James Bolter

I intend to improve my muscular strength, training to be a prop in rugby.

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James Bolter

Personal Exercise Plan

Introduction
In the 6-week course in the gym I hope to improve my muscular strength,
for rugby where I play a prop. For this I need to be quite strong, to bind
tightly and push hard in the scum. I will hope to do this with the weight
machines in the gym, using a weight training program. With the weights I
will start off doing pyramid lifts at 60%-80% of my one rep max and
when these weights get easy is shall then progress up to the heavier-
harder ones after about four weeks of my training program. I will slowly
work up to doing slightly heavier weights so my body adapts to the stress
and my muscles become stronger. I do a lot of sport, which should keep
my physical fitness levels up so they shouldn’t drop.

How I will apply the SPORT and FITT principles

SPORT Principle
Specify – I will be training to increase my muscular strength to be a prop
in rugby and I will use weight training.
Progression – When I am doing my weight training I will be doing
pyramid lifting, when my session starts to get easier I will increase the
weights I am lifting, I will do this after about 4 weeks training
Overload – I will do extra amounts of training and longer periods of
exercise so my body adapts to the stress and I become fitter.
Reversibility – Me doing a lot of sport should avoid atrophy and keep me
fit.
Tedium – To avoid this I will listen to music when I’m in the gym.
FITT Principle
Frequency – I will train for my specified sport once a week and go to the
gym at least twice a week
Intensity – When I am in the gym I will work at 60-80% of my one rep
max for the whole length of time.
Time – I will make sure that each exercise session I do is at least 20
minutes
Type – I will be using weight training.

Why do we warm up?

We warm up to increase our heart rate, which in turn increases our blood
flow to our muscles and therefore increases the oxygen to our
muscles and it also gives our muscles enough oxygen to respire
aerobically. It also warms up our muscles for the intensity of the
session, which prevents injury. Finally it gives us time to prepare
mentally (to get us into the right state of mind).

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James Bolter

Why do we cool down?

We cool down so we can repay our oxygen debt, which restores our body
to a pre-exercise level, prevent soreness and stiffness, makes our heart
rate to return to near our resting level and finally it helps us to remove
‘nasty’ waste products, which result from exercise e.g. Lactic acid.

Sessions
In my sessions in the gym I will aim to work on my quadriceps,
hamstrings, pectorals and Latissimus dorsi. I am working these muscles
because they are antagonistic pairs and work together to form an action.
The quadriceps and hamstrings work together to move the lower leg,
when the quadriceps contract and the hamstring relax they allow
extension at the knee joint to happen and when the hamstring contracts
and the quadriceps relax they allow flexion at the knee joint. The
pectorals and Latissimus dorsi work together to move the arm at the
shoulder joint.

When we are training we need to work both muscles in antagonistic pairs

so that they develop the same and can work to the same degree in all
actions of movement. We also do this to keep them a similar size so we
don’t have a strange body shape. It will also help us prevent injury during
sport, because if one muscle is stronger than the other the force that exerts
may be too much for the other and an injury could occur.

Before I begin my PEP I found out my one rep max for all of the
machines I will be using. I did this so at the end of my PEP I can do them
again and see if I have improved my muscular strength. The results were:
Machine Leg ext. Leg Curl(kg) Chest Pec
(kg) Press(kg) Deck(kg)
One rep max 100 100 50 50

To work the muscles I want to I will be using the leg extension, leg curl,
chest press and pec deck machines in my sessions. The leg extension will
work my quadriceps, the leg curl will work my hamstrings, the chest
press will work my pectorals and Latissimus dorsi and so will the pec
deck. I will be doing pyramid lifting, meaning that I will begin by doing
12 reps at 60% of my one rep max (ORM), then doing 10 reps at 70% of
my ORM, then 8 at 80% of my ORM, on each machine

