I recently started my bodybuilding career in October, my main goal is to bulk up and lose excess fat for rugby season, ultimately gaining more attractiveness and strength.
Age: 16
Weight: 190lbs
Height: 5’7"
Left Arm: 15 1/2"
Right Arm: 16"
Bench: 180lbs
Deadlift: 350lbs
Clean and Jerk: 200lbs
I just started my fitness career, and think that my biceps are my largest weakness. I’d like to get some input if possible. Up to this point, I’ve lost 35lbs, and I’m taking a Vega protein shake diet.
[quote]xdrako wrote:
I recently started my bodybuilding career in October, my main goal is to bulk up and lose excess fat for rugby season, ultimately gaining more attractiveness and strength.
Age: 16
Weight: 190lbs
Height: 5’7"
Left Arm: 15 1/2"
Right Arm: 16"
Bench: 180lbs
Deadlift: 350lbs
Clean and Jerk: 200lbs
I just started my fitness career, and think that my biceps are my largest weakness. I’d like to get some input if possible. Up to this point, I’ve lost 35lbs, and I’m taking a Vega protein shake diet.
[/quote]
Focus on your biceps will do DICK for your rugby game concentrate on getting in shape for your sport and the physique will follw. Your going to need endurance work for rugby as well as get dog strong and mentally and physically tough/
Id look as west side for skinny bastards and add in sport work on the days out of the gym
[quote]Phill wrote:
xdrako wrote:
I recently started my bodybuilding career in October, my main goal is to bulk up and lose excess fat for rugby season, ultimately gaining more attractiveness and strength.
Age: 16
Weight: 190lbs
Height: 5’7"
Left Arm: 15 1/2"
Right Arm: 16"
Bench: 180lbs
Deadlift: 350lbs
Clean and Jerk: 200lbs
I just started my fitness career, and think that my biceps are my largest weakness. I’d like to get some input if possible. Up to this point, I’ve lost 35lbs, and I’m taking a Vega protein shake diet.
Focus on your biceps will do DICK for your rugby game concentrate on getting in shape for your sport and the physique will follw. Your going to need endurance work for rugby as well as get dog strong and mentally and physically tough/
Id look as west side for skinny bastards and add in sport work on the days out of the gym
I agree with what phil said but want to add a few things. What position do you play and when does your season start? I’m gearing up for my spring season and have been working the oly lifts, heavy deads, and heavy squats for most of the off season. Endurance and speed work starts soon (well, as soon as I stop putting if off. I’m a prop, long runs and interval sprints suck.) If you’re in the pack, I’d work heavy legs and back mostly. Also, you might want to do some mixed work with lifts and sprints. Try doing a set of dumbell snatches or swings and then go right into a hill sprint. It’s killer for building up the ability to move from rucks, mauls, and scrums into sprinting across the field. Search for “litvinov” on here and you’ll find a great article.
If you’re in the back line, I’d work mostly on sprints, breakout speed, avoiding/breaking contact, and making friends with your forwards who’ll be keeping you from getting your face stomped on (also, you may want to practice essential back line skills like missing passes, losing the ball in contact, missing kicks, dressing purdy, perfecting your hair, and keeping your kit clean for an entire match (how do they do that?)).
Either way, your biceps may be your weak point, but building them up ain’t gonna win you games or keep you from getting stomped on the pitch. Work on brute strength and explosive power in the legs and back, it’ll help your game a lot more.
I play loosehead prop. I do squatting, rows, and tonnes of core work (wall crunches, rotated ramps, etc.) My coach has also had us doing oly lifts for the last few weeks, doing dumbell jerks, ball pushups, deadlift, cleans, and a variety of others. I’m saying I need my biceps because it’s what limits my other workouts, my bench press can’t improve because my biceps are lagging, as is my stability on cleans.
[quote]xdrako wrote:
… I’m saying I need my biceps because it’s what limits my other workouts, my bench press can’t improve because my biceps are lagging, as is my stability on cleans.[/quote]
Another exercise that I use is push press. It bulks up you shoulders to keep them safe during the hit in the scrum and really helps with lineout lifting.
I gotta agree with zap, sounds like you need tricep work if your bench is giving you problems. Not too sure what you mean by lacking stability on cleans, this sounds more like a leg/back/core problem than a biceps problem. Your biceps shouldn’t really be involved in the clean.
good call on the pushpress for lineout lifting. I’ve been working sandbag clean presses and snatches for that.
Disclaimer: This response is from a rugby athlete perspective. I opening admit that I dont know much of anything about actual bodybuilder training or preparing to step on stage…having said that:
You’re 16 bro…I don’t think there is much need for any special program or specialization here, you just need to LIFT. I always hate when people say “just LIFT and EAT” but in your case its probably true. I mean, I could send you the US program but its not the type of program you need.
Honestly, focus on the big lifts (bench, squat, clean, dead, pull up(use the counterbalance but do them), pushup). Really try to get some work with a neck harness or a 4-way neck machine a few times a week. Grip work is also a necessity. In jumping from the AA’s to the Super League/NA4 and Eagles, I found I am sorely lacking in pulling strength, grip strength and my neck (scrummaging has KILLED me). Conditioning has been an issue as well but that’s always a problem when moving up into higher levels of sport. Over on elitefts.com, Alwyn Cosgrove wrote an awesome article on using complexes as conditioning for MMA fighters. They have been invaluabe for me in my pre-season training.
I would say focus on NOTHING and train everything bro, you’re young and building your base right now.
[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
xdrako wrote:
… I’m saying I need my biceps because it’s what limits my other workouts, my bench press can’t improve because my biceps are lagging, as is my stability on cleans.
Do you mean triceps?[/quote]
The reason I’m saying biceps is because I feel those give out, I’ve done plenty of tricep work. The biceps are too weak to maintain the rest.
[quote]xdrako wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
xdrako wrote:
… I’m saying I need my biceps because it’s what limits my other workouts, my bench press can’t improve because my biceps are lagging, as is my stability on cleans.
Do you mean triceps?
The reason I’m saying biceps is because I feel those give out, I’ve done plenty of tricep work. The biceps are too weak to maintain the rest.
[/quote]
well biceps are a stabilizer holding the load but do anything im moving the load. Sure helps to have strong bis to keep the bar stabil ect but I just dont see you feeling them fail in the lift.
[quote]xdrako wrote:
TNT-CDN wrote:
It’s a real simple physics formula:
Rugby training = tractor tires + sand bags x time
TNT
I like it ;)[/quote]
You won’t like it after you try it. If you can’t get a big tire, just take 5 car tires and tie them together in the shape of a pentagon. It’s best if the tires are NOT the same size. This is harder to flip than a tractor tire because its shape and C of G keep changing. Add more tires for variety.
There is no end to it. Tractor tires are easy once you get the technique figured out. We have a cox’n (99 lb.) that flips a 400+ lb. old loader tire and loader tires are a lot harder than tractor tires and old ones are really hard.
