Cardio and Weights

[vcdquality]

I do weights 6 days a week. I also do alot of cardio. eg 40x2 a day. How does cardio effect you when done in conjuction with weights?

[Beef]

well if ur trying to gain weight then u wanna keep ur cardio to a minimum.. but if ur trying to lose weight and get cut then u shud do a lot of cardio

as for the gym 6 days a week: careful not to overtrain, it's important to give ur body days off. what kind of a gym programme do u have?

[vcdquality]

I work out different groups each day eg mon - chest tues - biceps weds - shoulders thursday back fri - chest sat - biceps

I do like 4 core exercises and 2 supplements

[drizzt]

I work out different groups each day eg mon - chest tues - biceps weds - shoulders thursday back fri - chest sat - biceps

I do like 4 core exercises and 2 supplements

So you do bis and chest twice a week, but you don't do any legs or tris? :-s

What are your goals?

[vcdquality]

hm my bad i do triz once a week also but havent done much on legs at all. I went to get stronger for rugby and just have a better looking body

[vcdquality]

this is me now

[Gym rat]

this is me now

Your a beast keep the good work.

[drizzt]

Cool man, what position do you play?

I also play, and IMHO Legs are the most important area to work for we Rugby players. It's where everything comes from - leg drive on attack, explosiveness when tackling, stepping, jumping, power when clearing out rucks etc... I believe most other body parts are secondary to a good, powerful set of pins on the Rugby paddock.

It'll also help give you a more even look to your frame - big guys with no legs look a bit silly :-s

Speed and explosiveness is also a big one to work on for Rugby - not only in the weights room, but sprint training and things of that ilk too - this type of training (HIIT - High Intensity Interval Training) is also very effective at burning fat, and giving you the better looking body. What does your cardio consist of at the moment?

[two_phat]

Start doing legs!

[vcdquality]

cool you play rugby as well. I play 2nd 5/Centre. How about your self. Yeah I need to work on legz for sure I just started doing weights this year so im new to the weights thing. What do you usually do for workout in the gym?

[Beef]

hm my bad i do triz once a week also but havent done much on legs at all. I went to get stronger for rugby and just have a better looking body

looks like ur main goal is to get the "beach muscles" lol if ur a serious rugby player then u should be doing legs twice a week, not biceps IMO

[vcdquality]

"and just have a better looking body" dam i didnt even relize i wrote that. But honestly main reason why i go to the gym is to train for rugby.

[vcdquality]

stuff the pretty boy beach thing

[drizzt]

I'm a flanker man (former centre/wing though), usually 6, sometimes 8 but probably moving to openside next year (too short for 6 or 8 these days!) You're looking pretty thick-bodied for a centre! How tall are you and how much do you weigh?

During Rugby season, I drop the weights down and concentrate on explosiveness in my exercises - this is due to Rugby obviously being a contact sport where explosiveness is a huge advantage. If you train for strength during the season, in my experience I've found my body isn't at 100% come game time, so it's important to listen to your body and give it ample rest during the season. Probably best to back off the 6 days during a season too (if you don't already) and look at a 3 or 4 day (max) split.

Explosivness in Bench press as an example, lower the bar slowly (take about 2 seconds) to your chest, and explode up from the bottom of the movement (touch your chest with the bar, but don't bounce the bar off your chest :naughty: )

Squats (you'll be doing them now, aye ), lower your arse below your hips, and when you get to the bottom of the movement explode out of it back to the top - sometimes I'll throw in a jump after exploding up from the bottom, but only with a lighter weight.

If you do deadlifts (which I reckon is a PERFECT exercise for Rugby players), concentrate on exploding up through your heels and delivering power through your hips. This'll help you power through those tackles easier

In the off season, it's a perfect opportunity to pack on size and power, but keep cardio in mind in the background as you don't want to be lagging when the pre-season comes. I'm not the best example at the moment because I'm cutting for the beach, but if you're going to do a 6 day split (are you intent on 6 days?), I'd suggest doing something like this:

Monday - Chest

Tuesday - Legs (quads, glutes, hammys)

Wednesday - Back

Thursday - Shoulders/Traps

Friday - Bis and Tris

Saturday - Calves, forearms

And chucking core in a couple of times per week after exercises. Arms also don't need to be given a full day to themselves, if you have time you can tack them on to probably any of the other days and save yourself a day of working out.