Machine Leg ext.(kg) Leg Curl(kg) Chest Pec

Press(kg) Deck(kg)
ORM > 100 100 50 50
60% 60 60 30 30

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James Bolter

70% 70 70 35 35
80% 80 80 40 40

Safety when using the gym

Lifting weights can cause serious injury to you or others if it is not done
correctly. First you need to make sure you are wearing appropriate
clothing and footwear. The clothing you wear should allow you to be able
to move freely but not baggy so it gets caught up in the machines. You
should wear trainers when doing any exercise because they are designed
to absorb some of the shock form your knees when you are running and
most ‘casual’ shoes do not do this.
When you are lifting weights you should always use the correct
technique. Always keep your back flat against the back rest if there is one
on the machine, if not keep your back straight. Always breath out when
lifting a weight and breath in when lowering it.
When you are lifting weights always do weights that you know you are
comfortable with, Do Not try and show off and lift weights that are too
heavy for you, this could cause serious injury. Finally when you have
finished using a machine always return the pin to the top of the stack of
weights so that no one tries to lift the weight you just did and injures
themselves.

Training Sessions
Week One
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Sport - Gym Gym Rugby - - -

Tuesday – Gym Session (1 hour)

Warm Up:
CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 7
Stretches: See Appendix a
Main Session:
Machine Amount of reps Weight (kg) Percentage of 1RM
Leg curl 12 60 60
Leg extension 12 60 60
Chest press 12 30 60
Peck deck 12 30 60
Leg curl 10 70 70
Leg extension 10 70 70
Chest press 10 35 70
Peck deck 10 35 70

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James Bolter

Leg curl 8 80 80
Leg extension 8 80 80
Chest press 8 40 80
Peck deck 8 40 80
I will run through this session twice
Cool Down: CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 5
Stretches: See Appendix a

Wednesday – Gym Session (1 hour)

Warm Up:
CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 7
Stretches: See Appendix a
Main Session:
Machine Amount of reps Weight (kg) Percentage of 1RM
Leg curl 12 60 60
Leg extension 12 60 60
Chest press 12 30 60
Peck deck 12 30 60
Leg curl 10 70 70
Leg extension 10 70 70
Chest press 10 35 70
Peck deck 10 35 70
Leg curl 8 80 80
Leg extension 8 80 80
Chest press 8 40 80
Peck deck 8 40 80
I will run through this session twice
Cool Down: CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 5
Stretches: See Appendix a

Thursday – Rugby Training (1 hour)

Warm Up: CV: 5 minute jog
Stretches: See Appendix b
Main session: will do 45 minutes of skill work and then 15 minutes of un-
opposed play, to help my understanding and technique during game play.
Cool Down: CV: 5 minute jog
Stretches: See Appendix b

Week Two

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James Bolter

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

Sport - Gym Gym Rugby - - -

Tuesday – Gym Session (1 hour)

Warm Up:
CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 7
Stretches: See Appendix a
Main Session:
Machine Amount of reps Weight (kg) Percentage of 1RM
Leg curl 12 60 60
Leg extension 12 60 60
Chest press 12 30 60
Peck deck 12 30 60
Leg curl 10 70 70
Leg extension 10 70 70
Chest press 10 35 70
Peck deck 10 35 70
Leg curl 8 80 80
Leg extension 8 80 80
Chest press 8 40 80
Peck deck 8 40 80
I will run through this session twice
Cool Down: CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 5
Stretches: See Appendix a

Wednesday – Gym Session (1 hour)

Warm Up:
CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 7
Stretches: See Appendix a
Main Session:
Machine Amount of reps Weight (kg) Percentage of 1RM
Leg curl 12 60 60
Leg extension 12 60 60
Chest press 12 30 60
Peck deck 12 30 60
Leg curl 10 70 70
Leg extension 10 70 70
Chest press 10 35 70
Peck deck 10 35 70
Leg curl 8 80 80
Leg extension 8 80 80

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James Bolter

Chest press 8 40 80
Peck deck 8 40 80
I will run through this session twice
Cool Down: CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 5
Stretches: See Appendix a

Thursday – Rugby Training (1 hour)

Warm Up: CV: 5 minute jog
Stretches: See Appendix b
Main session: I will do 45 minutes of skill work and then 15 minutes of
un-opposed play, to help my understanding and technique during game
play.
Cool Down: CV: 5 minute jog
Stretches: See Appendix b

Week Three

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

Sport - Gym Gym Rugby - - -

Tuesday – Gym Session (1 hour)

