Rugby broad goals

[CBrons]

Quick Intro: I’ve been a member of this forum for a couple years now and I don’t check in much other than to research what you guys have to say on different topics. I’ve been lifting for about four years now and I feel I have a good foundation as far as nutrition goes.
I’m looking for a good comprehensive diet, workout and lifestyle plan that I can follow all summer long in order to get me ready for the fall rugby season here.

Goals: Very broad – I want to greatly increase my performance as a rugby player

Dedication: I’m very dedicated on reaching my goal and am willing to sacrifice a great deal. I plan on staying a pretty strict diet with some leniency here and there for a quick meal out on a Friday and/or Saturday night along with a couple beers on the weekends.

I was hoping some of you might offer some advice on the topics I emboldened below as well as my overall plan.

Nutrition & Lifestyle
- Dieting Down
Working on a diet and the proper ratios.
- Supplementation
* Creatine (Monohydrate – At Large brand)
* Protein (Nitrean)
Looking for a good shake I can have before bed (casein source) any recommendation? Shoveling down cottage cheese before bed is kind of unpleasant for me.
* Vitamins (standard Centrum + 1000mg vitamin C)
* Cod Liver Oil and other EFAs…
Looking for some advice on sources of Omega 3, 6 and 9 and I’m completely confused about the quantity I should take daily and at what times they are most beneficial
I’m also looking for other good supplements to help me reach my goal. I’m considering ETS for recovery. Any other recovery supplement suggestions?
- Sleep
Got work early in the morning but looking to keep a regular sleep pattern of 8-9 hours. I have a pretty good relaxation tape a psychologist here at school gave me.

This is also in the supplements section of the forum

Flexibility
- Morning Stretches
I’m considering buying a Swiss ball and doing some core work for this one, again looking for suggestions on a good 15 minute or so flexibility workout I can do when I wake up.
- Quick Pre and Post Lifting stretches
- Yoga
Taking a class at the park district
- Pilates
Also taking a class at the park district

Speed and Agility
- Air Alert
- Plyometrics
Looking for a good program
- Weighted ankle walking
I have light ankle weights I can attach and walk around with all day – might look a little weird/embarrassing but no one ever said reaching success involved looking good throughout the whole process.

Strength
- Workout regimen
I plan on posting my workouts with the diet for review

Endurance
- Training
I have to sprint and jog for two forty minute halves so I’m looking for a resource on some good tips as far as this goes. I hear a HIIT like method (sprinting a few seconds, jogging, walking) works very well. Any suggestions?

Psychology
- Self-Talk
- Imagery

Skill Learning
- Tape Study

[CancerVII]

If you can clean and jerk 150 kilos then you should be able to **** up all the bitches that you get matched up against one on one.

[philou123]

Well first of all, congrats on a great plan. Success requires careful planning and it really looks like you've done your homework there.

I can't help you all those topics as some of their are foreign to me, but here are few suggestions I can make:

Swiss ball: Core work with it is amazing, just look up "swiss ball core exercises" and you'll find several, you should do 3-4 exercises, 3 times a week. I would recommend you do them first, and they'll get you warm-up for your morning stretches. There are several good books about stretching, you could probably borrow one from the library/buy one/go to the bookstore and copy down good stretches. I'm sure 3x week of (7minutes abs + 10 minutes stretching) over the whole summer will make a significant difference come fall season.

Endurance: If you're gonna be running 2x 40minutes per week, the best way to maximize your gains is to do interval training such as:
15 minutes w-up, 7x (2:00 fast-1:00 walk/jog), 5 minutes cool down
15 minutes w-up, 6x (1:30 fast-1:30 walk/jog), 7 minutes cool-down
15 mintues w-up, 5x (2:00 fast- 1:00 walk/jog), 10 minutes cool-down
15 minutes w-up, 4x(3:00 fast-2:00jog), 5 minutes cool-down

On the fast, you heart rate should be around 75-80% of max, so around150-160 (max HR = 220- your age).

So you can choose between one of those or make up your own, I think you see the type of pattern there, but I would recommend you do 1 short-interval workout (ie, 1:00's fast) and 1 long-interval workout (ie, 3:00's). Try and have at least 2 days in between 2 interval workouts. If you ever feel just beat up, you can replace an interval workout with a steady-speed run (ie, 40 minutes jog @ 60-65% max HR)

[CBrons]

Thanks - i was considering using Don Bebe's speed trainers along with a speed chute for all sprint work with them to increase resistance.

[philou123]

Yeah I'm not really familiar with speed training, so you're on your own there.

[CBrons]

Endurance: If you're gonna be running 2x 40minutes per week, the best way to maximize your gains is to do interval training such as:
15 minutes w-up, 7x (2:00 fast-1:00 walk/jog), 5 minutes cool down
15 minutes w-up, 6x (1:30 fast-1:30 walk/jog), 7 minutes cool-down
15 mintues w-up, 5x (2:00 fast- 1:00 walk/jog), 10 minutes cool-down
15 minutes w-up, 4x(3:00 fast-2:00jog), 5 minutes cool-down

On the fast, you heart rate should be around 75-80% of max, so around150-160 (max HR = 220- your age).

So you can choose between one of those or make up your own, I think you see the type of pattern there, but I would recommend you do 1 short-interval workout (ie, 1:00's fast) and 1 long-interval workout (ie, 3:00's). Try and have at least 2 days in between 2 interval workouts. If you ever feel just beat up, you can replace an interval workout with a steady-speed run (ie, 40 minutes jog @ 60-65% max HR)

Is there any comprehensive program site or book i can find? Thanks a lot for the info.

[philou123]

Well most of that I've learned from reading Runner's World (my dad has a subscription) but here a couple links you might find useful:

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-244--11274-0,00.html
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-244-259-11562-0,00.html

It's actually much harder to find good information online then I thought, but I'm sure if you search long enough you'll find something.

[Gudfala]

What position do you play in rugby? If your primary goal is to get better on the rugby field you should look at aligning your exercise program with the particular requirements of the position. For example - if you're are a flanker you'd want to pay a bit more attention to upper body strength. Whereas a winger will likely pay particular attention to speed training.

[CBrons]

I'm an inside and outside centre and most of my goals are flexibility, agility and speed related