Before I begin my PEP I found out my one rep max for all of the machines I will be using. I did this so at the end of my PEP I can do them again and see if I have improved my muscular strength. The results were:
To work the muscles I want to I will be using the leg extension, leg curl, chest press and pec deck machines in my sessions. The leg extension will work my quadriceps, the leg curl will work my hamstrings, the chest press will work my pectorals and Latissimus dorsi and so will the pec deck. I will be doing pyramid lifting, meaning that I will begin by doing 12 reps at 60% of my one rep max (ORM), then doing 10 reps at 70% of my ORM, then 8 at 80% of my ORM, on each machine
Safety when using the gym
Lifting weights can cause serious injury to you or others if it is not done correctly. First you need to make sure you are wearing appropriate clothing and footwear. The clothing you wear should allow you to be able to move freely but not baggy so it gets caught up in the machines. You should wear trainers when doing any exercise because they are designed to absorb some of the shock form your knees when you are running and most ‘casual’ shoes do not do this.
When you are lifting weights you should always use the correct technique. Always keep your back flat against the back rest if there is one on the machine, if not keep your back straight. Always breath out when lifting a weight and breath in when lowering it.
When you are lifting weights always do weights that you know you are comfortable with, Do Not try and show off and lift weights that are too heavy for you, this could cause serious injury. Finally when you have finished using a machine always return the pin to the top of the stack of weights so that no one tries to lift the weight you just did and injures themselves.
Training Sessions
Week One
Tuesday – Gym Session (1 hour)
Warm Up:
CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 7
Stretches: See Appendix a
Main Session:
I will run through this session twice
Cool Down: CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 5
Stretches: See Appendix a
Wednesday – Gym Session (1 hour)
Warm Up:
CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 7
Stretches: See Appendix a
Main Session:
I will run through this session twice
Cool Down: CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 5
Stretches: See Appendix a
Thursday – Rugby Training (1 hour)
Warm Up: CV: 5 minute jog
Stretches: See Appendix b
Main session: will do 45 minutes of skill work and then 15 minutes of un-opposed play, to help my understanding and technique during game play.
Cool Down: CV: 5 minute jog
Stretches: See Appendix b
Week Two
Tuesday – Gym Session (1 hour)
Warm Up:
CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 7
Stretches: See Appendix a
Main Session:
I will run through this session twice
Cool Down: CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 5
Stretches: See Appendix a
Wednesday – Gym Session (1 hour)
Warm Up:
CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 7
Stretches: See Appendix a
Main Session:
I will run through this session twice
Cool Down: CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 5
Stretches: See Appendix a
Thursday – Rugby Training (1 hour)
Warm Up: CV: 5 minute jog
Stretches: See Appendix b
Main session: I will do 45 minutes of skill work and then 15 minutes of un-opposed play, to help my understanding and technique during game play.
Cool Down: CV: 5 minute jog
Stretches: See Appendix b
Week Three
Tuesday – Gym Session (1 hour)
Warm Up:
CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 7
Stretches: See Appendix a
Main Session:
I will run through this session twice
Cool Down: CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 5
Stretches: See Appendix a
Wednesday – Gym Session (1 hour)
Warm Up:
CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 7
Stretches: See Appendix a
Main Session:
I will run through this session twice
Cool Down: CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 5
Stretches: See Appendix a
Thursday – Rugby Training (1 hour)
Warm Up: CV: 5 minute jog
Stretches: See Appendix b
Main session: I will do 45 minutes of skill work and then 15 minutes of un-opposed play, to help my understanding and technique during game play.
Cool Down: CV: 5 minute jog
Stretches: See Appendix b
Week Four
Tuesday – Gym Session (1 hour)
Warm Up:
CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 7
Stretches: See Appendix a
Main Session:
I will run through this session twice
Cool Down: CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 5
Stretches: See Appendix a
Wednesday – Gym Session (1 hour)
Warm Up:
CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 7
Stretches: See Appendix a
Main Session:
I will run through this session twice
Cool Down: CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 5
Stretches: See Appendix a
Thursday – Rugby Training (1 hour)
Warm Up: CV: 5 minute jog
Stretches: See Appendix b
Main session: I will do 45 minutes of skill work and then 15 minutes of un-opposed play, to help my understanding and technique during game play.
Cool Down: CV: 5 minute jog
Stretches: See Appendix b
Week Five
Tuesday – Gym Session (1 hour)
Warm Up:
CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 7
Stretches: See Appendix a
Main Session:
I will run through this session twice
Cool Down: CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 5
Stretches: See Appendix a
Wednesday – Gym Session (1 hour)
Warm Up:
CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 7
Stretches: See Appendix a
Main Session:
I will run through this session twice
Cool Down: CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 5
Stretches: See Appendix a
Thursday – Rugby Training (1 hour)
Warm Up: CV: 5 minute jog
Stretches: See Appendix b
Main session: I will do 45 minutes of skill work and then 15 minutes of un-opposed play, to help my understanding and technique during game play.
Cool Down: CV: 5 minute jog
Stretches: See Appendix b
Week Six
Tuesday – Gym Session (1 hour)
Warm Up:
CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 7
Stretches: See Appendix a
Main Session:
I will run through this session twice
Cool Down: CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 5
Stretches: See Appendix a
Wednesday – Gym Session (1 hour)
Warm Up:
CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 7
Stretches: See Appendix a
Main Session:
I will run through this session twice
Cool Down: CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 5
Stretches: See Appendix a
Thursday – Rugby Training (1 hour)
Warm Up: CV: 5 minute jog
Stretches: See Appendix b
Main session: I will do 45 minutes of skill work and then 15 minutes of un-opposed play, to help my understanding and technique during game play.
Cool Down: CV: 5 minute jog
Stretches: See Appendix b
How rugby training contributes to my aim
My rugby training sessions will contribute to the skill aspect of propping in rugby by improving my understanding in the game and techniques. It will also contribute to my aim, to improve my muscular strength with many different parts of the training drills. Me doing a line out drill will help my muscular strength because I am doing lifting. This requires me to quickly lift a person up, to do this I use my quadriceps and hamstrings. I also do some scrum practices, we have a machine that you stand a lot of people on and the scrum pushes it along, again this works my quadriceps and hamstrings. We do a lot of tackling and rucking drills these help work all the muscles I intend to improve the muscular strength of. It works my pectorals and latisimuss dorsi when I grab someone in a tackle. It helps my quadriceps and hamstrings because in tackling and rucking you go from low to high and this power comes from the quadriceps and hamstrings.
Conclusion
I made a progression with the weights for week 5 and 6. This is because the original weights became easy, and if the weights are easy it is more likely to be working less than 60-80% of my one rep max and therefore not working muscular strength but muscular endurance. I found the weights challenging at the beginning of the six weeks and then when they became easier I made the weights heavier. This table shows my improvements in muscular strength:
(ORM = One Rep Max)
As this table shows my muscular strength of these muscles has improved. This is because working at 60-80% of my ORM put my muscles under stress and doing this for six weeks enabled them to adapt to the stress and becomes stronger.
Appendix a Normal Stretches
Ankle Rotations: Gastric Stretch:
Quad Stretch: Groin Stretch:
Hip Rotations: Shoulder Stretch:
Overhead Triceps Stretch: Neck Stretch:
Appendix b Rugby Stretches
Ankle rotations: Gastric Stretch:
Groin Stretch: Quad Stretch:
Hip Rotations: Shoulder Stretch:
Shoulder Rotations: Overhead Triceps Stretch:
Neck Stretch #1: Neck stretch #2: