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Author Ashley Jones
As Louie Simmons has often been quoted as saying, “Getting stronger is all about maths and physics”. No truer phrase has been offered. I love numbers and the symmetry of the organization of training through the manipulation of volume and intensity with a range of sets and reps protocols.
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Author Ashley Jones
The use of bands to modify bar kinetics has been made popular by the Westside crew over the past few years, Dan Baker’s excellent e book explains a lot as to the use of both bands and chains and I would read as much as I could from both these sources.
But nothing teaches like what Dave Tate refers to as “Time Under the Bar” the greatest teacher of all is experience, and to try different methods will give you a more complete understanding as to how these methods effect the body. Personally, I like to trial all techniques on myself and assistant before exposing any of my athletes to something new.
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Ashley Jones
Fitness Trainer
Crusaders – Super
Canterbury – NPC (New Zealand Domestic Competition)
“Triathlon Training Program”
Mon/Fri Swim + Prehabilitation Strength Workout
Wed Swim + Yoga
Tues Run
Thurs Bike
Sat Bike + Run
Sun Off
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Author Ashley Jones
Just a guide for distances if you are limited only to running on a rugby field, based on a 100m length and a 70m width, you can get a variety of distances and patterns, you can also use the “Cards of Death” and place each different run on the back of a business card and draw them out at random as the runs for the session.
All distances are based on Pythagoras formula, A squared + B squared = C squared and are rounded up or down to the nearest whole number for convenience. Hopefully my math will hold up but please check if you feel so inclined.
3 Advanced Strength Training Workouts have been posted on the Getstrength Community Forum getstrength has just posted in the Work out of the week forum of Getstrength Community Forum under…
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For those of you who have been following along with my developing pencil programs I have decided to compile them all into the one post you can see the progressions, exercise selection is of course entirely up to you and what you have available, any errors are completely mine in the making, I hope you will find a use for all or part of it in your programming, feel free to add a core exercise on any training days that you like I do not think you can go past the advice of Pavel when he says, 3 – 5 exercsies for 3 – 5 sets of 3 – 5 reps on 3 – 5 days each week or like me just put one in at the conclusion of each training session or day, go well, cheers, ash
The Pencil Files Complete
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Author Ashley Jones
Bigger, Stronger, Quicker
The Eternal triangle of conditioning to play back row in Rugby.
Ashley Jones
So you are getting ready for your season, you play back row and are around 6ft (183cms) tall and weigh roughly 14 stone (89kg), you want to be in good shape metabolically, slightly bigger and quick to the breakdown. You want to be Richie McCaw, who is in most people’s minds is the quintessential open side flanker in world rugby.
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Author Ashley Jones
When training younger training aged athletes the best methods are also the simplest. By this I mean the progression you would use in training over a block of training. If you have read any of Poliquin’s or Simmons’ work you will notice that they advise a change in some element of the training every week.
This is for the more advanced training aged athlete who is aware of their body and the effects of training on it. The younger athlete needs to develop this over time and allow a stimulus to be applied with increasing pressure on the athlete allowing the adaptations you seek. Exercises need only be changed every 6 – 12 weeks, although obviously individuals will be using a changing load and specific methods will change with whatever plan you put in place. Remember that long term pressure to the right type of coal produces diamonds and this is what we are trying to produce in our weight room.
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Author Ashley Jones
Advice, Ideas & Thoughts
As Robbie Deans is often to be heard saying “start with the end in mind”
Coaching is an extension of teaching, so get out of your office and teach, especially in the gym, you are always correcting wee aspects of a lift, our aim is perfection of technique, so if you are not lifting yourself, start, it makes a lot of difference for your athletes and for you.
Whenever you lift, you are on show, be a technician and lift well, you do not have to be the strongest but you should try at all costs to have the best technique, whether you like it or not you are a role model, so what behaviours do you want your athletes to follow.
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Hey Ash,
Just a quick 1. I’m about to go into a 5,4,3,2,1 x 4 program, my current upper body program is 3 x push/pull supersets done twice per week. Is this type of program fine for supersets or should I seperate the exercises?
Cheers,
lloyd.