Hi there Tiffany, glad to know that what we are putting on line is of use to people, I will think of any specific work for 9’s but we have found that the 9 is evolving into an extra loose forward with great acceleration and the ability to go all day getting to every break down, so anything that is applicable to the open side flanker is in your bag as well, as to your questions:
1) on the hill sprints, you have the sessions broken up into time frames. so…1 x 5min, 5 x 3min, etc. And then you have 1:.5 ratio walk back recovery as the rest…
Does this mean, I sprint up a hill, then walk back, and repeat for 5 minutes, and then rest before my next set? If so, what is the rest time between sets?
With the times I have put on the Hill Repeats session, this is the time you run up the hill for, and then the half time recovery is walking slowly back down the hill to start the next repeat, we have a great long road here in Christchurch, Mt. PLeasant Rd, or as someone termed it last year, Mt. Unpleasant Rd, this goes for around 4 kilometres from the estuary onto the Port Hills so is a demanding stretch where we can run for extended times
2) I read above that you suggest a 1min rest time for the weight training portions for your players. I had previously been taught that in looking to gain strength sometimes rest times could be stretched for up to 3 minutes. Do you ever adjust the rest for your players? I’m curious why the strict 1min.
I like to keep players pon a fairly strict 60 seconds rest to add an elementof anaerobic conditioning to the weight room, possibly they would be able to lift more on the next set if they had a full 3 minute rest as the text books tell us but then I feel that this does not necessarily hold true and player’s can still make great gains in strength with shorter rests and also not be in the gym as long which is great for there heads as well. cheers and all the best in getting that Number 9 jersey for your country, ash