RUGBY PRE SEASON CONDITIONING
WEEK 1
This week is about introducing the workouts. Leave a little in the tank on each exercise so you have somewhere to go over the following weeks. Each workout should feel demanding but not ultra-intense.
DAY 1
Speed and conditioning On a rugby pitch – progressively lengthening sprints
1. 4 x 30 meters falling starts – start with your feet together, hands by your sides. Lean forward and then take your first step as your body approaches 45-degrees. Walk back recovery.
2. 4 x pitch lengths – going on each minute, i.e. if it takes you 15 seconds to sprint the length of the pitch, you get 45 seconds’ rest between reps.
3. 4 x triangles – run corner to corner diagonally across the pitch. Jog back along the side touchline. Walk the width of the pitch to recover, and repeat.
4. 1 x lap of pitch – run all the way around the pitch as fast as possible. Go for it – this is your last exercise.
DAY 2
Full body strength3 rounds 30SEC ON 20SEC REST
Squats
Squat jumps
Press ups
Plank
Burpees
Star jumps
Sit ups
DAY 3
Strength and conditioning Multidirectional sprint drills – on a rugby pitch
1. 5 x Zig Zag sprinting with follow through sprint - Stick 10 flexible cones on the ground at 1-2 meter intervals, making sure that any sharp ends are filed smooth or capped. With a 5-meter rolling start run through the canes staying as close to the markers as possible whilst avoiding touching the cones. Make a concerted effort to run in as straight a line as possible and push dynamically off the outside foot. At the end of the cones “lean and go” and sprint out to a final marker 10-15 meters from the last cone. Rest 90-120 seconds between reps.
2. 5 x Bear crawl T sprints (with resistance bands)
Mark out a T shape using cones – each line should be 5 meters in length. Stand at the base of the T in a “bear” position (on hands and feet). On the command “go” crawl forwards as fast as possible to the top of the T. Side step to your right until you reach the right –hand marker cone.
Immediately side step to your left until you reach the furthest left-hand marker cone.
Side step to the right to return to the middle.
crawl backwards to the start point. Rest 90-120 sec between reps.
3.5 x Running intervals with burpees
Starting on the halfway line, perform a burpee and run backwards to the 10m line. Perform a burpee and sprint as hard as you can to the furthest 10m line. Perform a burpee and run backwards to the halfway line. Repeat, working for 40 seconds and resting for 80 seconds.
DAY 4 Rest,
DAY 5: Full body strength 3 ROUNDS 30SEC ON 20 SEC REST
Standing long jump
Bodyweight shoulder press
Push-press
Sit-ups
Squats
Plank
Lunges
DAY 6:
Speed and conditioning Hill sprints
Jog around one mile to reach your chosen hill. Ideally, it should be around 200 meters long and moderately steep. This means it’s steep enough to challenge you but not so steep you have to change your running style too much to run up it. About 5-10% is ideal.
1. 6 x 30 meters, walk down recovery Rest 2-3 minutes
2. 5 x 50 meters, walk down recovery Rest 3-4 minutes
3. 4 x 75 meters, walk down recovery Rest 4-5 minutes
4. 3 x 100 meters, walk down recovery Jog one mile to cool down
DAY 7: Rest, recovery and rehab
WEEK 2
Try performing more reps, or take shorter rests between sets to increase the difficulty of your workouts. Aim to reach 9/10 on the notional 1-10 intensity scale.
DAY 1
Speed and conditioning On a rugby pitch – progressively lengthening sprints
1. 6 x 30 meters falling starts – start with your feet together, hands by your sides. Lean forward and then take your first step as your body approaches 45-degrees. Walk back recovery.
2. 6 x pitch lengths – going on each minute, i.e. if it takes you 15 seconds to sprint the length of the pitch, you get 45 seconds’ rest between reps.
3. 6 x triangles – run corner to corner diagonally across the pitch. Jog back along the side touchline. Walk the width of the pitch to recover, and repeat.
4. 2 x lap of pitch – run all the way around the pitch as fast as possible. Go for it – this is your last exercise.
