Senior Rugby Players (22 + years old)
Off Season Weight Training Plan
Aims:
1. All players to reach personal and position specific strength, muscle mass and body fat standards
2. 3 x 4 week training schedule progressing from hypertrophy training to strength
Training Plan
o Phase 1 (Week 1-4)
§ Core exercises in bold
· Do 4 sets of 12 reps
§ Auxiliaries
· Do 3 sets of 10 reps each
o Phase 2 (Week 5-8)
§ Core exercises in bold
· Do 4 sets with the following reps 12,10,8,6
§ Auxiliaries
· Do 3 sets of 8 reps each
o Phase 3 (Week 9-12)
§ Core exercises in bold
· Do 4 sets with the following reps 6,4,4,2
§ Auxiliaries
· Do 3 sets of 6 reps each
Monday
Warm Up
o Medicine Ball Alternate Push Up - 3 x 6
ExerciseFlat BB Bench Press
Incline DB Bench Press
Decline DB Bench Press
Standing DB Curls
Bar Dips
DB Shrugs
Tuesday
Warm up
o Internal/External Shoulder Rotation – 3 x 6
ExerciseBB Shoulder Press
Upright Row
Prone Lying Bench Pull
One Arm DB Row
Standing DB Shoulder Press
Wide Grip Pull Ups
Wednesday
Warm up
o Heel/Toe Lifts - 3 x 5m walk
ExerciseLeg Press
Overhead DB Lunges
Single Leg Calf Raises
Front Squat
DB Empty Can
Seated Swiss Ball Rotations
Thursday
Warm up
o Swiss Ball Push Up – 3 x 6
ExerciseFlat BB Bench Press
Single Arm Cable Crossover
EZ Pullovers & Press
DB Shoulder Press
Lat/Front Raises
Single Arm Dips
Friday
Warm up
o Swiss Ball Hamstring Pull - 3 x 5
o Toe jumps – 3 x 15 jumps
ExerciseBack Squat
Overhead DB Split Squat
Deadlift
Cable Hamstring Pull
Calf Press
Wall Squat and squeeze
Stability
Exercise / Phase 1Rest between sets: 60s
Rest between ex’s: 60s
Choose your weights / Phase 2
Rest between sets: 75s
Rest between ex’s: 120s
Choose your weights if no guidelines / Phase 3
Rest between sets: 90s
Rest between ex’s: 180s
Choose your weights if no guidelines
Supine (on back) Stability with leg lift (Start with one and continue to 2 if possible) / 3 x 15 per side / 3 x 15 per side / 3 x 15 per side
Elbow bridging / 30sec,30sec,30sec / 60sec,60sec,60sec / 120sec,120sec,120sec
1-leg Balance on pillow or Aerex (Eyes closed if too easy) / 3 x 30sec per side / 3 x 30sec per side / 3 x 30sec per side
Seated alternate toe taps / 3 x 30sec / 3 x 45 sec / 3 x 60sec
Prone Arm-lift / 10,10,10 (hold 3sec) / 10 / 10
Aerobic Conditioning Options
· Do 2/3 aerobic conditions sessions per week as maintenance training
· Do 4/5 aerobic sessions per week should you need to loose extra body fat
1. Aerobic Circuit
o 1500m row (target = 5min)
o 3km run (target = 13min)
o 12km cycle (target = 22min)
o Total circuit target = 40min
o Stop watch after each exercise start watch as you start the next exercise
o Rest for 1min between each exercise
2. Cycle Fartleks
o Start cycling on level 8
o Cycle at a work load of 170 watts for 1min
o Push max (300 watts+) for 45 sec
o Recover for 1 min (slow cycle)
o Complete 10 sets
o Continue cycling at 180 watts for a further 10 min
3. Steady Cycle
o 45 min steady cycle
o Keep your Heart rate between 70-80% of age predicted maximal heart rate (220-age)
4. Treadmill Fartleks
o Run 90sec at 16km/hr (tight fwds)
o Run 90sec at 18km/hr (backs & loosies)
o 90sec recovery
o Complete 6 reps
o Continue with a 1km steady row
5. Fast Cycle
o 25 min fast cycle
o Heart rate at between 85-90% of age predicted maximal heart rate (220-age)
o Total distance target = 15km
6. Rowing Sprints
o Perform 10x30sec max rowing efforts with a 30 sec slow row recovery between each rep
o Then perform 5x45sec max rowing efforts with 30 sec slow recovery between each rep
o Slow 2 min walk recovery
o Repeat x 2
Prepared by
WP Rugby Conditioning Department