ideally wanto be at the time I play.

Basically my goal Is to get Strong, Fit, Fast and Agile. Flanker is a pretty versatile position and requires alot of fitness. I have a little over a year to do so. So I am here to seek some advice from anyone who has experience becoming an all around performer while staying strong.

I do starting strength at the moment. I'm still gaining strength on it so I haven't Changed anything there. I also do some hill sprints 3 times per week. This has been awesome and I have improved so much. At what point should I get more serious about the fitness and speed side of things? I am afraid if i do too much I wont continue to gain strength. I have a pretty taxing day job and eat alot of food as is. Should I wait until say 4-5 months out and then hit the track with everything ive got to get fit and ready? How do I go about this and what are some effective fitness/speed programs i can follow?

Thanks.

[krakkerz]

"At what point should I get more serious about the fitness and speed side of things?"

It sounds to me like you are already pretty serious. Starting Strength and 3 a week hills are more than a lot of people do by themselves.

Which hemisphere are you in? I'm assuming north as you say you've got a while. Here in the south, we're in pre-season.

As far as strength training, your routine is sound as is for the off-season. In terms of speed, if you want to get faster, do sprints (mostly 10m starts from 2 and 4 point - some 20m) before weights 2-3 days per week. You'd probably trade two days of the hill work in for tempo as well for a while.

The hill work is very important leading up to the season, though. Or at least some equivalent of it. I like pushing the scrum sled and I've recently started using the prowler with our team extensively.

Contact is where most of your energy is expended - especially on the side of the scrum. So, as I say, if you want to get faster, spend time getting faster as outlined above, then come back to the hard intervals about 2 months before your team starts pre-season training. Do your hills and sled work for intervals then.

As a flanker, you have to have a very high work rate I have some good workouts for improving that I can help you with later.

[Slic3y]

Thanks for the info!! would love to hear more from you!

I'm actually in the southern hemisphere. Its pre season here too. But I wanted to take this year off To get myself up to senior level standards. I am pretty well there as far as size and strength goes.. But I wanto be Even better before I get out there. I found it very hard to put on size and strength While doing the Team training sessions. That i didn't think were effective enough. lots of passing and wasted energy when I'm pretty competent as far as ball skills go. I also find If I work on progressing individually I can really improve at a faster rate.

One more question I have. Is it practical to lift weights for higher reps at some stage for muscle stamina? or Will fitness and running be enough?

[transformerchad]

hey bro , i played 1st team flank "number 7" in matric . u def need to be fit to make as many rucks as possible , i did up hill sprints dragging a tire 3 days a week and 100% weight lifting . i did a 3 day split hitting legs twice a week , SQUATS will take u to the next level

[Slic3y]

Good thing Squats is my best lift. I also play open side.