Fuller's Gym and Rugby Log
-
Got to look at your running technique I guess?<br />
<br />
When doing running drills but not requiring stepping/sprinting (those pitch laps would be perfect) - look at getting in a good stride with heel-to-toe action as you push your leg through. Making sure when you push through/off, your engaing the buttocks, and when pulling through, trying to bring your knee through using the upper leg.<br />
<br />
Mmmm, let's watch this training Jesse. -
Did the bleep test last night, had done a leg session the day before and played touch for 30 mins....<br />
<br />
Which is my way of making excuses for my 8.5 result!<br />
<br />
Dog shiT! -
I used to get very bad shin splints Fuller. I don't get them any more. I found that it was a combination of the trainers I was wearing and lack of stretching.<br />
<br />
Now I make sure I always get very good running shoes--no more cheap on sale stuff. A good pair of running shoes can save your calves. I also make sure I stretch extensively before and after every run.<br />
<br />
That seems to have worked for me. I used to have calf problems every time I ran. Now I can't remember the last time I had this issue. And I'm doing longer distance running sessions (an average of 6 miles) than before, and multiple 100 meter sprints, 5 sets on alternate days. No calf problems. <br />
<br />
Hope that helps. -
[quote name='davidav']<br />
I used to get very bad shin splints Fuller. I don't get them any more. I found that it was a combination of the trainers I was wearing and lack of stretching.<br />
<br />
Now I make sure I always get very good running shoes--no more cheap on sale stuff. A good pair of running shoes can save your calves. I also make sure I stretch extensively before and after every run.<br />
<br />
That seems to have worked for me. I used to have calf problems every time I ran. Now I can't remember the last time I had this issue. And I'm doing longer distance running sessions (an average of 6 miles) than before, and multiple 100 meter sprints, 5 sets on alternate days. No calf problems. <br />
<br />
Hope that helps.<br />
[/quote]<br />
<br />
Cheers mate, much appreciated. I tend to get the calf cramps whatever i do, and whatever shoe i am wearing. This includes mouldies, boots, trainers, shoes etc....<br />
<br />
I suspect that there are biomechanical reasons why they tense straight away and also i suspect there may be something to do with supplements.<br />
<br />
Remember reading an article a while back where Iwan Thomas, a GB 400m runner, who was complaining of calf cramps associated with creatine powder. He stopped taking it (switched to serum) and they went away.<br />
<br />
The calf problems i have been having have come on a lot since i have been using the Cyclone supplements which contain creatine. Am considering coming off and checking if there are any changes.<br />
<br />
Anyway - 6th fitness session last night<br />
<br />- 2 laps of pitch in 2 minutes (2mins 22seconds for me - shit)<br />
- 8 X 50m sprints - 10 second rest in between<br />
- 3 x 1minute of sprints to 22 and 10 push ups...<br />
- 5 sets of 5x5m sprints hitting deck and pushing up after each 5m. (hardest exercise of them all)<br />
- 4 set of 20m sprints and side steps of both legs<br />
- 1 lap of pitch in under 75 seconds (did it in 61 seconds)<br />
<br />
Felt like chundering but managed to keep it down.<br />
<br />
Played touch rugby before and after.
-
Have had another or so fitness sessions, including a fitness testing session which had me chundering. Mmmmmm.<br />
<br />
Have now moved into proper training sessions with some contact work being phased in.<br />
<br />
Two changes my end are:<br />
<br />
Diet chages - My diet is shit. Like a farking teenager. Have cut down hugely on fat intake and eating loads more fruit and feel better for it. Also hydrating like it is going out of fashion, especially on training days.<br />
<br />
Gym work - have started to bring in more power focused exercises, power cleans, diagnal weighted lunges etc.....<br />
<br />
First pre-season game is on August 26th. -
Been two and a bit weeks on new diet, with more runninbg outside of rugby training sessions.<br />
<br />
Was 15 stone 2lbs, and have now dropped down to 14stone 11 pounds.<br />
<br />
No noticable loss of muscle and starting to get into the power training now - particularly doing clean and jerks with an olympic bar.<br />
<br />
PB so far is 70kgs, but i reckon i'll get this up over the next few weeks.<br />
<br />
Bench is back up to 110kgs as of Saturday just gone. -
[quote name='Fullermorg']<br />
Have had another or so fitness sessions, including a fitness testing session which had me chundering. Mmmmmm.<br />
<br />
Have now moved into proper training sessions with some contact work being phased in.<br />
<br />
Two changes my end are:<br />
<br />
Diet chages - My diet is shit. Like a farking teenager. Have cut down hugely on fat intake and eating loads more fruit and feel better for it. Also hydrating like it is going out of fashion, especially on training days.<br />
<br />
[b]Gym work - have started to bring in more power focused exercises, power cleans, diagnal weighted lunges etc.....[/b]<br />
<br />
First pre-season game is on August 26th.<br />
[/quote]<br />
<br />
Are you doing barbell squats? If not, you should. They're the best overall strenght building exercise you can do. They'll also help build explosiveness in your trunk area. As long as your maintain your flexbility, squats will enhance your speed by increasing leg power and explosiveness. <br />
<br />
For overall power, it's all about the Big Three: Squats, Bench, Deadlifts. If you focused on these and nothing else in the gym, your power and explosiveness will increase significantly. The other exercises are add-ons. -
[quote name='davidav']<br />