DAY 2
Full body strength4 rounds 30SEC ON 20SEC REST
Squats
Squat jumps
Press ups
Plank
Burpees
Star jumps
Sit ups
DAY 3
Speed and conditioning Multidirectional sprint drills – on a rugby pitch
1. 6 x Zig Zag sprinting with follow through sprint - Stick 10 flexible cones on the ground at 1-2 meter intervals, making sure that any sharp ends are filed smooth or capped. With a 5-meter rolling start run through the canes staying as close to the markers as possible whilst avoiding touching the cones. Make a concerted effort to run in as straight a line as possible and push dynamically off the outside foot. At the end of the cones “lean and go” and sprint out to a final marker 10-15 meters from the last cone. Rest 90-120 seconds between reps.
2. 6 x Bear crawl T sprints (with resistance bands)
Mark out a T shape using cones – each line should be 5 meters in length. Stand at the base of the T in a “bear” position (on hands and feet). On the command “go” crawl forwards as fast as possible to the top of the T. Side step to your right until you reach the right –hand marker cone.
Immediately side step to your left until you reach the furthest left-hand marker cone.
Side step to the right to return to the middle.
crawl backwards to the start point. Rest 90-120 sec between reps.
3.6 x Running intervals with burpees
Starting on the halfway line, perform a burpee and run backwards to the 10m line. Perform a burpee and sprint as hard as you can to the furthest 10m line. Perform a burpee and run backwards to the halfway line. Repeat, working for 40 seconds and resting for 80 seconds.
DAY 4 Rest,
DAY 5: Full body strength 4 ROUNDS 30SEC ON 20 SEC REST
Standing long jump
Bodyweight shoulder press
Push-press
Sit-ups
Squats
Plank
Lunges
DAY 6:
Speed and conditioning Hill sprints
Jog around one mile to reach your chosen hill. Ideally, it should be around 200 meters long and moderately steep. This means it’s steep enough to challenge you but not so steep you have to change your running style too much to run up it. About 5-10% is ideal.
1. 6 x 30 meters, walk down recovery Rest 2-3 minutes
2. 6 x 50 meters, walk down recovery Rest 3-4 minutes
3. 4 x 75 meters, walk down recovery Rest 4-5 minutes
4. 4 x 100 meters, walk down recovery Jog one mile to cool down
DAY 7: Rest, recovery and rehab
WEEK 3
DAY 1
Speed and conditioning On a rugby pitch – progressively lengthening sprints
1. 8 x 30 meters falling starts – start with your feet together, hands by your sides. Lean forward and then take your first step as your body approaches 45-degrees. Walk back recovery.
2. 8 x pitch lengths – going on each minute, i.e. if it takes you 15 seconds to sprint the length of the pitch, you get 45 seconds’ rest between reps.
3. 8 x triangles – run corner to corner diagonally across the pitch. Jog back along the side touchline. Walk the width of the pitch to recover, and repeat.
4. 3 x lap of pitch – run all the way around the pitch as fast as possible. Go for it – this is your last exercise.
DAY 2
Full body strength5 rounds 30SEC ON 20SEC REST
Squats
Squat jumps
Press ups
Plank
Burpees
Star jumps
Sit ups
DAY 3
Speed and conditioning Multidirectional sprint drills – on a rugby pitch
1. 7 x Zig Zag sprinting with follow through sprint - Stick 10 flexible cones on the ground at 1-2 meter intervals, making sure that any sharp ends are filed smooth or capped. With a 5-meter rolling start run through the canes staying as close to the markers as possible whilst avoiding touching the cones. Make a concerted effort to run in as straight a line as possible and push dynamically off the outside foot. At the end of the cones “lean and go” and sprint out to a final marker 10-15 meters from the last cone. Rest 90-120 seconds between reps.
2. 7 x Bear crawl T sprints (with resistance bands)
Mark out a T shape using cones – each line should be 5 meters in length. Stand at the base of the T in a “bear” position (on hands and feet). On the command “go” crawl forwards as fast as possible to the top of the T. Side step to your right until you reach the right –hand marker cone.
Immediately side step to your left until you reach the furthest left-hand marker cone.
Side step to the right to return to the middle.
crawl backwards to the start point. Rest 90-120 sec between reps.
