My name is Lewis Eynon i am 15 years old and i play rugby for Swansea School Boys and football for West End AFC. In rugby i am a centre I've been playing there for 2 years before i used to be an open side flanker. I started playing rugby when i was 12 and started off at flanker. My current level of performance is quite high i play with a club team callled Swansea Uplands they are one of the best in Swansea. My level of training at the moment in rugby is very high I'm training with the Swansea School Boys which is all the best players in Swansea and with Swansea Uplands its a bit of a step down but still there are 7 of us from School Boys so its quite a high standered. For West End i have been playing with them for, 4 years we have won the league for 3 years in a row. Our training standered is high because i coach is a bit crazy and wants us to play at a high standered. I wouldn't say my fitness is at its highest because Christmas has just gone and we haven't played for 3 months.
The main components needed to compete in a game of rugby as a centre you would need C.V Endurance, Agility, Explosive Strenght, Muscular Endurance, Speed and Flexibility to play a game of rugby you would need a small amount of every component. Technical wise you would have to have a rugby brain and be able to think quickly on your feet. You would have to be able to catch a ball and pass a ball to tackle and hand off there are so many technical things to rugby.
My long term goal is to get into the ospreys U16 this is what i am working to so i can play at a high level. I have chosen three short term goals two of them are phyiscial and one is technical. To make these goals sutible i have applaied SMARTER to them. I have made sure the goals are specific, measureable which meens i can cctully do them in a set amount of time, accepted this meens that they are accepted between me and my teacher, realistic this meens that your program is varied, timed which is when you time your program so it fits in with you own training ragiem, this is over a period of 6 weeks, make sure hat your training program is exciting and that you enjoy it and recored because which we will do in our books.
Goals
- My long term goal is to get into the Ospreys U16 squad.
- To improve my Explosive Strenght to power through tackles.
- To improve my muscular endurance so i can make tackles thrtoughout the game.
- My technical is to improve my Co-Ordination so i can pass off both hands.
Types of Traning
Explosive Strength- Combination of Plyometrics and Weight Training.
Muscular Endurance- Muscular Endurance Circuit Training, Interval Training
Co-ordination- Individual Passing Session. Befor training or after
Overview
To make my training progam succesful i used the principles of training. These principles are not rules they are guidlines you should follow if you want to fuffli your potential. There are 5 principles Specificity, progression, overload, reversibility and tedium. Specificity meens that your training needs to be relevent to your sport or position which i i have done. Progression meens that your fitness levels are improving gradulalluy throughout the training but it has to be at a rate which an athlete can cope. Overload means working your body harder than its used to without overload, no gains in fitness levels are going to be able to be made. To overload we use F.I.T the f stands for frequecny how often we train. I stands for intensity how hard we train and T stands for time how long we spend exercising. Reversibility is becasue fittness is reversible it meens if you stop training your fitness levels will go backwards a brilliant quote about your fitness is "If you don't use it loose it".
Tedium meens that your training programme must be varied.
I found that my training has become very effective becasue i tested befor and after training and my results have improved.
Results
Test Before After
Sergeant Jump 35cm 35cm
Max press up 22 reps 30 reps
Standing broad jump 127cm 132cm
Medicine ball throw 150cm 190cm
Abdominal curl test 4mins 4.30mins
As your can see from all my tests that i have improved in some way even though if it is'nt a significant amount. I can conclude from my results that my training has been effective and enjoyable. We cant only go on these results the main thing is that I enjoyed the program. This is called anecdotal evidence this is how you felt during the program. During the six week programme I enjoyed the program over the first 3-4 weeks but slowly it began to take its toal and I was getting very tired.
Week 1
Monday
I Planned for Monday I would do a Muscular Endurance Circuit. I chose to do Muscular Endurance so i can make tackles Throughout a rugby game. I planned to do a circuit involving the whole of your body and different apparatus, but in P.E i was told we were going to do a muscular Endurance circuit anyway. Before the Circuit i was feeling good and ready to work hard. The circuit was based on kettle bells and the mechanics of them. First we went through the basics of holding and picking up the kettle bell, concentrating on the swing the main points are.....
