The Rugby Muscle Podcast

Hypertrophy 102 How To Plan and Progress Your Training To Add Muscle We continue this series of Rugby Muscle APPLIED looking at HYPERTROPHY - how to gain muscle. This is once again valuable information explaining exactly what it is you should be focussing on with your muscle-building efforts.- Why we plateau- What really happens and how to push through it- What movements/exercises you should be doing- What rep-ranges to use and why- Weekly splits- How to consistently add reps to your trainingMore on Rugby Muscle Facebook GroupInstagramYouTubeWebsite with ArticlesSupport the show

QUESTIONSMatt Lowe Is there any strengthening workout to help find that quick explosive out for a flanker out of Scrums ?David Thompson  I’m coming back to Rugby after more time off than I played... I’m that old. I’m after getting into “survivable “ shape i’m doing what I need to do to avoid injury. I’m getting there with a base level of cardio and flexibility but need to start working on strength/size/ weight and speed. Here’s the question. Given we’re months away from match play, what training stages should I be looking to break the next 4 months down into?Iain Kennell Webb What was your go to bulking cereal? Are Cocoa pebbles like coco pops?! Can't get either up here, for a reasonable price anyway!Barclay WebsterHave listened to a few episodes and found what I have heard so far very helpful.  Physical - general overall conditioning and improve speed and reaction times. Mental - motivation to keep going when training on ownAelias McHamMeal prep tips and basics like how to effectively ruck and carry ball and stuff Tyler Kugler Want to achieve muscle growth. I struggle with catching bugs and getting pulled away from a strict program. Lack of knowledge about programming. I submitted a 5 star rating!Barclay Webster Following on from comments on a recent pod about elliptical trainer, I was thinking about getting a rowing machine to help with aerobic work (idea being to reduce stress on leg joints and engage upper body more). Do you think this would be a worthwhile purchase?Gage Gibson Well I got to fat over quarantine Im back down to 210 but I need to put some muscle and and get back to lock shape for my college season. Im looking for rugby designed workouts and ways to control my nutrition like a clean bulk.)Lee Yun Escol Casinillo:Is hyperthropy program important if you are already huge or has bulky muscles? If so, How many weeks of hypertrophy prior to competition in a periodized program?More on Rugby Muscle Facebook GroupInstagramYouTubeWebsite with ArticlesSupport the show

Hypertrophy 101 How To Gain Muscle Effectively - Rugby Muscle AppliedIn this series of Rugby Muscle APPLIED we will be looking at HYPERTROPHY - how to gain muscle. Giving you real, usable information that you kinda need to stick to if you want to gain significant amounts of muscle. In this episode:Why Hypertrophy?Hypertrophy ConcernsOk so what do we DO?Why the basics matterWhat the training basics areWhat the nutrition basics areOther stuff to make the magic happenMore on Rugby Muscle Facebook GroupInstagramYouTubeWebsite with ArticlesSupport the show

QuestionsRalleFlex - when your building strength, will you most likely also get a little bit of size with it ?Iain Kennell Webb- What Guided Meditation apps/books do people recommend for total beginner?Just unlocked about 10-15 more minutes during my morning routine and want to see if meditation will suit me. Yusef from PropaneFitness on meditation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_4p3op-HUc Kaedynce Tuttosi - Hey TJ, I just started listening to the podcast this week and I’m loving it! Do you have any advice on how to split your workouts? Lowers and Uppers day? Total body all the time? (Also if you have any workout ideas I’d be down to hear those too) Cheers!David Thompson- In the UK it seems unlikely that they’ll be any meaningful club Rugby until next season. How would you break down the time between now and then, to get the most out of the time available?More on Rugby Muscle Facebook GroupInstagramYouTubeWebsite with Articles Articles Referenced:https://www.elitefts.com/education/training/bodybuilding/rustproofing-the-iron-warrior/Support the show

No Rugby For The Foreseeable Future?! No Gyms? Lockdown 2.0 - What YOU Can (& Should) Focus On In This Strange TimeFor today's episode TJ runs through a perhaps much-needed perspective on what you can be focussing on as rugby appears to not be coming back any time soon.This episode goes over what the current landscape is from a non-emotional perspective, what this REALLY means, how we can deal with it in terms of education, development and exactly what we can be doing with our training and foundations to come out of this strange time all the better for it.Really hope you enjoy this one, especially as I'm writing in the 3rd person still 🙃🤫😉Support the show

QuestionsIain Kennell- Webb What are some books you think everyone should read at least once?Scott AtkinsWondered if you could either chat about it in your next pod, or respond to me on here  But atm I have a real bad relationship with carbs and would like your opinion on them. Especially in a muscle building phase. So basically. I was on a diet a year or so ago, to trim down, which meant I didn’t eat carbs prior to working out (well very little anyway) and then would only consume them post training for muscle replenishment and prior to going bed due to hormone release and helping me feel tired (this was advised to me by a personal trainer).Since then I’ve always been under the impression carbs should be ‘earned’. I’ve been led to believe they should only be consumed around workouts when building muscle. Pre workout. Post workout and the meal After that also. I am so anal about it now I can’t let it slip, and feel bad if I consume carbs without it being pre, post or post 1 workout Hanno JoubertHey Tj, I am an 18 year old South African rugby fanatic. I have a quick question for you, how can I play with more physicality and get noticed more. I play 4 lock so I clean a lot of rucks. Any tips? Look forward to hearing from you. 4 times a week full body focussing on compound movements. 2 push , 2 pull and 2 leg exercises per session with core after each superset. Twice a week field session.Yun BaroyHow some people can pass longer and others can't? What muscle helps to stabilize the movement and how to improve it?More on Rugby Muscle Facebook GroupInstagramYouTubeWebsite with ArticlesSupport the show

