Rugby union
training program
Set-piece strength, contact dominance, and the aerobic base to keep scrummaging late in the game.
One month free, then A$24.99/month. Cancel any time. iPhone and iPad.
Why this program exists
The set piece is the part of your game the gym actually decides, and it is the part no generic program trains. Meanwhile you are still expected to keep scrummaging in the 78th minute.
Union asks for two things most programs treat as opposites: set-piece strength and aerobic-strength endurance. The program builds them in sequence rather than fighting them against each other, and it loads the neck and shoulder first, before anything else, because those are what the contact area punishes.
A default rugby union week
This is the sport’s own template — the starting point before it is fitted to your days, your equipment and your season. Team nights and game day are protected; everything else moves to the days you are free.
What rugby union is won with
These are the qualities the program is built to develop, in priority order. They come from the sport, not from a generic template.
- Set-piece + scrum strength
- Power through contact
- Aerobic-strength endurance
- Neck + shoulder durability
| Session | Type | Duration | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strength (Total Body) | Gym | 60–70 min | Scrum + maul strength base |
| Aerobic-Strength Conditioning | Conditioning | 40–50 min | Keep working in contact when tired |
| Power & Contact | Gym | 55–65 min | Explosive drive into contact |
| Pre-Game Primer | Gym | 25–30 min | Light activation |
The season changes the program
A short, sharp pre-season and a winter competition. The off-season is the only real block you get for max strength — spend it there.
- Pre-season
- February – March — set volume ×1.2. Build the engine and the strength base.
- In-season
- April – September — set volume ×0.7, prescribed weights hold. Maintain, don’t drain.
- Off-season
- October – January — baseline volume. Rebuild general strength and fix the niggles.
- Block structure
- Four-week blocks: three weeks accumulating, one week deload. The block’s character changes across the year rather than repeating.
- Game day
- Protected. The day before gets a 20-minute explosive primer with no running, no heavy legs and no prehab block bolted on.
The rugby union testing battery
Five numbers, re-run every eight weeks. Chosen to match what rugby union programs actually measure — and the results re-price your training weights and reset your conditioning paces.
| Test | Measures | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Bronco test | The repeat-effort benchmark both rugby codes are measured on. | mm:ss |
| Bench press 1RM | Upper-body pressing strength: the fend, the tackle, holding a bigger body off. | kg |
| Weighted chin-up 3RM | Pulling strength once bodyweight has stopped being a challenge. | kg added |
| Back squat 1RM | The base of every lower-body quality you have. | kg |
| Standing vertical jump | Lower-body power in its purest form, and the cheapest fatigue check you own. | cm |
Staying available
The prehab block is matched to the region of the session it sits in and to the tissue this sport actually punishes — not a generic mobility flow bolted to the front.
Prehab only works if it happens, and the reason it usually does not is that it has nothing to do with the session it is attached to. Rotating a pool by session number puts shoulder work before a squat day and Copenhagen planks before a bench press. Technically covered; nobody does it.
In Train Smart each movement is classified by the region it protects and matched to the session, and the pool rotates across the week so you cover all of it rather than doing the same three moves three times.
More on prehab that people actually do →
Rugby union training questions
What does the Train Smart rugby union program include?
When is rugby union pre-season?
Can I follow this program if I only train twice a week?
What tests does the rugby union program use?
Do I need a full gym?
Get your rugby union program
Pick rugby union, answer eight questions, and your week is built — around your team nights, your game and the days you can actually train.
One month free, then A$24.99/month. Cancel any time. iPhone and iPad.