Gym Advice

[JSRF10]

To cut a long story short I'm intent on resuming my rugby career next year, yes the bar takings will take a hit but I'm trying to get into shape and I need a goal to work towards. I've never really been a gym person and would struggle to name most of the machines that my gym has however I've figured that I need to get fit and bulk up if anything for my own safety on the pitch (as dangerous as 3rd grade Subbies will be!).

Anyways to cut to the point, I've mainly been doing about 3 or 4 40 minute workouts a week involving rowing and weightlifting but my PBs have plateaued and I haven't been able to improve on them recently. Does anyone have any advice in how I can keep improving my PBs? Also, this may be related to my first point, what are the benefits of taking supplements, protein etc? Is taking these required to really start putting on bulk and getting "rugby" fit?

 

[I like to watch]

Mate, if you are playing 3rd grade subbies.
spend more time on your speed and your footwork than size.
If they can't get hold of you,size doesn't matter.

 

[fatprop]

Not completely rugby focused but I have been doing a program "You are your own gym" for 8 months.

It is bloody good, and really balanced (4 workouts of 40 minutes each, basically 1 push, 1 pull, 1 leg and one core, he then adds another session in the latter of each 10 week block that is quite cardio) and can be done at home.

They have an Andriod App with the whole program from beginner to lunatic that has video demonstrations of the exercises and does the timings.

The creator is an ex special forces fitness trainer, so it is sort of cross fit with a whole mix of exercises from Tabatas to Ladders to Intervals and he is an arsehole - it just gets harder and harder.

 

[The Red Baron]

To cut a long story short I'm intent on resuming my rugby career next year, yes the bar takings will take a hit but I'm trying to get into shape and I need a goal to work towards. I've never really been a gym person and would struggle to name most of the machines that my gym has however I've figured that I need to get fit and bulk up if anything for my own safety on the pitch (as dangerous as 3rd grade Subbies will be!).

Anyways to cut to the point, I've mainly been doing about 3 or 4 40 minute workouts a week involving rowing and weightlifting but my PBs have plateaued and I haven't been able to improve on them recently. Does anyone have any advice in how I can keep improving my PBs? Also, this may be related to my first point, what are the benefits of taking supplements, protein etc? Is taking these required to really start putting on bulk and getting "rugby" fit?

What have your workouts entailed? It is always good to mix your weight program up after a period of time, to ensure your body just not 'get used' to the stresses you are putting it under.

If you have not spent a lot of time in the gym, I suggest really familiarising yourself with the machines and how they work. The worst thing you can do is attack a program with too much weight and the wrong technique. Take the time out and figure out how to do each exercise.

To start off with, I would suggest a full body routine 3 times a week. This will serve to build overall strength. At the same time I would recommend doing medium cardio 3-4 times a week. I have found that cardio post weights is more beneficial to me, whereas others prefer to do their cardio pre weights. Experiment and find out what your body best responds to. Try to vary your cardio, and attempt to do at least 25-30 mins.

Stick with a full body routine until your body has built enough strength to allow for split routines. This means that you will be training a particular muscle group each workout, eg; back, legs, chest, shoulders, arms. Try to incorporate abdominal exercises into every workout.

Ultimately you want to get aerobically and anaerobically fit. Aim to gain overall fitness, then start working hard on endurance, sprints, explosive power, etc. The fitter you are, the better your body will adapt to specialised exercise routines. But remember to apply a level of balance to everything you do! You don't want to burn out or injure yourself. Do everything (including diet) in moderation.

Supplements are interesting. Some supplements such as Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA) assist with muscle growth and fat loss, but you really need to do some solid research on the types of supplements available. Generally, I have found supplements will generally have positives and negatives - for example, when I would use protein powder, I had to work harder to ensure I kept weight off my gut. It wasn't as bad when I didn't use the powder. Creatine needs to be cycled, or your body will have too much of it and experience problems. At this stage, if anything I would suggest BCAA's, but even then it is not necessary. Have a look around though, do some research and speak to the muscle heads in the supplement shops; sometimes they are full of great information regarding supplement use and workout tips.

I guess my main tips are: research, balance, build your fitness up gradually, know your limits, vary your routine and most of all, have fun.

check this website out for some tips on supplements and workout planning:

http://www.muscleandstrength.com/

 

[rugbysmartarse]

@jsrf10 I have been following the program from www.StartingStrength.com program for the last 4 months and have found it excellent. It is strength based, but I would argue that if you're looking to get into rugby then strength is your first requirement. It's also training in such a way that you do get cardiovascular stress from it and without training any cardio I found (quite by accident) that my fitness has improved out of sight (from an admittedly low base). You can add endurance stuff later if you think you need help lasting (but pre season will help that too).

You will need to buy the book ($10 kindle version) but the website is set up to help with form, programming etc.

it's only 3 sessions a week, only 5 different exercises, and incremental weight increases to force a continued stress adaptation.

good luck

 

[Pfitzy]

You need to change what you're doing if you hit plateaus weight lifting.