[quote name='Fullermorg']<br />
Have had another or so fitness sessions, including a fitness testing session which had me chundering. Mmmmmm.<br />
<br />
Have now moved into proper training sessions with some contact work being phased in.<br />
<br />
Two changes my end are:<br />
<br />
Diet chages - My diet is shit. Like a farking teenager. Have cut down hugely on fat intake and eating loads more fruit and feel better for it. Also hydrating like it is going out of fashion, especially on training days.<br />
<br />
[b]Gym work - have started to bring in more power focused exercises, power cleans, diagnal weighted lunges etc.....[/b]<br />
<br />
First pre-season game is on August 26th.<br />
[/quote]<br />
<br />
Are you doing barbell squats? If not, you should. They're the best overall strenght building exercise you can do. They'll also help build explosiveness in your trunk area. As long as your maintain your flexbility, squats will enhance your speed by increasing leg power and explosiveness. <br />
<br />
For overall power, it's all about the Big Three: Squats, Bench, Deadlifts. If you focused on these and nothing else in the gym, your power and explosiveness will increase significantly. The other exercises are add-ons.<br />
[/quote]<br />
<br />
Pretty cool how fast you can make gains once you put squats into your routine as well. I do them on an extremely dodgy home gym in my garage, I say dodgy because I'm sure it is against every health and safely regulation under the sun and I have no spotter or proper squat rack. If I do need to bail out and can't get another rep out I am quite adept at dropping the weights to the side which makes a huge noise and just about destroys the garage, luckily I am getting better at them and this rarely happens.....Red Beard kindly emailed me a program to follow which has been awesome. Gotta love the jelly like feeling in your legs, seeing stars and just about collapsing after doing the 5 x 5 squats !! Magic :twisted:<br />
<br />
must do my own log on here at some stage, I always have a read to see what others are up to after all !Â
-
Yeah, that's why they call the barbell squat the "King of exercises." Just be very careful because some people don't realize how much technique is involved in doing a proper squat. Angling your back a few degrees in the wrong direction could result in a very serious injury.<br />
<br />
Take it from someone who has had back surgery partially as a result of more than 20 years of doing barbell squats with heavy weight. Squats are great and I recommend them highly to anybody who is serious about building real strength. But you have to be very careful, because you can get hurt really bad if you do them incorrectly. -
[quote name='davidav']<br />
Yeah, that's why they call the barbell squat the "King of exercises." Just be very careful because some people don't realize how much technique is involved in doing a proper squat. Angling your back a few degrees in the wrong direction could result in a very serious injury.<br />
<br />
Take it from someone who has had back surgery partially as a result of more than 20 years of doing barbell squats with heavy weight. Squats are great and I recommend them highly to anybody who is serious about building real strength. But you have to be very careful, because you can get hurt really bad if you do them incorrectly.<br />
[/quote]<br />
<br />
Yeah not getting ahead of myself as I don't want to be pinned under a barbell when the wife comes out to check on me haha ! I should hopefully enjoy some good benefits when I make my rugby comeback after almost ten years next year though !! -
Been away on hols in the US of A so excuse the lack of response.<br />
<br />
Situation with weights was that mid way through pre-season i had got up to about 15 stone 2lbs, but my speed and explosiveness were not great.<br />
<br />
Coach wanted me to not put any more on and work on adding explosiveness.<br />
<br />
He is a sprinter by background and has asked me to check form on exercises that i currently do (squats on smith) and add in more explosive moves but also got me concenbtrating on clean and jerks and weighed lunges.<br />
<br />
Really enjoying the clean and jerks and have made some gains (lifting around 80kgs now) since getting technique down.<br />
<br />
Also changed diet and more running have made the weight drop down to 14stone 11 pounds. -
First rugby pre-season training session after hols last night.<br />
<br />
Have been doing interval training on treadmill (5x 400m with min rest in between) and so wanted to see what improvements there were in th fuel tank. Particularly in the dreaded beginning to each session - the two laps of pitch in two minutes challenge.<br />
<br />
Now have only managed 2 mins 20 seconds ish for this in the past but last night came in at 2 mins 4 seconds. Was absolutely chuffed.<br />
<br />
Also, i had zero tightness in my calves last night, which is a huge plus, pre-season had been massively hampered by calf cramps as soon as i woudl jog 20 metres or so.<br />
<br />
Happy to see some results from sweating on the freaking tread mill. -
Clean and jerks are good for building explosiveness. Here's another one: medicine ball training. You can do slams, where you pick the ball up off the ground, clean and jerk it above your head, and then slam it into the ground with all your speed and power. Repeat 12 times. Think of it as a good loose forward running up to the ball at the breakdown. You want to follow the ball after every slam and repeat the motion as fast as you can.<br />
<br />
This is really good for core strength and explosivenes you your core, legs, lower back and shoulders. Another good movement is throws. Simply pick the ball up, clean it above your head, and throw it as far as you can. Run up to the ball and repeat the same movement 12 times. Very tiring.<br />
