Monday, August 07, 2006
Tempermental clutch
I used to have a Datsun 120Y. I loved that car. It drove like a piece of shit and the steering was so lobsided that turning left required me to brace my inside foot againt the central console. The most memorable thing about the car was how incredibly tempermental the clutch was. Nobody else could drive it without stalling. I stalled a little today. I really want to work on my shoulders as I have been taught that the shoulder is the scrum as the fist is to the fight. I've got a messed up shoulder at the moment and in my haste I've aggravated it somewhat. I pushed myself too hard on military press and now it's really pissing me off. My opinion on pain is that it is a useless signal unless it's indicating permanent irreprable damage, otherwise it's just a temporary annoyance that I'm more than happy to just put in the back of my head. Apparently my shoulder could progress to become much worse if I don't slow down and work on it. So I will.
My main area of work is my legs though and they are going great. I'm squatting a fair bit of weight. But once again I have to work on my flexibility so I can go further than the quarter and half squats I am stuck with at the moment. My fitness is actually pretty good of late. I'm going to get stuck into some long distance runs in the morning soon just to improve.
As for the weight gain factor I've actually started eating less. Well actually I'm still burling through two lunches a day, but I've started eating healthier. The comments left by Bruce and things people have said have made me decide that fat really is useless for me (so bloody simple and yet it takes five people to get through to me). I know my friend/coach/mentor has suggested I start taking stuff like Creatine and that bulk up stuff that body builder places sell. We'll see. I'm not a fan of stuff like that.
So here's the plan. Eat healthy (Red Rooster looked so good today). Leg work with high load medium reps. Chest work on a reasonable weight to do lots of reps (physio's instructions). Shoulder stuff very lightly (near empty bar light) just to remind the muscles what I want them to do (physio again). Core work as normal (heavy sit-ups and back extensions). Going to hold off running this week. Scheduling all this isn't easy against uni, but I have a plan.
My main area of work is my legs though and they are going great. I'm squatting a fair bit of weight. But once again I have to work on my flexibility so I can go further than the quarter and half squats I am stuck with at the moment. My fitness is actually pretty good of late. I'm going to get stuck into some long distance runs in the morning soon just to improve.
As for the weight gain factor I've actually started eating less. Well actually I'm still burling through two lunches a day, but I've started eating healthier. The comments left by Bruce and things people have said have made me decide that fat really is useless for me (so bloody simple and yet it takes five people to get through to me). I know my friend/coach/mentor has suggested I start taking stuff like Creatine and that bulk up stuff that body builder places sell. We'll see. I'm not a fan of stuff like that.
So here's the plan. Eat healthy (Red Rooster looked so good today). Leg work with high load medium reps. Chest work on a reasonable weight to do lots of reps (physio's instructions). Shoulder stuff very lightly (near empty bar light) just to remind the muscles what I want them to do (physio again). Core work as normal (heavy sit-ups and back extensions). Going to hold off running this week. Scheduling all this isn't easy against uni, but I have a plan.
# posted by aProp @ 5:48 PM 
Comments:
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Do you have any sort of gym at home, or are you limited to the club and uni ones for now? What sort of equipment have they got?
Now that Scott has come on board, aProp, you no longer have to feel that you are talking to yourself on this blog.
I was thinking today that by posting to a training blog you are really putting pressure on yourself to stick at it - a very useful discipline.
Just a couple of observations from someone with probably outdated ideas. You are persisting with the military press despite having a "messed up shoulder." Given that you are experiencing discomfort I think that it could be worth reflecting on the exercise's lack of specificity for rugby. Back in the days when any form of body padding was illegal, I thought that it was essential for a prop to try to develop "built-in shoulder pads" and so we spent a lot of time on the various deltoid raises and in building the trapezius through upright rows and shrugs. You don't mention neck exercises - I hope that they are a regular feature of your routines. It is significant how many front rowers have to retire because of neck problems, e.g., Bill Young, or lose considerable playing time for the same reason, like Brendan Cannon.
A big arse and serious leg drive is what every prop should be working towards. I don't believe that you will ever generate the power to shunt scrums doing "quarter and half squats." To really develop powerful glutes I think that you need to take a step backwards, forget the ego, drop the poundage dramatically and learn strict form deep squats. If you lay the right foundation, by the beginning of next season you should be really pushing iron. [I'll resist the temptation to mention another way to achieve the same result.] You need to be able to absorb a big hit from your opponents without giving ground and stepping backward. You can comfortably handle this if you are accustomed to lifting heavy weight from deep positions where hip and knee angles are below 90 degrees. Substantial flexion of these joints helps develop the capacity to generate really explosive force.
I thought it was generally accepted now that "long distance runs" are not the way to improve fitness. Again they have no specificity for rugby. Our code is much more stop-start than the other three played in Australia - you don't keep moving throughout a rugby game. There are numerous extended breaks in play. I think that it would be preferable for you to do sets of short sprints which can be even more exhausting.
You are at liberty to ignore everything that I have just said - at my age I find that most people do.
Regards
Bruce
I was thinking today that by posting to a training blog you are really putting pressure on yourself to stick at it - a very useful discipline.
Just a couple of observations from someone with probably outdated ideas. You are persisting with the military press despite having a "messed up shoulder." Given that you are experiencing discomfort I think that it could be worth reflecting on the exercise's lack of specificity for rugby. Back in the days when any form of body padding was illegal, I thought that it was essential for a prop to try to develop "built-in shoulder pads" and so we spent a lot of time on the various deltoid raises and in building the trapezius through upright rows and shrugs. You don't mention neck exercises - I hope that they are a regular feature of your routines. It is significant how many front rowers have to retire because of neck problems, e.g., Bill Young, or lose considerable playing time for the same reason, like Brendan Cannon.
A big arse and serious leg drive is what every prop should be working towards. I don't believe that you will ever generate the power to shunt scrums doing "quarter and half squats." To really develop powerful glutes I think that you need to take a step backwards, forget the ego, drop the poundage dramatically and learn strict form deep squats. If you lay the right foundation, by the beginning of next season you should be really pushing iron. [I'll resist the temptation to mention another way to achieve the same result.] You need to be able to absorb a big hit from your opponents without giving ground and stepping backward. You can comfortably handle this if you are accustomed to lifting heavy weight from deep positions where hip and knee angles are below 90 degrees. Substantial flexion of these joints helps develop the capacity to generate really explosive force.
I thought it was generally accepted now that "long distance runs" are not the way to improve fitness. Again they have no specificity for rugby. Our code is much more stop-start than the other three played in Australia - you don't keep moving throughout a rugby game. There are numerous extended breaks in play. I think that it would be preferable for you to do sets of short sprints which can be even more exhausting.
You are at liberty to ignore everything that I have just said - at my age I find that most people do.
Regards
Bruce
I was pretty shocked to find more comments on the blog. I was going to respond in a comment but these comments are worth addressing properly in a post so I'll do that.
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