Training - First Session Back

Upper body Starter Session.

So it is time to stop lying around and start back in the gym and get on with some training for a massive, start of season with Wasps. Whatever happens after three weeks of not training, or doing a few bits of jujitsu, knee rehab, I am going to get mega DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). Which means I walk like a duck, and have even more of an arrogant strut than usual.

There are different approaches to getting back into training but mine is to ease my way back in. I like to strip the weights right back, and approach everything with excellent technique. I try to focus on a really good warm up, getting the body moving properly again, before I start. Ill do this before every session to get  it going again, until I am fully back in to rugby training. Then ill switch to my mini band warm up, as detailed in my other blogs or other dynamic warm ups.

The easiest session to do, to get back into things, is an upper body routine. I have slimmed down a bit since the end of the season, which isn’t a problem, but I like to be a certain weight during the season, so decided on a bit of hypertrophy session with the missus. She is a budding fitness model and loves training like I do. Which makes things easier. Check her twitter and blog out @fitnesskitchen.  Size isn’t everything as shown by Bradley Wiggins’s pipe cleaner legs, vs. the German riders transformers quads in the London Olympics. Wiggo smashed everyone; like he did in the Tour de France It’s the same in rugby as power and skill are the order of the day. But size does play a part in confidence, injury protection and body function, but its not the future or something to be obsessed with.

Be careful and seek advice before you try and perform any of the below. Never go beyond your means,  and alter things to your level of skill and experience.

Upper Body Hypertrophy

Warm up.

Bike, treadmill, jog – get the heart going for 5 mins.

Then pick up some small dumbbells and go through the following routine with 6 reps on each exercise. Do them at a medium pace.

• Lat raise
• Shrugs
• Bent over row
• Shoulder press
• Bicep curls
• Chest swims
• Bent over flies.

Go through these once, then do a dynamic stretch routine, things like

Chest opens, arm rotations. Back rolls.

Then repeat the list above once more through, and finish with any stretches you need.

Session 1

Main lift

Bench press- 3x 10 reps. With 1 min rest between sets.

Try to have great form here, by taking the bar right down to touch your chest in a 3,2,1 count and then come back up.

Do three sets of this and then go onto the next exercises.

Ancillary exercises – good for size building. These exercises are performed in a 10-12-rep range x3 with 15 seconds rest.

• ·      Press ups, wide hand placement x10, and narrow hand. X5
• ·      Lat raise 10
• ·      Dumbbell Flies x 10

Main lift 2

Bench pull or seated row. 10 reps x3

Rest a 1 min in between the 3 sets.

Same as the bench press, regarding form and rep speed. The eccentric part, i.e. the lowering is just as important and the concentric

Ancillary exercise - 10-12 reps x3 with 15 seconds rest.

• ·      Shoulder press 10
• ·      Bicep curls 12
• ·      Triceps pullovers. 10

Finish these off and then get protein in quickly. Have a good stretch, lats, and chest.