It’s called we do a little training

[BostonRugger]

7/1/23 - Saturday


LBBS

285x4x4


Bench

210x7
210x6x3
210x5x5


LTE

95x13
95x7x4


DB Curls

30sx15
30sx10x3


Notes: BW 215 and falling

Worked in the yard for about 6hrs today. Went out for steak dinner and ice cream with wife and boys around 5:30 then started lifting right at 8:30. Took a little while to get warmed up (physically and mentally), but then had a good session. I’ve got a few more 10lb jumps in the squat.

Emailed back and forth with the rugby team’s captain. Wife is supportive. We are a go for testing this rickety old ship.

[BostonRugger]

7/2/24 - Sunday


Running Intervals - everything on a :30 clock

Jog

60ydx15


90-95% effort run

40yd x 10


SPRINT

20yd x10


90%-95% Run

40yd x10

2-4min rest between sets


Notes: Feels like progress. I’m sucking wind at some of the higher effort 40s and the 20s are short but max effort. Recovery is good enough that I only had significant speed drop off in the last 3-4 sprints of the workout

This was done on the street in front of my house which is at a 2-3% incline. 1/2 of these went slight downhill, other 1/2 slight uphill.


Additional Note: Opted for some ibuprofen this morning.

[BostonRugger]

7/4/23 - Tuesday




Bench

255x3x7 - started around @5, last one was maybe @8. I've fallen out of the habit of rating sets for RPE/RIR/Unicorns. (pauses for thought)


TBDLLH

375x5x3 - Took a 20lb jump. Still light work. I can probably expect to get one pull and one squat each every 6-8 days. Need to ramp some more volume into the sessions if I'm only doing 1/wk, but can't go nuts with that vs the running/conditioning I'm doing.


Pull-Ups

(BW+15)x3x5 - can add 5lbs or do sets of 4 next time.


Notes: Couldn't start until 9 and then paused to help sick kiddo mid-session. Had to shut it down at 10:35. I'll see if I can squeeze in 25 minutes of sprints or airdyne tonight. I like the interval format I used Sunday night. The jogging start functions as a warmup, progresses to faster pacing and shorter distances. Even at the 40yd cruising pace, it was the right level of exertion for the 30 second clock. I can either build in additional intermediate distance/pace blocks or increase the number of intervals per block.

[BostonRugger]

7/5/23 - Wednesday


Running Intervals

60yd x10 - jog pace

50yd x10 - cruising pace

40yd x10 - '90%' pace

20yd x10 - Sprint


Sets of ten were done on a 30 second clock. 1:30- 3:00 rest between sets. Peak HR 151. Avg 124. It was still 80 degrees and humid at 9PM. Good suffering.

My "60 yards" was 2-3 yards longer than last time. I'm pacing the distance, not the most reliable method, but no harm done.


BW 214

[BostonRugger]

7/8/23 - Saturday


Field work

Dynamic warmup w high knees, butt kicks, shuffles, crossovers, hip opener, etc.


10yd box X-shuttles x6, :30 rests

15yd push-up sprints x 6 (rest during walk back to start (plus a breath or two on the ground)

240m shuttle (60, 40, 20) x 3 with :45-1min rests


The 240 “bronco” shuttle. Woof. Was supposed to be unbroken. No way. Legs failing by middle of the third shuttle

[BostonRugger]

7/9/23 - Sunday


LBBS

295x4x4


Bench

235x5x5


Chins

BWx5x8


Notes: Lifts will remain pretty simple while I prioritize conditioning. Minimal soreness/stiffness from yesterdays run. Good that I’m getting less of that with the sprint work.

My 4yo son wanted to race so I essentially did 6 sets of a 50yd shuttle (25yds there and back across the back yard). I gave him a head start and gave 90-100% effort so it goes in the log. Kid kept me on a tight rest clock with his “one more!” interval timer

[BostonRugger]

7/10/23 - Monday


Quick session

Warmup, stretching (calves, groin, quads), 1 and 2 leg box jumps


Airdyne - HIIT

:15/3:00 x6


That was a killer. Full effort on each one. Legs crapped out around :12 on number 4 so I gave myself an extra :40 rest before the last one. Max HR 148, avg 102.