Do your regular routine once a week, then once a week go super heavy, minimum reps.

Ensure you recover for at least 24 hours after each lifting session.

Body weight like pull ups, push ups, and anaerobic stretch like shuttles and burpees are probably more relevant.

Here's a test for everyone: start the clock and do 50 burpees (standard i.e. without pushup) as quickly as you can.

 

[Pfitzy]

The most important question I forgot:

What position are you playing?

 

[JSRF10]

The most important question I forgot:

What position are you playing?

Not sure to be honest, in my previous life I was a lock but this was only because at the age of 14 I was about a foot taller than everyone else. I've only been playing tag the last couple of years after a break any sport of about 6 years. Playing half back in tag so I reckon I'll end up in the centres.

 

[Gibbo]

Rowing Machine..... 12 minutes. Aim for 3 minute 500-600m intervals.

 

[cyclopath]

Rowing Machine... 12 minutes. Aim for 3 minute 500-600m intervals.

The rowing machine is just a frikking beast.
Average under 2min / 500m for any decent period of time, and you know it, eh Gibbo?

 

[Gibbo]

Most under utilised equipment in the gym.

Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk

 

[I like to watch]

Why do all gyms seem to face the rower at a wall,but supply every other cardio machine with fucking foxtel?
Twenty or thirty minutes is a long slog just looking at a wall,and the display on the rower.

 

[JSRF10]

Rowing Machine... 12 minutes. Aim for 3 minute 500-600m intervals.

Doing this workout on a rowing machine at a medium resistance at the moment, its a great cardio workout. Prefer it to running and cycling machines which just bore me. Favoured workout at the moment is combining this with around 30 minutes of weight work which is usually 5 reps of 10 at 80% on 4 different machines.

 

[cyclopath]

Why do all gyms seem to face the rower at a wall,but supply every other cardio machine with fucking foxtel?
Twenty or thirty minutes is a long slog just looking at a wall,and the display on the rower.

Mine faces the Foxtel. The machine in front of Fox sports is the prime position. Sky news - not so much.

 

[namtrak]

Crossfit

 

[Ultimate Life]

What have your workouts entailed? It is always good to mix your weight program up after a period of time, to ensure your body just not 'get used' to the stresses you are putting it under.

If you have not spent a lot of time in the gym, I suggest really familiarising yourself with the machines and how they work. The worst thing you can do is attack a program with too much weight and the wrong technique. Take the time out and figure out how to do each exercise.

To start off with, I would suggest a full body routine 3 times a week. This will serve to build overall strength. At the same time I would recommend doing medium cardio 3-4 times a week. I have found that cardio post weights is more beneficial to me, whereas others prefer to do their cardio pre weights. Experiment and find out what your body best responds to. Try to vary your cardio, and attempt to do at least 25-30 mins.

Stick with a full body routine until your body has built enough strength to allow for split routines. This means that you will be training a particular muscle group each workout, eg; back, legs, chest, shoulders, arms. Try to incorporate abdominal exercises into every workout.

Ultimately you want to get aerobically and anaerobically fit. Aim to gain overall fitness, then start working hard on endurance, sprints, explosive power, etc. The fitter you are, the better your body will adapt to specialised exercise routines. But remember to apply a level of balance to everything you do! You don't want to burn out or injure yourself. Do everything (including diet) in moderation.

Supplements are interesting. Some supplements such as Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA) assist with muscle growth and fat loss, but you really need to do some solid research on the types of supplements available. Generally, I have found supplements will generally have positives and negatives - for example, when I would use protein powder, I had to work harder to ensure I kept weight off my gut. It wasn't as bad when I didn't use the powder. Creatine needs to be cycled, or your body will have too much of it and experience problems. At this stage, if anything I would suggest BCAA's, but even then it is not necessary. Have a look around though, do some research and speak to the muscle heads in the supplement shops; sometimes they are full of great information regarding supplement use and workout tips.

I guess my main tips are: research, balance, build your fitness up gradually, know your limits, vary your routine and most of all, have fun.

check this website out for some tips on supplements and workout planning:

http://www.muscleandstrength.com/

Totally agree Red Barron. I invested in a strength and cardio program last year - the first 6 weeks was pure strength to shock my body into building a foundation then a mixture of different types of strength plus cardio. We'd change the type of exercises every 4-6 weeks to keep shocking the body so it would continually progressing.

I've used BCAA throughout the entire program as I have a naturally smaller frame and we tended to train quite hard during our workouts. The BCAA definitely helped me train harder and longer without feeling giddy.

In terms of other supplements, I used a mixture of protein powders - some pure whey protein with "zero carbs" to weight gainers to pea protein to increase alkalinity. My local nutrition shop (Marc from PS Nutrition in North Sydney) provided constant professional advice and is phasing in a larger selection of organic supplements.