It's good to hear you're doing a lot of cardio, but you need to find some sort of balance, and you also need to give your body time off to recuperate. As a 2nd 5/Centre, you need a good level of aerobic and anaerobic fitness. What do you do for cardio now?

Sorry for the long post, any questions let me know man - it's a subject that has got me thinking quite a bit over the past few months! I'm looking at incorporating strongman training for early next year's pre-season, not sure how it'll go though so we'll see....

[PTinCHCH]

holy crap man. 2x40 min cardio a day. how do you find time?

do you jog in the morning and at night or something?

[vcdquality]

PTinCHCH yeah I usally do twice a day I wana get fit

drizzt I just started doing weights seriously this year but I'm prob gona go see a personal trainer to get some advice. But this is my prog atm

Monday - Chest - Benchpress 130kgx6, 120x8, 120x8

- dumbbell flat press 45x8, 45x8, 45x8

- incline dumbell press 40x8, 40x8, 40x8

- some machine you do the motion of the dumbell fly but you sit on a chair - 120x8, 120x8, 120x8

Press ups 3 sets till failure

That is just for chest

Cardio

mon 2x40min jogs

tues 1xinterval session - use rugby field job from dead ball to 22 then sprint to other 22 then jog to dead line. Do that 8 times then 5 min rest then another set, evening very light 30min jog

wed - 40 min jog, touch in the evening

thurs- 40 min jog, touch in the evening

fri - 40 min jog, touch in the evening

sat - 1xinterval session, 40 jog in the evening

hope i'm training right haha. I'm gona go see a personal rugby trainer he can correct my programe if its wrong.

PTinCHCH you play rugby?

[Draft]

Yea man, squats and deadlifts will help you build up the core strength that you need for rugby as well.

[drizzt]

:shock: Shite man, that's a truckload of work you're getting through! I'm torn between saying well done, and telling you to cut back a bit :pfft: Takes some real dedication to commit to that sort of workload.

My advice would be to peg it back. 6 days cardio and 6 days weights is, IMHO, overtraining, especially as it sounds like you're doing more than 2 sessions on some days? Some impressive bench stats there too, how much do you weigh and how tall are you? How's your nutrition as well?

But good idea to go for a Personal Trainer mate, let us know what he comes back with - and he should be able to advise you better on how to go about your cardio/weights split (especially if he is a PT familiar with Rugby ) May also pay to discuss nutrition with him, as if you're going to continue on a large workload like what you're doing, you'll need to be really onto it diet-wise :nod:

[PTinCHCH]

i agree hit up some compound exercises.

squats, deads, benchpress etc

nah i dont play rugga, but im an athlete in the making all the same.

mma is my sport of choice.

i am trying to find the time to work and train. its a difficult game. especially when your exhausted and sore from the night before.

need some of that all day energy stuff lol

[Beef]

:shock: Shite man, that's a truckload of work you're getting through! I'm torn between saying well done, and telling you to cut back a bit :pfft: Takes some real dedication to commit to that sort of workload.

My advice would be to peg it back. 6 days cardio and 6 days weights is, IMHO, overtraining, especially as it sounds like you're doing more than 2 sessions on some days? Some impressive bench stats there too, how much do you weigh and how tall are you? How's your nutrition as well?

But good idea to go for a Personal Trainer mate, let us know what he comes back with - and he should be able to advise you better on how to go about your cardio/weights split (especially if he is a PT familiar with Rugby ) May also pay to discuss nutrition with him, as if you're going to continue on a large workload like what you're doing, you'll need to be really onto it diet-wise :nod:

hard, sounds like ur overtraining a bit. ur body needs time to recover otherwise ul start going backwards... happened to me :nod: 4-5 days weights is plenty

[Milkey]

When I was playing soccer,league and rugby,at 105kgs, I was often the fastest in the team and I'm WHITE :nod:

I used to do lots of squats and leg work.I had good off the mark explosive speed and a good top speed considering my short legs.

Things a bit different now,10 years later haha. But I wouldn't change a thing.