This week, Tj answers more questions from the Facebook Group:Locky Jay: - fix leg imbalances. - improve mobility.- see some examples of daily diets.Hamilton Beau Bone: This just occurred to me (to ask on one of the Live sessions, but I wanted to do it before I forget. Those of you who go to the gym early morning and then shower go straight to work AND/OR finish training and get home at like 23ish at night....is there anything that covers all the bases there? With my timetable here literally that's how most days are here. If I remember correctly TJ you're a fan of just eating good food and nothing else that really works? Am I being too hopeful or would a magic shake meal replacement etc. (which is quick and would be convenient would do the trick) I love eating eggs after a morning sess. /making food for dinner but with the season now in full swing....i've got very little time and my gf's timetable for work has her home later than me.Patrick Notaro: Been looking to add some more aerobic work to my training. Would distance biking be more/less beneficial then running (weather starting to get bad where I’m from and I have a stationary bike)Joseph Edwards: Also looking to do more cardio would match specific (sprints,intervals etc.) be better than doing longer runsHamilton Beau Bone: Can the Wabs pull off a win against NZ? More seriously, if it's a weights day, and I don't feel it the day after, did I go hard enough? (Working on pushing myself because I don't think in the past I really did as much as I could've. I mean being at a 8.5/9 level not a slam the weights on the ground gym bro, but pushing it. Since we work together already (yea!) i'm in week 4 now of September workout...should all the exercises i'm doing weight wise always be explosive or just steady as she goes...I know it specifies sometimes, but when it doesn't is what i'm referring to.  Iain Kennell-Webb: How do I figure out what success means to me  More on Rugby Muscle Facebook GroupInstagramYouTubeWebsite with ArticlesSupport the show

This weeks Facebook group questions- Ralleflex what do you think is the most important gym workout, for at guy who needs to be strong but very explosive? and needs to build size, what do you think a week for that would look like? and ofc your content is great as always, big fan here- William Franklin hi TJ regular listener to the pod. I’m 32 and been out of the game for 2.5 years. What are your thoughts on RFD training to improve acceleration. I’m 5’10, 93kg centre and have had a lot of injuries in the past. Will- Joseph EdwardsI’d like to add 5kg of muscle by Christmas I- Franklin NovemberHelp me to gain some muscles before Christmas.More on Rugby Muscle Facebook GroupInstagramYouTubeWebsite with ArticlesSupport the show

Today’s podcast has TJ giving a complete guide on how he was able to train to achieve his transformation during a global pandemic. Discussing the background, environment, nutrition and training that he did in order to make a startling before-after.https://rugby-muscle.com/transformationMore on Rugby Muscle Facebook GroupInstagramYouTubeWebsite with ArticlesSupport the show

Questions Rob Noble: Hi TJ, Thanks for the conditioning download, there's some good stuff in there. Unfortunately I don't have easy access to a commercial gym with various machines, but I've been doing some of the drills you've included for a while already; Bear complex, touch+run back, touch+up& down, sprint intervals. I've got a barbell, rack, bench & dumbbells at home, it's nothing fancy. I play for a village team of about 20-30 players, although we only ever put out 1 team with 4-5 subs. Ages range from 18 upto early 40s, with a few props in their 50s. I play second row, so I've no aspirations to be a speedster, but I'd like to feel like I can could with 10mins of a game before puffing like a chain smoker. Ideally I'd still have some pace left by 60mins. My normal training week looks like:• Mon - Total Body weights (medium) 45mins + core 15mins• Tues - Total Body weights (light) 45mins + assistance 15mins, Rugby Training (currently 90mins touch)• Wed - Total Body weights (heavy) 45mins + core 15mins• Thurs - rest (sometimes I swap this with Wed session, depends how rugby training goes)• Fri - Run (usually with sprints or burpees interspersed) 45mins• Sat & Sun - rest...would be a game Sat pm if that ever happens again!I'm following a weights programme called "Built for Battle", which has a conditioning focus (v.low rest), my aim is to build strength and then the programme shifts to converting that into power. So last 4 weeks is pretty much Olympic lifts or similar.What I'd like to do is sneak in another short conditioning session, e.g. bear complex, by swapping out a core session. I'm limited to an hour max workout time.What do you think? Am I kidding myself thinking I can actually make some strength gains and also improve conditioning?Steffen Griffin: I want to be big and strong as possible. My gym just opened up but there's usually a line and I can't wait around. Should I focus on bodyweight stuff?Ali: Do you recommend meal prep to manage nutritionMore on Rugby Muscle Facebook GroupInstagramYouTubeWebsite with ArticlesSupport the show