Training more than once a day - Training

Theflyingbarrell

17/06/2006 at 23:33

ive been running for a few weeks and hope to continue through the winter and when im back at uni. Only problem is that i also play rugby for uni and a club and need to fit running and weights in to my program, is it ok to generally train more than once a day for example monday i would do a weights session and train in the evening which is normally more skill based and team runs, also say if i wanted to something on the same day as a game or after perhaps would this be bad?

Sodahead

18/06/2006 at 08:28

Daniel, it would not be bad although you have got to be careful of the intensities at which you train. For instance -

Weight training in the mornings and running or rugby training in the evenings - OK, but don't overdo the leg weight training.

Easy run in the morning and a "session" in the evening - OK

If you are exercising twice a day one should be easy and the other could be hard. If you exercise twice (and hard) on one day consider only exercising once and easy the next day. Give your muscles and bones time to recover and adapt to the increased load that you are placing on them.

Make a plan with target events - like a rugby match. The day before the match needs to be a easy day, the day before that dosen't want to be too intense either and so it builds up.

Big David

18/06/2006 at 09:43

How many days training per week are you talking about Dan?
Because the (safest) recomendation is you have a rest day or two between each training day.

Theflyingbarrell

18/06/2006 at 14:15

well my schedule is a bit crazy, try this out, i want to continue running and by september should be getting on good so 2 x 30-40min runs approx 3-5 miles hopefully and a long run of say 7 plus miles, also want to strength train twice a week, rugby training on a monday night, match on a wednesday, swim club on tuesday night for an hour, waterpolo on a thursday for an hour. any suggestions on how to fit it all in!

Boniface Earl Jones

18/06/2006 at 14:38

Schedule looks fine to me (but then most people would think I'm crazy if they saw how much I was doing) - how about:

M: am 5M easy, pm rugby training
T: am 3M easy or rest, pm 1hr swim
W: am rest, pm rugby match
T: am rest, pm waterpolo
F: am 4-5M steady, pm weights
S: am 7M steady, pm rest
S: am sleep, pm weights or rest

Just keep listening to your body and take a day off if you're feeling tired. Remeber a schedule is a list of words & numbers and doesn't know exactly what your body is going through.

Sodahead

18/06/2006 at 16:09

Nice one JEJ :)

I would over a period of time increase the Saturday run (but I am soley a runner) up to 10 or 12 miles.

Daniel, your fuel consumption is going to be massive. You must either have a very good part time job or you still live at home ;0)

Theflyingbarrell

18/06/2006 at 16:50

lol! i live at home at the mo but will be in my own house when back at uni, thanks thats brilliant you even fitted in an extra run!, could i even use that for hills/speed work instead or should i run 4 times a week?

Theflyingbarrell

18/06/2006 at 16:58

i meant that as in the run on the friday, or have you set it up so the three mile is optional, i just havent done any hills or speed work latley, maybe i should incorprate them when i dont have rugby on the wednesday what you think?

Boniface Earl Jones

18/06/2006 at 17:08

Hi Daniel, If you want to put in a hill session, I'd advise doing this on the Friday rather than the day before your rugby match.

The extra 3 mile run is optional - I doubt it would take anything away from your rugby performance the following day, but it's perhaps the first thing to drop if you're feeling tired.

If your aim is to be good at rugby, I'd advise finding a short, sharp hill - perhaps of about 50 meters and, after warming up, run 10 - 15 reps hard with walk back recoveries.

If you're also looking to improve running, try the occasional 2 x 20 minute loop over a longer but shallower hill - perhaps of about 800m. Rather than reps, run continuously up and down the hill. This is more of a 'threshold' workout and will give a big boost to heart & lungs as well as leg strength.

Or alternatively combine them - maybe 2 x 10 mins on a shallow hill, then 5 - 8 reps up a 'sprint' hill.

Theflyingbarrell

18/06/2006 at 17:36

thanks this is brill, my aim is really to improve my running but i want to take part im my rugby to a decent level still, so with the hill training you recomend i find a hilly loop of about 10 minutes and repeat this twice? is that right im a bit confused where you say about continious up and down lol sorry for the hassle

Boniface Earl Jones

18/06/2006 at 18:02

No probs. Re the loops - do a google for 'kenyan hills'. It's best if you can find somewhere off road for this to minimise impact on the way down.

When I say 2 x 10 minutes, I mean run your loop for 10 minutes. This may be 2 times up / 2 times down, it may be 20 times up/down - that depends on the length of the hill and how fast you're going.

Then take a breather / easy jog for a couple of mins before running your next 10 min session.

As you get fitter you can do away with the 'recoveries' and get up to 1 hour continous.

Traditionally hill training has been about going up the hill, but in reality going downhill is also a great benefit & helps leg speed - useful in rugby.

Depending on the race distance you're looking to improve on and how seriously you're taking it, I'd have thought that either rugby or swimming would have to suffer in the longer term as sessions sould be replaced with extra quality runs.

Theflyingbarrell

18/06/2006 at 18:20

thanks for the advice its brilliant, yeh i understand now, rugby is only temporary at unj i only play around 10-15 games a year for fun mostly. If i get fit enough i would like to progress to triathlon then the rugby will definatey go, i see you do that, how did you get into it.

Boniface Earl Jones

18/06/2006 at 18:37

I kind of got into triathlon by mistake...

I used to swim very competitively (Age group champion etc) but was forced to stop at 16/17yrs due to knee problems. About 20 months ago I thought it time to get fit and undo the 6 years of weight I'd put on and post uni (remember it's about drinking - not studying). It happened to be on a day when corporate places were being offered for the forthcoming London marathon at work and I thought 'how hard can it be' and signed up.

4 months limited training meant that I only managed 3:13 at the marathon, but had become much more active and bought a bike to commute to work. I signed up for the London tri out of peer pressure, but didn't bother with any swim training. Managed to finish 3rd in my age group and was later contacted by the organisers regarding a place in the 'triathlon academy' they were setting up. I didn't get it, but kept running and took my marathon time down to 2:44 a year after the 3:13.

I don't venture close to the water very often due to lack of motivation, but if I was, and a shark happened to be after me, I could still manage around 25s for 50m front crawl or 31s for breastroke. I doubt I'd ever be much good over a 1500m triathlon swim as I prefer my swims to be over in 30s or less, and certainly not in a wetsuit.

Theflyingbarrell

18/06/2006 at 18:51

ah right sounds good, im aiming for next season to compete in a few duathlons/biathlon/aquathon things and get a bike then train for sprint and olympic the year after.

Sodahead

18/06/2006 at 19:06

Excellent advice from JEJ

Go get it Daniel :)

Big David

19/06/2006 at 21:05

Plus eat, stretch, and sleep a lot.

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