This plan may change due to being unable to get to the gym or training but I will attempt to go on another day or work harder on other days. Also if I am ill and cant exercise then that could affect the effectiveness of the programme. The weather could also affect training on Thursdays and the games on Sundays because if it is raining then it will be a lot harder than a dry day. Also the pitch can vary the difficulty of the programme because if the pitch is hard and flat then it will be a lot easier playing on it rather than playing on a sloping pitch where it is also bumpy due to not being cut recently. The games can also vary the difficulty of the programme as being against a relatively easier team probably wont make the game too strenuous where as a harder team would make me work harder.
It is a good idea to introduce rest days into a programme because if you were training constantly then you are in danger of over-training, especially if it was long periods of intense training with hardly any or no recovery/rest. There are key indicators of over-training such as: excessive muscle fatigue or soreness, frequent colds, infections, allergic reactions and a lack of motivation to train. To help prevent and find out if I am over-training I will be wearing a heart monitor at the gym and monitoring my heart rate. This will also help me set a regular training load in turn setting a percentage of maximum capacity. I have set my rest day’s in-between the intense training so to help recover which will help me from burning-out.
Monday
On the Monday I will be resting after the Sundays game and trying not to do any demanding physical activity.
Tuesday
On the Tuesdays for the first two weeks I will be spending three hours in the gym and this is the circuit I will be trying to stick to:
- Warm up. (See page 9)
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25 minutes on the running machines. Difficulty = 6. This starts off as an easy jog of 6.0 and at intervals increases to a faster speed of 9.0, which carries on for the same interval and then back down to 6.0. The graph below shows the running machines programme. The last minute (26th minute) will be at a walking pace to cool the muscle used down gradually.
- 5-minute break attempting to cool down with controlled breathing reducing my heart rate in the process.
- 30 minutes on the bike machine. Difficulty = 6. Attempting to keep the bike speed between 70 and 80.
- Another 5-minute break cooling down and reducing my heart rate with controlled deep breathing.
- 1000m on the rowing machine. Difficulty = 5 (water resistance). Attempting to keep the speed above 32.
- This time 10 minutes cooling down with controlled breathing attempting to reduce my heart rate.
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Then back on the running machine with a difficulty of 8 (an increase of 2) for 25 minutes. This programme on the machine increases the gradient by 5% so it is made a lot tougher also the speed is increased by 1.0. as the graph shows:
Gradient =
- This time I will break for 5 to 8 minutes.
- Then back to the bike for another 30 minutes but this time increasing the difficulty to 6. I will again keep the speed between 70 and 80.
- Again I will break for 5 to 8 minutes.
- Then I will do 1500m on the rowing machine but keeping the difficulty the same (5 – water resistance).
Wednesday
I will have Wednesday as a rest day so I don’t over-train and burn myself out.
Thursday
Training session. This involves a 20-minute warm up session led by Mark Hammond who is a professional fitness instructor for Bristol City. This usually consists of gross motor activity for the first 5 minutes, which starts off at a low intensity then begins to increase this is designed to mobilise the joints and warm the muscles. Then for the next 10 minutes it is mostly stretching to increase the length and flexibility of the muscles and tendons. This is done because it will decrease or prevent the risk of injury and stretching also relaxes muscle fibres in turn improving the circulation of blood during exercise. Mark involves static, active and small ballistic stretches in his warm up and is constantly changing his routine of what order they come in. The static and active stretching are usually held for 20 seconds on each stretch and each stretch is done twice so to help increase the flexibility of the muscle. These stretches are done with out bouncing or swinging. The ballistic bouncing is usually slowly built up so not to damage fibres or any other soft tissue. Stretching is done after the muscles have been warmed up a bit. Mark then gives tasks for the last 5 minutes such as, standing on the 22 metres line then 10 squat thrusts and then sprinting to the try line where the next group does there 10 thrusts and sprints just like a relay so that there is a small recovery period for a group. Then the training session moves onto skill work such as working on backs moves, mauling, rucking, passing and other basic rugby skills.
Friday
On the Fridays I will have another rest day so that I’m not working too intensely and wearing myself out.
Saturday
I will be going back to the gym on Saturdays but this time I will work on my upper and lower body strength. I would first start by doing a few stretches for the lower body by stretching the quadriceps, which are the largest and most powerful muscles in the body and the gastrocnemius, which flex the lower leg. I will also stretch the hamstrings, soleus and adductors. I will do:
- Warm up (see page)
- 20 reps on the quadriceps muscles equipment with the weights on 35kg’s then relax for 15 to 20 second then do another 20 reps and shake it off again for 15 to 20 seconds.