3.7 x Running intervals with burpees
Starting on the halfway line, perform a burpee and run backwards to the 10m line. Perform a burpee and sprint as hard as you can to the furthest 10m line. Perform a burpee and run backwards to the halfway line. Repeat, working for 40 seconds and resting for 80 seconds.
DAY 4 Rest,
DAY 5: Full body strength 5 ROUNDS 30SEC ON 20 SEC REST
Standing long jump
Bodyweight shoulder press
Push-press
Sit-ups
Squats
Plank
Lunges
DAY 6:
Speed and conditioning Hill sprints
Jog around one mile to reach your chosen hill. Ideally, it should be around 200 meters long and moderately steep. This means it’s steep enough to challenge you but not so steep you have to change your running style too much to run up it. About 5-10% is ideal.
1. 6 x 30 meters, walk down recovery Rest 2-3 minutes
2. 6 x 50 meters, walk down recovery Rest 3-4 minutes
3. 6 x 75 meters, walk down recovery Rest 4-5 minutes
4. 6 x 100 meters, walk down recovery Jog one mile to cool down
DAY 7: Rest, recovery and rehab
WEEK 4
DELOAD WEEK INTENSITY SAME BUT MORE RECOVERY
DAY 1
Speed and conditioning On a rugby pitch – progressively lengthening sprints
1. 8 x 30 meters falling starts – start with your feet together, hands by your sides. Lean forward and then take your first step as your body approaches 45-degrees. Walk back recovery.
2. 8 x pitch lengths – going on each minute, i.e. if it takes you 15 seconds to sprint the length of the pitch, you get 45 seconds’ rest between reps.
3. 8 x triangles – run corner to corner diagonally across the pitch. Jog back along the side touchline. Walk the width of the pitch to recover, and repeat.
4. 1 x lap of pitch – run all the way around the pitch as fast as possible. Go for it – this is your last exercise.
DAY 2
Full body strength3 rounds 30SEC ON 15 SEC REST
Squats
Squat jumps
Press ups
Plank
Burpees
Star jumps
Sit ups
DAY 3
Speed and conditioning Multidirectional sprint drills – on a rugby pitch
1. 3 x Zig Zag sprinting with follow through sprint - Stick 10 flexible cones on the ground at 1-2 meter intervals, making sure that any sharp ends are filed smooth or capped. With a 5-meter rolling start run through the canes staying as close to the markers as possible whilst avoiding touching the cones. Make a concerted effort to run in as straight a line as possible and push dynamically off the outside foot. At the end of the cones “lean and go” and sprint out to a final marker 10-15 meters from the last cone. Rest 90-120 seconds between reps.
2. 3 x Bear crawl T sprints (with resistance bands)
Mark out a T shape using cones – each line should be 5 meters in length. Stand at the base of the T in a “bear” position (on hands and feet). On the command “go” crawl forwards as fast as possible to the top of the T. Side step to your right until you reach the right –hand marker cone.
Immediately side step to your left until you reach the furthest left-hand marker cone.
Side step to the right to return to the middle.
crawl backwards to the start point. Rest 90-120 sec between reps.
3.3 x Running intervals with burpees
Starting on the halfway line, perform a burpee and run backwards to the 10m line. Perform a burpee and sprint as hard as you can to the furthest 10m line. Perform a burpee and run backwards to the halfway line. Repeat, working for 40 seconds and resting for 80 seconds.
DAY 4 Rest,
DAY 5: Full body strength 3 ROUNDS 30SEC ON 15 SEC REST
Standing long jump
Bodyweight shoulder press
Push-press
Sit-ups
Squats
Plank
Lunges
DAY 6:
Speed and conditioning Hill sprints
Jog around one mile to reach your chosen hill. Ideally, it should be around 200 meters long and moderately steep. This means it’s steep enough to challenge you but not so steep you have to change your running style too much to run up it. About 5-10% is ideal.
1. 3 x 30 meters, walk down recovery Rest 2-3 minutes
2. 3 x 50 meters, walk down recovery Rest 3-4 minutes
3. 3 x 75 meters, walk down recovery Rest 4-5 minutes
4. 3 x 100 meters, walk down recovery Jog one mile to cool down
DAY 7: Rest, recovery and rehab
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