<br />
There are tons of explosive movements you can do with a medicine ball. The key is getting one that is the right weight for you. I got the heaviest one I could find--25 pounds. They make them in all different weights. Core strength and explosiveness all over is the key benefit. That's why boxers and martial artists swear by medicine ball training. -
[quote name='davidav']<br />
Clean and jerks are good for building explosiveness. Here's another one: medicine ball training. You can do slams, where you pick the ball up off the ground, clean and jerk it above your head, and then slam it into the ground with all your speed and power. Repeat 12 times. Think of it as a good loose forward running up to the ball at the breakdown. You want to follow the ball after every slam and repeat the motion as fast as you can.<br />
<br />
This is really good for core strength and explosivenes you your core, legs, lower back and shoulders. Another good movement is throws. Simply pick the ball up, clean it above your head, and throw it as far as you can. Run up to the ball and repeat the same movement 12 times. Very tiring.<br />
<br />
There are tons of explosive movements you can do with a medicine ball. The key is getting one that is the right weight for you. I got the heaviest one I could find--25 pounds. They make them in all different weights. Core strength and explosiveness all over is the key benefit. That's why boxers and martial artists swear by medicine ball training.<br />
[/quote]<br />
<br />
That is good advice mate, may well do that. Not in my gym though, its a middle class mum mecca and they don't like their yoga sessions downstairs being disrupted by dropped weights etc.....<br />
<br />
Can only imagine the horror on their faces if i started slamming a 25 pound med ball into the deck.<br />
<br />
Cheers though. -
First training session with contact last night.<br />
<br />
Also first session that set out our approach to new ELVs etc..... we have spent the off season developing our fitness to the degree where we are all to a man, much, much fitter than in previous years. The coaches want us to play a game where "a ruck is regarded as a defeat" with us looking to pop out of contact and run the bigger teams around.<br />
<br />
Last night's session was an eye opener in that we got through 1.5 hours of quality work, with guys not losing skill level due to lack of fitness etc....<br />
<br />
Going well. -
[quote name='Fullermorg']<br />
First training session with contact last night.<br />
<br />
Also first session that set out our approach to new ELVs etc..... we have spent the off season developing our fitness to the degree where we are all to a man, much, much fitter than in previous years. [b]The coaches want us to play a game where "a ruck is regarded as a defeat" with us looking to pop out of contact and run the bigger teams around.[/b]<br />
<br />
Last night's session was an eye opener in that we got through 1.5 hours of quality work, with guys not losing skill level due to lack of fitness etc....<br />
<br />
Going well.<br />
[/quote]<br />
<br />
Have they not watched any Super 14? That's exactly what the Hurricanes tried to do and got soundly beaten, doing a good impersonation of headless chickens while they did it.<br />
<br />
You have to commit numbers to the breakdown and set targets, and do all the normal rugby stuff you do, but you also have to kick the leather off of the ball, preferably to just outside the 22. You just have to modify your ruck play to cheat like buggery on the ground, don't roll away and hold on if you're in trouble. -
[quote name='Kirwan']<br />
[quote name='Fullermorg']<br />
First training session with contact last night.<br />
<br />
Also first session that set out our approach to new ELVs etc..... we have spent the off season developing our fitness to the degree where we are all to a man, much, much fitter than in previous years. [b]The coaches want us to play a game where "a ruck is regarded as a defeat" with us looking to pop out of contact and run the bigger teams around.[/b]<br />
<br />
Last night's session was an eye opener in that we got through 1.5 hours of quality work, with guys not losing skill level due to lack of fitness etc....<br />
<br />
Going well.<br />
[/quote]<br />
<br />
Have they not watched any Super 14? That's exactly what the Hurricanes tried to do and got soundly beaten, doing a good impersonation of headless chickens while they did it.<br />
<br />
You have to commit numbers to the breakdown and set targets, and do all the normal rugby stuff you do, but you also have to kick the leather off of the ball, preferably to just outside the 22. You just have to modify your ruck play to cheat like buggery on the ground, don't roll away and hold on if you're in trouble.<br />
[/quote]<br />
Thats exactly what I thought whn I read this, follow this line and Finchley RFC will struggle Fuller, rebel now or demotion will loom. -
I know what you guys are saying but i am just about to break into the first team and am going to do exactly what is told of me!<br />
<br />
No rocking of boats from me!<br />
<br />
In fairness their strategy is a bit more advanced than chuck "it about" they are really bearing down on how we take contact and the diamond pods who follow a man into contact, looking for "circular passes" that will be popped to a second trail runner etc....<br />
<br />
What we haven't had yet is a detailed break down of how the laws are changing etc.... going to be some interesting backs sessions coming up both attacking wise where we have space for that extra pass, and defensively.<br />
<br />
Will keep you mo fo's up to speed with how it pans out.<br />
<br />
Oh, came in first on the 2 laps in 2 mins last night. Beginning of season i was middling to tail end so am well chuffed.
