In-season training
Play the last game stronger than the first.
Most amateur players lift hard in pre-season, then fade by Christmas. Done right, in-season training usually maintains strength and power across a whole season, and younger players can keep getting stronger Spiering et al. 2021 McMaster et al. 2013.
How the week is built
- Strength 2–3 days after the game. Match fatigue is worst at 12–36 hours and mostly gone by 48–72 Naughton et al. 2021.
- A light power session about 2 days before the next game, when there are 7–9 days between games. With 5–6 days, strength only.
- Nothing heavy either side of a match. An optional light primer on the day before or match morning is allowed.
- Main lifts at least twice a week at about 70–88% of max, in 4-week waves.
- Club training counts. The app only adds the conditioning and speed your club week is missing.
The in-season toolkit
Wave loading
Four-week waves, for example 3×8 at 70%, then 8-6-5, 6-5-3 and 5-3-2, with the next wave slightly heavier. Volume falls through the wave while intensity holds.
Big fixtures
Mark a cup final or derby and the heavy, low-volume weeks line up before it, with no new exercises in the weeks leading in.
Contact minutes
One tap after club training. World Rugby’s guidance for professionals (at most 15 minutes of full contact a week) is shown as reference only World Rugby contact load guidelines 2021. Heavy contact weeks trim the app’s extras.
Not playing much?
Under 20 minutes played, on the bench or not selected? You get a top-up so your weekly work stays close to the squad’s.
Christmas and breaks
Strength usually holds for about three weeks off. After 2+ weeks without weights, two lighter rebuild weeks; a long mid-season gap becomes a mini pre-season McMaster et al. 2013.
Last eight weeks
Heavy squat volume drops and legs shift towards jump squats to stay fresh; upper body carries on as normal.
Sessions that respect Saturday
In-season sets stop well short of failure, because grinding reps add fatigue that slows recovery Sánchez-Medina & González-Badillo 2011. Only the last “indicator” set of a heavy wave week goes near your max, and it drives next session’s weights.
Read the full guide: in-season rugby gym programme and training the day after a match.
Frequently asked questions
How many gym sessions should I do in-season?
Two at most for most amateurs who train with their club and play every week. Players who aren’t being selected can have a third. Research suggests strength can be maintained even on one session a week if loads stay heavy Spiering et al. 2021.
Should I lift the day after a game?
Not heavy. The app keeps the day before and the day after a game free of heavy, lower-body or power work. The day after is rest or light recovery, and the main strength session usually lands two or three days after the game.
What about two games in one week?
Two-game weeks switch to a high-low template: small, sharp high days and easy low days, with the power work dropped first in a very heavy week. Your contact minutes feed into how much extra the app adds.
Coming soon
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