- Feet Shoulder Width Apart
- Feet 5to On The Clock (Feet out)
- Lock in the Lumbar Curve
- Push Your Chest Out As Much As Possible
- Continue To Look Forward
- Then Lift Up The Kettle Bell
- To Perform The Swing You Need To Perform Little Swings In between Your Legs To Build Up Momentum.
- To Perform The Full Movement You Need To Explode From The Hips
- This Movement Doesn't Involve Any Arm Strength Only From The Hips
- You Continue The Movement And Build Up Your Momentum
Once we had perfected the mechanics of the Kettle Bell swing we put it into a Circuit. The circuit involved Kettle Bell Swings, Burpees and Shuttle Runs. We worked in threes, when one person was running (this was over 10 meters) the other two people were doing either burpees or Kettle Bells. The person running had to complete 10 successful runs whilst the other to people constantly continued either with the Kettle Bells or with the Burpees. Evey time we completed one circuit we would start again we did this for 10 minutes and completed 8 circuits.
After I completed the circuit i felt tired but feeling good about myself, that good feeling when you know you've worked hard.
Tuesday
I organized a Plyometerics training session but we had a school boys game in the night so we rested our body's and we getting prepared for the game. Instead of doing nothing I switched the Plometrics with my passing sesssion on thursday. So me and ben stood 20m away from each other and practisced my left and right hand passing, to improve my left hand i made a rhythem which helped me pass off my left hand. By the end of the session i was passing 60% of the balls into the target. In the game in the night i played for about 60 mins then got substituted.
I felt good after todays sessions and cant wait for tomorrrow.
Wednesday
I performed a Muscular Endurance Interval Training Session. I went into the sports hall and ran 15sets of 50m sprints with 10 second rest. I felt this session was good but i found it a bit boring doing the same thing over and over again. I found this session quite tiring but not to bad. After this session i felt as if i have worked my body hard.
Wednesday night i had football training with my football team West End. We did a warm up which consisted of laps. Then played a game of keep ball then into a game. I got home had some food and a protein shake and wore my compression tights to bed. I was Aching quite bad in the night which disturbed my sleep.
Thursday
I did the plyometrics training for explosive strength which we were meant to do on Tuesday. I organized it into 3 stations this consisted of Frog Jumps with a Medicine ball which will improve the explosive strength in my legs, next i did hurdle jumps which will improve my explosive strength in my calfs, then i did xplosive press ups which consisted of doing press ups and move up in layers which will improve the Explosive Strength in my shoulders and my arms. This Session i found quite tiring. The session was strange this might be because we had no one motivating us this felt quite strange.
At School boys training we went through moves and had a team run at the end of the session we had to run up and down a bank countless of times and press ups and sit ups. i prefer training like this because your surrounded by your team mates and There is a bit of competition.
Friday
We did weight training, This was my first time at using weights so i had to ask for help. I was shown the mechanics of a back squat and how to use the bench press. This weight training will improve your Explosive Strenght and muscular endurance. I enjoyed this session because it makes you feel that your actually growing up and using proper weights. This session was probably one of the hardest sessions i have done. After this session i felt good about myself and i really enjoyed it.
In the night i rested up and recovered y drinking lots and eating the right food.
Saturday
I was Supposed to play a Game of football but it was called off. I went down Ashley road and i played football for about 4 hours i felt fine and i think i had recovered fully.
Sunday
My rugby was called off. so in the day i went for a run and did a few press ups and sit ups.
After this week i enjoyed it but i think i was finding it hard coming to the end of the week.
Week 2
After last week i was feeling a it fatigued but feeling stronger mentally and physically
Monday
We decided to follow our training programme and continue the theme of Mondays by doing muscular endurance circuit. We continued the theme of the kettle bell swing. We set up using an agility mat we planned the circuit like this, one of us would do 20 kettle bell swings when one of us was doing those the other would do as many press ups as they could as long it took our partner to complete 20 swings we performed this twice. We then changed the press ups to sit ups and did that twice each keeping the same rhythm of doing as many sit ups until your partner reached 20 kettle bell swings. We changed again then to skipping where we did the same thing again twice each. after this session
After this session i was feeling fatigued but positive mentally and physically. In the night then i rested.
