Building Size and Strength In Rugby Union Athletes
Building an Autoregulatory Progressive Resistance Exercise Program
There are many aspects to developing a Rugby Union player. When I initially profile and screen a new player, the first thing I ask myself is - are they the right size for the job? It's quite common that the answer is ‘no’, particularly working with younger players or Japanese players. The second question I ask is - are they strong enough to do the job?
I have had great success building hypertrophy and strength using some simple methods which I will share with you now. In the last few years I have had first and second year players commonly gain upwards of 7-11kg in 9 months of training. I call this a Modified APRE method which is a polite way of saying I have butchered some other programs to come up with this. The APRE method has been around for years and not something I invented, you can read more about it here https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20543732
The program is always based around progressive overload, but simultaneously involving autoregulation, meaning the athlete will progress at his or her own rate. Within a group or team, different athletes will always progress at different speeds and a program like this will allow for that. It's also great if on field training stress is high because it will allow the athlete to not have to kill themselves in the gym.
The first and third 4 week blocks are accumulation focused meaning the main stress will be through higher volume. On your first week you will do 3 sets of 6 at 70% then a 4th set of as many reps as possible. If you achieve more than 8 reps you would increase the next weeks weight to 72.5% for 4 sets, if you achieve less that 8 reps - you would keep the same load at 70% and try again. During the second and forth block the intensity will be the main stressor. You will start with 5 reps @ 75% and do many sets of of 5 as possible, if you achieve more than 5 sets, increase the load by 4% (79%) and drop a rep ( 4 reps) for the following session. You follow the same pattern.
It's worth noting when designing any strength training program I always find it very valuable to start low and cautiously add volume and intensity. Much like cooking a steak, you can always cook it more, but cant “uncook” what you’ve already done. Strength and size for any athlete is important but it's not the whole picture. These programs don't involve any plyometrics, speed or conditioning work - or even a warm up! It's just one aspect.
Simply click the link below for my Modified APRE program (on mobile devices open in chrome). Thanks for reading and happy lifting!
Written by Louis Dallimore
Professional Strength & Conditioning Coach
Website: https://www.louisdallimore.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-dallimore-a032a37a
