Year of training and goals

[John N.O. Main]

Hello Charles,

This is a bit of a cut and paste job from my first post on the Training Log page. However I would like any input you may have, thought I would try and make use of you here on the boards. The Internet is really a wonderful place!


Fractured my spine at 15 playing the sport, and through lack of knowledge and ineffective treatment for years to follow, I wasted a lot of time. I am now 26, and want to be playing at the top flight of amatuer rugby here in Scotland by the time I hit 30.

At 15 I had been called up to the U16 squad here and was running 100m in 11.4

I made a good start for the first few months of the year, but will be the first to admit I let the training slip through the summer, after getting a bout of flu (thought it was a good excuse at the time). I plan on using SS until I run the programme dry.

Short Term Goals (December 2008):

1) Lost 16 pounds when I had the flu dropping down to 140. Plan is to hit 175 by the end of the year (35 pounds).

2) Advance past the formative novice stage, and start on more specific rugby related training.

3) Maintain food log on Fitday.

Long Term Goals (Summer 2009):

1) Play rugby!

2) Sub 11 sec 100m

3) Pushing the 190 pounds mark at least

I would be extremely happy to achieve either of my long term goals.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

John

[Charles Staley]

Short Term Goals (December 2008):

1) Lost 16 pounds when I had the flu dropping down to 140. Plan is to hit 175 by the end of the year (35 pounds).

Well you've got roughly 12 weeks remaining, so I think a 35 pound gain is unlikely. A 12-16 pound gain is far more realistic

2) Advance past the formative novice stage, and start on more specific rugby related training.

3) Maintain food log on Fitday.

Good. However, the best approach is: as simple as possible, but not simpler than that. My idea is, identify maybe 1-2 nutritional weaknesses you have, and then set a goal for each. For example, if you're typically deficient in protein, make a goal of 1g/lb/day.

Long Term Goals (Summer 2009):

1) Play rugby!

Can't argue with that! Maybe specify the frequency

2) Sub 11 sec 100m

Is this truly the best test for rugby-specific speed? What tests are normally used?

3) Pushing the 190 pounds mark at least

Good

I would be extremely happy to achieve either of my long term goals.

Hope that helps, please provide requested info!

[John N.O. Main]

Thanks for the feedback.

1) Including December gives me 16 weeks, so pushing for a 20 pound gain.

2) The sub 11 secs is not really a rugby thing, but more a personal goal. Want to better what I was doing back then (so in reality sub 11.4), and I am going to bust my whatever to achieve that.

3) It used to be the case that different positions on the pitch required different training thoughts. Today that gap has narrowed significantly, and not knowing where I will be playing again, makes me want to have a nice base of explosive power, strength and speed.

4) Frequency wise I am not sure at this stage. The normal training schedule for the club I coach at is 1/2 training sessions a week plus a weekend game. Depends where I end up working next year. Could actually be nowhere near a rugby club, though not thinking about that at this stage, as it is completely out of my control. By the time I hit 30, 4 years, I want to be playing at the top flight of the amateur game.

5) Nutritional Weaknesses: Protein is never a problem with the amout of milk and meat I cram down every day. It is just making this every day that is the problem. A day always sneaks in where I get nowhere near my calorie target. To try and fix this I have bought a load more nuts and jerky to carry around with me.

Just rambling thoughts there really, helps actually putting them to paper. I will spend some time this week actually looking at things in a bit more depth.

Thanks, John