BW 212.2

[BostonRugger]

7/12/23 - Wednesday


Chins

(BW+25)x3x6 - 1:30 clock


Running Intervals (all on :30 clock)

60yd x12 @jog

50yd x12 @cruising pace

40yd x12 @ 90% pace

20yd x12 @ Sprint


3min rests between sets


ETA: Good had session last night. Calves/achilles tendon area were very sore and tight this morning. I think the difference is that I ran on pavement last night and focused on being fast off the line with good foot strikes. I'm so out of practice that when I started these my feet were rotating outward leading to a really lousy force transfer.

New pair of "minimalist" type running shoes is coming Friday. Should be better for sprints or shuttles/agility than the road running shoes I'm in now.

[BostonRugger]

7/13/24 - Thursday


Bench

215x8
215x7
215x6x2
215x5
215x4x4 - all on 1:40 clock


LTE

80x16
80x12
80x11


Shoulder Circuit (side, front, press, rear)
. Red bands for rear Delt, 10lbs for the rest

- 2 sets


Spent 15 mins stretching afterward

[BostonRugger]

7/15/23 - Saturday

There was a rugby tournament nearby today. Stopped by and watched my old team’s match. Pretty sure I can still bully these zoomers as long as I can catch them first. I’ll have to get out there to find out just how slow I am now. Introduced myself to captain of the local team while I was there. First practice one month from today.


At the field

Warmup

10yd box shuttles

X6 - :30 clock


2 min rest

150yd shuttle @10 - 4 sets, 3-4 min break in between. Need more top speed/effort stuff and, also, more multi-directional work. Wanted one more of these but rest periods were getting longer and it was getting dark at 8:45ish when I wrapped up.

[BostonRugger]

7/17/23 - Monday


Bench

265
285@8.5
245x3x3


Pull-Ups

38 in 10:00


TBDLLH

395x4x4


Split Squat

115x6x2 - long time since I’ve done these. Could sense the incoming DOMS and shut it down. I have other training to do.


Airdyne

(:08/:22)x8 - 2 sets with 3 mins rest in between. Max volitional effort on ~70% of these. Mixed in some @8-@9s to allow for “recovery.” Max HR 163.


Notes: Trying to fit in a lift plus a decent off-feet conditioning session. I'm going to be leaving town Fri-Sun and packing Thu so I might not get a workout for 3-4 days. Bringing shoes and maybe I can get a run in one night after kids are asleep.

Might be no time for session tonight. Will get running intervals done either tonight or tomorrow.

[BostonRugger]

7/19/23 - Wednesday


At the track


60yd jog x10

50yd @80% x10

35yd @90% x10

20yd sprint x10

All on :30 clock. 2:00-2:30 between sets. Again had to hustle due to lack of remaining daylight.

Less volume than last time. Wanted to get higher intensity/quality reps. My start and my arm motion feel faster. Focused on getting a fast start off the line on each rep. Doesn’t feel like my knees get terribly high at max speed. Hoping some training focused on that helps, or maybe I’ll just accept the slow embrace of death.

I was considerably less smoked during and after this session vs the last times I did it. Will add some volume back in next time, but it's a good sign.

[BostonRugger]

7/22/23 - Saturday

Spent the weekend up in northern NH with wife, kids, nieces/nephews, various in-laws. We went to a little amusement park called Storyland. Family memories. Beautiful mountains. Tons of fun for the kids (any maybe some of us adults). Ate like crap. Still weighed in at 212 this morning (dehydrated?).

Did a run Saturday night after the kids went to bed. Was going to do a 20 min max distance thing (basically max in 10, then double back to the rental), but after 4.5 minutes I ran out of good space to run (dark main roads vs very dark residential roads w no moonlight and uneven/potholed pavement). Overall, looked like:


1/2 mile down hill @8

Rest a minute or two while I thought about what to do.

1/2 mile uphill @9-10

rest 2.5 minutes. I flipped on the house's exterior light so I could see the pavement in front of me


THEN

30yd hill sprints (estimate ~ 8% grade) x10 EMOM.



7/23/23 - Sunday

LBBS

315x3x4


Bench

245x4x4


Push Press

135x3x3
145x2x3
155x2x2
165x2

Adding in push press to get some overhead work for lineout lifting. (Getting kinda skinny now so they might make me jump instead . Or will expect both if they're being all modern about it). Push press probably offers best specificity for this. I'm doing this with a three count hold at the top, leaning in on specificity. So hot right now, specificity. Feels like I can get more weight on these quickly with some practice. I'll look up something on form. Basically having trouble transitioning from bar on my fingers in the rack position to bar on my palms to press it out. Peculiarity of this lift.