Tuesday
We planned to do a explosive strength building exercise called plyometrics. In Mr Owens P.E lesson he had planned a plyometrics session anyway so we got involved with that. In the session we did.......
- Spring board jumping which you jump over stuff using a spring bored (Explosive strength in my legs)
- Jumping over hurdles. Using one foot alternating between left and right. (Explosive strength in legs) Strangely instead of this hurting your legs this hurt my arms more because you are using your arms to propel yourself over the hurdles.
- Co-ordinations jumps over smaller hurdles(co-ordination)
- Medicine ball frog jump then put the ball above your head and smash the ball onto the floor (Explosive Strength in arms and legs)
- Press ups using spring boards this is the equivalent to a clap press up(Explosive Strength in arms)
In the evening i went Swansea uplands training and enjoyed it wasn't feeling fatigued at all.
Wednesday
I was scheduled to do a muscular endurance interval training session today but after yesterdays plyometrics i was experiencing DOMs which means Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness this usually happens after either a few hours or days after.
Later that evening i was forced to go West End football training during the session i was feeling very stiff and sore. I continued to take part into the session until it was over. When i got home i drunk allot of fluids and ate pasta.
Thursday
Me and Ben continued to follow our schedule and took part in a Co-ordination individual passing session. We started our session by just using one hand spinning the ball back and for alternating between left and right hands. We then advanced on our skills by just passing off our left hand, progressing on then to a half moving pass. we will progress further onto further skills next week.
In the evening i went school boys training and it was an intense session playing touch rugby and going through moves.
Friday
We endured in a weights session off still learning the mechanics of the back squat. As a pair we didn't do much because we were still learning the trade of weights. This session wasn't very demanding but i learnt quite a bit. I enjoyed this session and i am still looking forward to next week.
In the night i thought i deserved the rest and try ed to recover by wearing some compression clothing what this does is enhance recovery time.
Saturday
I played football in the morning and played a full game we won 8-2. After the game i was feeling fatigued and had a tight chest. This also followed up by me becoming dehydrated and being sick.
In the night i re hydrated and was feeling fine.
Sunday
I went to watch my club side play i wasn't allowed to take part in the game because i was cup tied.
In the night i continued with my passing and practiced my left hand passing.
I enjoyed this week more than the we just gone. I feel like I'm getting into the programme now and enjoying it.
Week 3
After last week i thought i did alot of training and i really enjoyed it, last week made me feel confident and huge
Monday
we took part in a muscular endurace circuit which we did in p.e. It consisted of.......
Circuit training is a "old school" way of training. Circuit training is one of the easiest training sessions to administer. We warmed up our body according to what we were doing for this test we had to warm up everything. circuit training can train many parts of your body the component. Mr Owen had set the circuit up to test our muscular endurance. we were asked to work for 40 seconds and rest for 20.
We did-
- Push Ups (biceps)
- Bench Press (biceps)
- Bench Step (quads)
- Sit Ups (abdominal muscles)
- Squats (quadriceps)
- Berpies (all parts of the body)
- Bench Jump(quadriceps,calf muscles)
- Laying Down Pull Ups(biceps,triceps)
that night i rested after a hard week.
Tuesday
I didnt perform my program becasue after school i had a football game in which we beat gwyr 2-1.
i played well and earned it.
that night i trained with my brothers team coaching them on there skills.
Wednesday
I didnt do my program again because i had a swansea school boys game against pontiprydd which we lost by 2 points.
Thursday
I didnt do my training programme again becasue i was experiencing DOMs which means the delay onset of muscle soreness.
That night i didnt have training becasue i we played the day befor.
Friday
I didnt perform my progrme again this week becasue we were asked to go on a Dragon Sports couurse this involved us out of school learning about the theory aspect of getting a coaching badge.
That night i rested.
Saturday
First of all i played a full game for swansea school boys against cardiff schools which we beat 29-7 i played a full game and scored. The later that aftenoon i played a football game for west end against cocket which we won 15-0.
that night i reste becasue i was absoulutly shattered.
Sunday
All the games were called off because of rain. That night i practised my passing for about 30 mins.
