Segmenting the training program

The art or science of periodising an athlete’s or team’s training program is one of the more contentious areas of weight training & conditioning.  Along with the arguments surrounding the manipulations of reps and sets, periodising the training schedule is probably the biggest dilemma for trainers to consider.

The ideal scenario would involve a reasonably lengthy (10-12 weeks) off-season followed by an intensive pre-season (6-8 weeks) and then the maintenance period during the season.  There is no real peaking in this scenario but this can be catered for as a team closes in on a championship final for example.  A micro cycle can also be implemented within the playing season to engender a sense of improvement & peaking.

To optimise the mix of speed, endurance, agility, skills, flexibility and rehab/prehab, power and strength training needs the buy in of the coach (es), trainer, medical team, players & management.  Each component of this mix needs to be carefully planned both separately and also in conjunction with the other pieces of the puzzle.  There are often specialists involved for one or more component and the communication, understanding, cohesion & team work must be at a premium here.

Too much time or emphasis on one component will immediately mean a lack of preparation or development on one or more of the other components.  Getting the balance within the program is an art or science in itself.  As trainers we are always learning, challenging, pushing the boundaries and testing the theories as the players respond or don’t as the case may be!

Goals will be set for each component and to achieve these goals requires commitment and discipline.  Weight training has numerous benefits both physically and mentally with players being rewarded for hard efforts in the gym through strength gains, reduction in the risk of injury plus confidence building just to name a few.

An off-season weights program should focus on the basic whole body exercises and incorporate aerobic level reps to establish the base from which to launch into the pre-season training.  Whole body exercises could include power cleans, power snatch, back & front squat along with bench press, overhead exercises (military & push press, dumbbells), chins, dips and press ups.  Core exercises should always be a part of each session to ensure the abdomen is not a weak link but in actual fact will enable & enhance the strength gains.  These can include sit ups, crunchies, leg raises, twisting movements, medicine ball movements and throws, swiss ball modifications of these, plus hyperextensions.

During this phase the number of sets can be in the 6-10 range for 8-15 reps per set.  The core exercise reps can be much higher than this and get into the 25-50 rep range per set.

Boredom, and repetition of exercise regime, can creep in so to nullify this ensure the program is modified regularly (every 4-6 weeks).  Also encourage players to train together (buddy them up with similar team positional players, similar strength levels, similar goal settings, etc).  Frequent testing on specific exercises will also create enthusiasm and competition plus enable the trainer to gather data on the players.

The off-season period is also ideal for rehabilitation to occur for players coming off injury or recovering from surgery.  Programs will need to be individualized where necessary but needn’t differentiate by player position too much at this stage.

Pre-season programming can take on far more position specific exercises and also the adoption of lower reps (3-6) can encourage significant gains in strength during this period.  The modification of the weight (40-60%) and the number of sets can also encourage more of a power phase by bringing in the speed aspect – moving the weight fast through the required range.  Super-setting with plyometrics, speed drills, and other power exercises can work well here.

In season weight training must be carefully managed to support the rugby specific training which must obviously take priority now.  With usually only 2 sessions available per week, the sets (3-5) and reps (3-8) are designed so players are purely maintaining during this phase although last season we had instances of player’s increasing their maximal strength in testing.  This primarily occurred because of the rest opportunity between gym workouts and these gains can have significant positive psychological impact on the players at this time.

Richard Dryden

Olympic Weightlifting New Zealand Coach

Strength & Power Trainer