Warm Up:
CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 7
Stretches: See Appendix a
Main Session:
Machine Amount of reps Weight (kg) Percentage of 1RM
Leg curl 12 60 60
Leg extension 12 60 60
Chest press 12 30 60
Peck deck 12 30 60
Leg curl 10 70 70
Leg extension 10 70 70
Chest press 10 35 70
Peck deck 10 35 70
Leg curl 8 80 80
Leg extension 8 80 80
Chest press 8 40 80
Peck deck 8 40 80
I will run through this session twice
Cool Down: CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 5
Stretches: See Appendix a

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James Bolter

Wednesday – Gym Session (1 hour)

Warm Up:
CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 7
Stretches: See Appendix a
Main Session:
Machine Amount of reps Weight (kg) Percentage of 1RM
Leg curl 12 60 60
Leg extension 12 60 60
Chest press 12 30 60
Peck deck 12 30 60
Leg curl 10 70 70
Leg extension 10 70 70
Chest press 10 35 70
Peck deck 10 35 70
Leg curl 8 80 80
Leg extension 8 80 80
Chest press 8 40 80
Peck deck 8 40 80
I will run through this session twice
Cool Down: CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 5
Stretches: See Appendix a

Thursday – Rugby Training (1 hour)

Warm Up: CV: 5 minute jog
Stretches: See Appendix b
Main session: I will do 45 minutes of skill work and then 15 minutes of
un-opposed play, to help my understanding and technique during game
play.
Cool Down: CV: 5 minute jog
Stretches: See Appendix b

Week Four

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

Sport - Gym Gym Rugby - - -

Tuesday – Gym Session (1 hour)

Warm Up:
CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 7
Stretches: See Appendix a
Main Session:

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James Bolter

Machine Amount of reps Weight (kg) Percentage of 1RM

Leg curl 12 60 60
Leg extension 12 60 60
Chest press 12 30 60
Peck deck 12 30 60
Leg curl 10 70 70
Leg extension 10 70 70
Chest press 10 35 70
Peck deck 10 35 70
Leg curl 8 80 80
Leg extension 8 80 80
Chest press 8 40 80
Peck deck 8 40 80
I will run through this session twice
Cool Down: CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 5
Stretches: See Appendix a

Wednesday – Gym Session (1 hour)

Warm Up:
CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 7
Stretches: See Appendix a
Main Session:
Machine Amount of reps Weight (kg) Percentage of 1RM
Leg curl 12 60 60
Leg extension 12 60 60
Chest press 12 30 60
Peck deck 12 30 60
Leg curl 10 70 70
Leg extension 10 70 70
Chest press 10 35 70
Peck deck 10 35 70
Leg curl 8 80 80
Leg extension 8 80 80
Chest press 8 40 80
Peck deck 8 40 80
I will run through this session twice
Cool Down: CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 5
Stretches: See Appendix a

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James Bolter

Thursday – Rugby Training (1 hour)

Warm Up: CV: 5 minute jog
Stretches: See Appendix b
Main session: I will do 45 minutes of skill work and then 15 minutes of
un-opposed play, to help my understanding and technique during game
play.
Cool Down: CV: 5 minute jog
Stretches: See Appendix b

Week Five

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

Sport - Gym Gym Rugby - - -

Tuesday – Gym Session (1 hour)

Warm Up:
CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 7
Stretches: See Appendix a
Main Session:
Machine Amount of reps Weight (kg) Percentage of 1RM
Leg curl 12 65 60
Leg extension 12 65 60
Chest press 12 35 60
Peck deck 12 35 60
Leg curl 10 75 70
Leg extension 10 75 70
Chest press 10 40 70
Peck deck 10 40 70
Leg curl 8 85 80
Leg extension 8 85 80
Chest press 8 45 80
Peck deck 8 45 80
I will run through this session twice
Cool Down: CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 5
Stretches: See Appendix a

Wednesday – Gym Session (1 hour)

Warm Up:
CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 7
Stretches: See Appendix a
Main Session:

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James Bolter

Machine Amount of reps Weight (kg) Percentage of 1RM

Leg curl 12 65 60
Leg extension 12 65 60
Chest press 12 35 60
Peck deck 12 35 60
Leg curl 10 75 70
Leg extension 10 75 70
Chest press 10 40 70
Peck deck 10 40 70
Leg curl 8 85 80
Leg extension 8 85 80
Chest press 8 45 80
Peck deck 8 45 80
I will run through this session twice
Cool Down: CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 5
Stretches: See Appendix a