Overall this week has been pointless training wise but the main ingrdient of good performance is rest and i needed mine.
On sunday the 25th i fell ill, i have continued with the program now for the next 3 weeks.
Week 4
Monday
Since this was my first training session back for a week i decided to take my time. I just made a simple muscular endurance circuit up. It consisted of 3 stations....
- The first one was press ups
- The second was sit ups
- The third was air squats
In the evening i had a rest period and attepted to recover from the earlier session.
Tuesday
rugby game
Wednesday
Rest
Thursday
PNF stretching and school boys training after school. I enjoyed PNF because i always do. Stretching is the easiest training method and the nicest so i did enjoy it. School boys after school wasn't enjoyable. it wasn't because it was a hard session but it was because we had done the same session for about three weeks in a row. We started with a game of touch rugby and then split up into forwards and backs. I don`t know what the backs did but us forwards used the scrummaging machine and practiced lineouts. After we would finish the session going through moves and practicing them. This would benefit us because in a game situation we would know exactly where to be and when to be there but these types of training sessions are very boring.
FridayDid not participate due to illness.
Saturday
sunday
Week 5
Monday
Was ill so i did not participate in any sporting activities.
Tuesday
I did a solo plyometrics training session. I had three stations, the first was i had two benches stanced on each other and there were three of these behind eachother. I jumped over them with minimal ground contact. The second was the spring board push up which i have done maney times before. You do a push up from the floor onto the springboards then fall back to the floor. The last station I did the frog jump. Its when you do a a squat and explode forward while holding a 8kg.
I was at these stations for 40 seconds for three rounds. It was physically challenging and I expirienced painful Doms for two days after the sesh. I enjoyed it but it was challenging.
Wednesday
Today we did a muscular endurance interval training session. I did 10x100m i found this very tireing due to previous training sessions. aswell as that i have been feeling very ill and tired recently. I thought that i didnt perform to my best today becasue of my illness. This annoyed me becasue i hate it when i dont perform to my best.
Thursday
I insisted i continued to participate in my training programme but i am feeling really under the weather. I continued to do my passing session finally i think im begining to progress whilst percisting with this. Again though i got annoyed becasue i could'nt run due to a bad cough.
I didnt go to school boys becasue i was ill.
Friday
I am too ill to do any training i didnt come into school today becasue of this cough. This is becoming really dissapointing becasue i have worked for six weeks and now i become ill coming the the end of the programme.
Saturday
I struggled through playing football we won 5-0 but i only played one half.
i rested again for tonight hoping iwill be able to play rugby tomorrow.
Sunday
I didnt sleep much last night i was up coughing all night. I didnt play rugby this morning becasue i couldnt run this has been the worst end to my training programme falling ill at the end.
Evaluation of training programme
To start our training programme we had to set goals. These goals consist of three short-term goals and one long-term goal. The three short-term goals were things you could improve over the next six weeks.
The three short term targets I set myself over the six weeks were to improve my muscular endurance, explosive strength and my left had pass. I wanted to improve my muscular endurance so I could go through a full game playing to my full potential I also said I wanted to improve my explosive strength so I could power through tackles throughout the game. As well as that I wanted to improve my left hand passing so I could fling passes of both hands. I would use a series of different methods to help me improve these things I used plyometrics, circuit training, interval training, weight training and a passing session. I chose those because I thought they would best suit the things I am trying to improve. Before I started my six week training programme I used tests for each of the things I wanted to improve I tested my explosive strength by doing the standing broad jump, sergeant jump and the seated medicine ball throw. I also tested my muscular endurance by doing the abdominal curl test and the maximal press up test. My left hand passing I knew myself wasn’t too good because I couldn’t throw a pass off my left hand. Here is a results table to show how I got on before and after.
Results
Test Before After
Sergeant Jump 35cm 35cm
Max press up 22 reps 30 reps
Standing broad jump 127cm 132cm
Medicine ball throw 150cm 190cm
Abdominal curl test 4mins 4.30mins
We cant only go on these results the main thing is that I enjoyed the program. This is called anecdotal evidence this is how you felt during the program. During the six week programme I enjoyed the program over the first 3-4 weeks but slowly it began to take its toal and I was getting very tired.
