Prime Time: Charles Staley

I’m 5ft 10 about 80kg and a rugby player. I play the position of Openside Flanker, my job is to run quickly and tackle anything that moves. I’m wondering what you can suggest for the rest of my off season to help me get that extra something, maybe help me go pro.
I’m currently following massive eating (considering trying the anabolic diet) and doing westside for skinny bastards with some modifications (I add extra posterior chain work). Obviously I’m adding skill work and tackle work every so often and focusing on strength, however I’m usually quite slow so I’m doing plenty of sprints.
The fact is there is no holy grail, but I’ve got only about 7 weeks left of an off season before training starts and I’m trying to make sure I’m doing everything as efficiently as possible. Have you had any experience on training rugby players/ lacrosse players/ footballers (the sports seem about as physical as one another).

First, Berardi’s eating plan will serve you better than the anabolic diet I think.

Second, I assume your bodyfat % is low? If not, that should be a primary training target.

I’d be very interested what you can clean, snatch, deadlift, squat, etc. My initial hunch is that your max strenght needs work.

Have you ever had your vertical jump officially measured?

[quote]Springcoil wrote:
I’m 5ft 10 about 80kg and a rugby player. I play the position of Openside Flanker, my job is to run quickly and tackle anything that moves. I’m wondering what you can suggest for the rest of my off season to help me get that extra something, maybe help me go pro.
I’m currently following massive eating (considering trying the anabolic diet) and doing westside for skinny bastards with some modifications (I add extra posterior chain work). Obviously I’m adding skill work and tackle work every so often and focusing on strength, however I’m usually quite slow so I’m doing plenty of sprints.
The fact is there is no holy grail, but I’ve got only about 7 weeks left of an off season before training starts and I’m trying to make sure I’m doing everything as efficiently as possible. Have you had any experience on training rugby players/ lacrosse players/ footballers (the sports seem about as physical as one another).[/quote]

I’ve never had my vertical jump officially measured. My bodyfat is low. I agree that I need some strength work.
I dunno about snatch but I once powercleaned for a double 85kg. I may be stronger than that now.

I don’t know about the rest of my max lifts, sorry. So your advice is keep max strength work and work at that, not worrying too much about hypertrophy.

OK. Given what I now know, I think the answer for the sprint issue is maximal strength development, and making sure your sprint mechanics are sound…I’d suggest looking into a good sprint coach or a conditioning professional who has the skills to evaluate your sprint form.

[quote]Springcoil wrote:
I’ve never had my vertical jump officially measured. My bodyfat is low. I agree that I need some strength work.
I dunno about snatch but I once powercleaned for a double 85kg. I may be stronger than that now. [/quote]