Dramatic loss of strength

[Pegasus]

It took you 3 years to build up your strength previously ,you will be able to regain it in a couple of months. Olympic lifts are good so are plyometrics. However you need to include strength/power training within a periodised training reigme if you are traing seriously. If you are not serious then time/effort/dedication is an issue.

[Padawan787]

I am fairly serious, I won't exercise every day of the week like I did when I was younger but I will be going to the gym 3 times a week, training twice a week, match once a week and intervall training once a week so I will be pretty active!

so basically:

Monday: Gym
Tuesday: Gym
Wednesday: Gym + training in the evening
Thursday: Rest
Friday intervall training in the morning + training in the evening
Saturday: rest
Sunday: match

Do you think that I have enough rest periods in order to recover and develop muscle? also i'm not quite sure when I can do some plyometrics, could I do it with the intervall training or do you think it would be too fatiguing to do both back-to-back?

I am going to condition myself for a few weeks and then I will start the olympic lifts in the new year

[Pegasus]

You need solid advice on how to build a training regime. Your coach should point you in the direction of someone with the knowledge.

[Padawan787]

As much as I would love to ask my coach i doubt he would be very helpful lol Rugby coaches aren't like american football coaches, in my experience most coaching teams are just friends who were ex players for the club and coach in order to have fun and get free drinks at the club bar!

The gym gave me a programme to do for the next 2 months and then we will re-evaluate so that is sorted, the only thing I need help with is the structure of my week, should I ask the staff at the gym since it is their area of expertise?

[Pegasus]

The problem you have there is that they may not be rugby players and so unaware of the other training demands. But yes talk to them. Remember also, different parts of the training year often require different training.

[WalrusGumBoot]

Padawan787, if your plan is the gym 3 times a week, then maximize it. The most testosterone is produced from your thighs, so do a lot of squats at the maximum weight that you can bear for 3 sets of 10 reps. Slowly build up and do not injure yourself.

If you can afford it, but some dumbbells for home use with plates of various weights. Buy a curl bar as well that can use the same plates. Three or four times a day on your off days at the gym, do some curls. You are 20... you have a lot of energy to burn!

[Padawan787]

I usually do 1h30 at the gym for each session so I hope that should be enough for some good gains

Didn't know that about the thighs, good advice!

At home I tend to do press-ups or other exercises that don't require equipment. I haven't bought dumbbells yet because I am unsure of what weight I would need, I was thinking 1 set of 12.5Kg and 1 set of 10Kg but i'm not fully decided

Thanks for all of the replies guys, very helpful!

[GymBoi4eva]

One of the best things about bodybuiling is muscle memory! MY brother has been going to the gym for 15 years now on and off, everytime he started it up again he came back even stronger after a few weeks of training because of the muscle memory we all have. So you should get all of your strengh back bro, just give it time and dedication and you will have what you want... probably more!

[vulcan]

Also Padawan - get some high quality books on Anatomy & Physiology, specific books on Rugby fitness (I have seen them in Waterstones) - one very good book is called 'Sport Speed' - it will explain plyometrics.

You can totally educate yourself on this topic & apply it to your training for life.

Look for books by the publisher - Human Kinetics, they are good.

[Padawan787]

Thanks Vulcan, you have played rugby so your advice is especially helpful

I live in france so I will look them up on amazon and either order them online or get them for my kindle, thanks for the recommendations!

My mother works for a biological research centre so I have asked her for any research on plyometrics as well since she has access to medical journals and currently unpublished research, I should have a response in about 2 weeks