By the time you read the Super 14 will have concluded, the Air New Zealand Cup will be commencing, the 7s will be winding down, the Under 19s have had their World Cup, the Colts World Cup is looming, domestic rugby is well underway, Academy training is full on…..just another quiet start to the domestic & international rugby calendar!

Japan experience…

In April I again visited Mitsubishi Heavy Industries [that’s like forklifts & tanks!] Rugby Club in Sagamihara, Japan.  It was exciting and pleasing to see the progress they have achieved as individual players and as a club in the 10 months or so since my previous visits.

My role was to assess weights technique, strength test and advise on programmes for the squad of @46 players.  The players’ range of knowledge, skill level, ability and training age in the gym was pretty broad.  The gym itself was pretty basic BUT the enthusiasm of the players was unquestionable!

Introducing some disciplines, some technique, some focus to their training both in the gym and in general [through the great work of Blues Trainer Mark Harvey] has seen the club really develop physically.

Rugby Academy Strength & Conditioners Conference:

Recently the Strength & Conditioning Trainers from the various Union based Academies around the country met in Wellington.  What a great opportunity to share ideas, compare notes, pass on experience & knowledge, consider the past and plan towards the next generation of players.

Although the focus is on the physical requirements & needs of Academy players there was no doubt in my mind that these Trainers do take an active & personal interest in their Academy members.  One of the key takeaways for me was the discussion on players being allowed to ‘ripen’.  What does this mean you may well ask?  Well liken this to the old apple or avocado….you can allow the fruit to mature and ripen in its own time or you can speed the process up through a scientific or chemically induced scenario.

To encourage the player to ripen naturally would mean not pushing them too soon into the bigger leagues or higher levels of training that mentally & physically they are not ready for!

Another takeaway for me was the growing level of co-operation among unions, among coaches, among trainers and between levels of the game.  This all bodes well for the development of Rugby and should ensure that players get to reach their true potential within the New Zealand rugby environment.

The Science of Reps and Sets:

How do you decide what reps and sets to program for a player when it comes to the various exercises you want them to do?  After all you have to consider the time of year [off-season, pre-season, etc], their position, their state of health, their training age, etc.

Well here is a method to find out what reps and sets work best for your player’s – mainly for the upper body at least.

Take your player through to a 1 rep maximum on the Bench Press.  To do this warm them up and progressively load the bar whilst decreasing the reps on each set and conclude with 4 single attempts to reach their optimum weight, i.e. 5, 4, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1.  After a 5-10 min break then adjust the weight on the bar to 85% of their 1 rep max, e.g. 100kg is the 1RM then 85kg is the ‘test’ weight.  The player then proceeds to max rep out on this weight.

The resulting number of reps on the 85% weight will generally place a player into a category which defines the rep & set range that they will respond best to.

The following table outlines this

Richard Dryden

Olympic Weightlifting Coach, Strength & Power Trainer