[DCR]

Ate like crap. Still weighed in at 212 this morning (dehydrated?).

Ha, same weekend experience. Did something of a two day microbrewery tour, enough said. Somehow I hadn’t gained any weight as of this morning. I look forward to being a delayed four lbs up tomorrow.

[BostonRugger]

7/24/23 - Monday


At the field


60yd x11 @jog

50yd x11 @ 80%

35yd x11 @ 90%

20yd x11 @ sprint

:30 clock 2-3 min rest between sets. Added one rep to each set vs last week

[BostonRugger]

Ate like crap. Still weighed in at 212 this morning (dehydrated?).

Ha, same weekend experience. Did something of a two day microbrewery tour, enough said. Someone I hadn’t gained any weight as of this morning. I look forward to being a delayed four lbs up tomorrow.

215 this morning

[BostonRugger]

7/26/23 - Wednesday

Bench

225x5x6 - 1:30 clock


TBDLLH

405x4x4 - 3:45 clock


Limited time. 45 minute session. Good to get back to 405 for sets.


SOTU - First team training is in 19 days. Some good, some not so good things happening.

First the bad. Gave myself some (left) achilles tendinitis. It comes and goes. I'm sure it was the increase in sprint volume being too sudden. I tried to slowly ramp over time starting with a lot of jogging last winter to avoid exactly this kind of thing. TLDR if anyone needs me I'll be in that tent they use for horses at the track.


Conditioning is on pace with what I wanted *hand wave hand wave hand wave*. I don't have benchmarks because I didn't train that way 5-10 years ago, but I'd be willing to bet I score just as high or higher on VO2 max, maybe even on some of the interval based conditioning tests.

Strength is way off of lifetime maxes, but for my current purposes, and at 30-40lbs lower bw, I'll take it. Had to build back from a leg-day-skipping bro-work/running period and then a back injury so I'm just happy to be here.

Out of town next week for for family beach vacation week. Spending time on Martha's Vineyard and southern Maine. No lifting. I might suck it up and take 12-14 days off of the running (if I can force myself to do it). I want the tendon to heal and I don't think it will if I just keep pounding on it. If anyone has better advice, I'm open to it. I'll use the airdyne to keep conditioning up in the meantime. Maybe I'll get some swimming in for light cardio. Heck, there's a lagoon that drains hard into the river at high tide and I could jump in off the bridge and do intervals against the current. My scrawny cousin got sucked out into the river and almost drowned doing this when we were kids, but I'm confident nothing could go wrong now.

If I can swing it, I'll get a quick airdyne session tonight. Then tomorrow it's packing and out the door for super mega family fun extravaganza

[BostonRugger]

7/27/23 - Thursday


Airdyne

0:25/3:05 x6
Full effort each round. Had to extend the reset period to four minutes before the last two efforts.

I misplaced my hrm so no data (found later). I'm going to keep an eye on Rogue for Black Friday deals. Having no monitor on the airdyne is ok when I'm using it casually, but if I want to use it more seriously, I need measurements.

[BostonRugger]

8/7/23 - Monday

Split Squat

115x5
125x5
135x5x2


Push Press

135x2x3
145x2
155x2
165x2x2
175x1x4

Did the singles w :30 rest. 3 count hold at the top.


Conditioning

Burpee Pull-Ups x5
Squats x10

13 rounds in 20 minutes.


Notes: Vacation was good for the soul if not for the body. Was active with a lot of swimming and physical activity. 7/30 I played 2 games of full court basketball which definitely met the threshold for a loggable workout (woof).

Going to stick with non-running conditioning through the end of the week. Then I'll get at least one in before training next Tuesday.

[BostonRugger]

8/15/23 - Tuesday

First rugby training session. Most fun I've had in a long time.

Did one LISS workout on the bike last Friday and one sprint workout on Sunday. Need to get back into an in-season lifting program.


ETA: I was keeping up or ahead of a lot of the young guys conditioning wise at practice last night. This morning though, I feel like a big, exhausted mush pile.