- Then I will do 20 reps on the hamstring and gastrocnemius muscles equipment with the weights on 35kg. Relax for 15 to 20 seconds then another 20 reps. this is so I work the muscles evenly and don’t disproportion my muscles.
- After relaxing for 15 to 20 seconds I then will do 20 reps on the equipment that helps the adductors muscles (i.e. the groin area) with the weights on 35kg’s and rest for 15 to 20 seconds. Another 20 reps and rest for 15 to 20 seconds.
Next moving onto the upper body I will stretch the muscles: Pectoralis, Trapezius, Deltoids, Latissimus dorsi, Triceps brachii, Biceps brachii and the Rectus abdominis.
- I will do 20 reps on the Pectoralis muscles equipment with the weights on 35kg and rest for 15 to 20 seconds then another 20 reps and rest for 15 to 20 seconds again.
- 20 reps on the Trapezius and Deltoids muscles equipment with the weights at 35kg’s and rest for 15 to 20 seconds, then another 20 reps and rest for 15 to 20 seconds.
- 20 reps on the Latissimus dorsi muscle equipment at the weights set on 35kg’s and rest for 15 to 20 seconds, then another 20 reps and rest for 15 to 20 seconds.
- 20 reps on the Triceps brachii and Biceps brachii equipment with the weights on 35 kg’s and then rest for 15 to 20 seconds, then another 20 reps and rest for 15 to 20 seconds.
Sunday
I will have Rugby matches on these Sundays and the intensity would probably vary depending on the opposition for example harder teams would probably make me work harder whereas lesser able teams would not.
Testing
In order to record my progress and evaluate the programme on how effective it is I will be taking my heart rate before exercise, after exercise and then 5 minutes after to work out my recovery rate. I have also done two fitness tests, the bleep test, which is running between two points which are 20 metres apart and getting to the end before a bleep comes from a stereo. The bleeps gradually increase in frequency as the levels go up. The other test I did was The Running Based Anaerobic Teat or The RAST test. This involved six 35-metre sprints with a 10 second turnaround time.
My fitness test results
My heart rate results were:
After I have completed my programme I will do these two tests again to see if there is any improvement. Although they will not be to good comparisons in results because I have to take into account the variables. For example I did the bleep test in a gym and the RAST test outside. Therefore I was doing these tests in different conditions and also the conditions outside aren’t going to be exactly the same as they were for the first time I did it. Also I could put more effort into the second test, as I would know I’m trying to beat the scores and that would make me more competitive. So to attempt to make these fair tests I will have to do the tests in the same places such as the RAST test outside but make sure I do it when the conditions are almost the same and the bleep test in the gym again.
Warm up
A warm up is vital in my training programme because there are many positive physiological effects in warm ups, which help improve the performance of an athlete.
- There is an increase in temperature in the body so reducing muscle viscosity and enabling smoother muscle contractions. So that there is a decrease in the risk of getting an injury in the exercise.
- There is an increase in blood flow that helps oxygen be transported to the muscles.
- There is an increase in circulation due to decreased vascular resistance.
- Increased range of motion.
- There is an increase in the speed of nerve impulses.
- The body increases the cardio-vascular response to the sudden demands to exercise.
My warms ups will first start off at low intensity and build up to higher intensity. I will have different warm-ups for the different days because I will be doing different activities.
Tuesday warm up
For my Tuesday gym session due to the activities I will be doing (such as rowing and running) which are full body exercises then I will stretch all the muscle groups I will be using both upper and lower groups.
- First to raise my body temperature I will do a 5-minute jog on difficulty 3.
- Then I will start stretching from my lower body to upper body. First I will stretch my quadriceps and hold the stretch for 15 seconds then I will shake it off then do that stretch again for another 15 seconds.
- Next I will stretch my gastrocnemiuses for 15 seconds and then shake it off then another 15 seconds of stretching them.
- Then I will stretch my hamstrings for 15 to 20 seconds possibly longer as these muscles are easily damaged. Then I will shake the stretch out then another 15 or 20 seconds of stretching.
- Then I will stretch my soleuses for 20 seconds by sitting against a wall then I will shake it off then do it again for another 20 seconds.
- my last stretch for my lower body would be to stretch my adductors
adductors