Thursday – Rugby Training (1 hour)

Warm Up: CV: 5 minute jog
Stretches: See Appendix b
Main session: I will do 45 minutes of skill work and then 15 minutes of
un-opposed play, to help my understanding and technique during game
play.
Cool Down: CV: 5 minute jog
Stretches: See Appendix b
Week Six

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

Sport - Gym Gym Rugby - - -

Tuesday – Gym Session (1 hour)

Warm Up:
CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 7
Stretches: See Appendix a
Main Session:
Machine Amount of reps Weight (kg) Percentage of 1RM
Leg curl 12 65 60
Leg extension 12 65 60
Chest press 12 35 60
Peck deck 12 35 60
Leg curl 10 75 70
Leg extension 10 75 70

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James Bolter

Chest press 10 40 70
Peck deck 10 40 70
Leg curl 8 85 80
Leg extension 8 85 80
Chest press 8 45 80
Peck deck 8 45 80
I will run through this session twice
Cool Down: CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 5
Stretches: See Appendix a

Wednesday – Gym Session (1 hour)

Warm Up:
CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 7
Stretches: See Appendix a
Main Session:
Machine Amount of reps Weight (kg) Percentage of 1RM
Leg curl 12 65 60
Leg extension 12 65 60
Chest press 12 35 60
Peck deck 12 35 60
Leg curl 10 75 70
Leg extension 10 75 70
Chest press 10 40 70
Peck deck 10 40 70
Leg curl 8 85 80
Leg extension 8 85 80
Chest press 8 45 80
Peck deck 8 45 80
I will run through this session twice
Cool Down: CV: 5 minutes on the rowing machine at setting 5
Stretches: See Appendix a

Thursday – Rugby Training (1 hour)

Warm Up: CV: 5 minute jog
Stretches: See Appendix b
Main session: I will do 45 minutes of skill work and then 15 minutes of
un-opposed play, to help my understanding and technique during game
play.
Cool Down: CV: 5 minute jog
Stretches: See Appendix b

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James Bolter

How rugby training contributes to my aim

My rugby training sessions will contribute to the skill aspect of propping
in rugby by improving my understanding in the game and techniques. It
will also contribute to my aim, to improve my muscular strength with
many different parts of the training drills. Me doing a line out drill will
help my muscular strength because I am doing lifting. This requires me to
quickly lift a person up, to do this I use my quadriceps and hamstrings. I
also do some scrum practices, we have a machine that you stand a lot of
people on and the scrum pushes it along, again this works my quadriceps
and hamstrings. We do a lot of tackling and rucking drills these help
work all the muscles I intend to improve the muscular strength of. It
works my pectorals and latisimuss dorsi when I grab someone in a tackle.
It helps my quadriceps and hamstrings because in tackling and rucking
you go from low to high and this power comes from the quadriceps and
hamstrings.

Conclusion

I made a progression with the weights for week 5 and 6. This is because
the original weights became easy, and if the weights are easy it is more
likely to be working less than 60-80% of my one rep max and therefore
not working muscular strength but muscular endurance. I found the
weights challenging at the beginning of the six weeks and then when they
became easier I made the weights heavier. This table shows my
improvements in muscular strength:

Machine Pec Deck Chest Press Leg Curl Leg Extension

ORM at beginning 50 50 100 100
of PEP (kg)
ORM at the end of 70 95 130 150
PEP (kg)
Percentage 40 90 30 50
increase
(ORM = One Rep Max)

As this table shows my muscular strength of these muscles has improved.

This is because working at 60-80% of my ORM put my muscles under
stress and doing this for six weeks enabled them to adapt to the stress and
becomes stronger.

Appendix a Normal Stretches

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James Bolter

Ankle Rotations: Gastric Stretch:

Quad Stretch: Groin Stretch:

Hip Rotations: Shoulder Stretch:

Overhead Triceps Stretch: Neck Stretch:

Appendix b Rugby Stretches

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James Bolter

Ankle rotations: Gastric Stretch:

Groin Stretch: Quad Stretch:

Hip Rotations: Shoulder Stretch:

Shoulder Rotations: Overhead Triceps Stretch:

Neck Stretch #1: Neck stretch #2:

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