Balanced Rugby Athlete Managing Seasonal Adaptation
How Deborah Turned Off-Season Size into Pre-Season Speed with Velocity-Based Training
Athlete: Deborah Wills, 35, rugby, Exeter Chiefs
Key results
- Duration: 16 weeks (10-week off-season, 6-week pre-season)
- Body mass: 76kg to 79kg
- Back squat 1RM: 115kg to 127.5kg
- CMJ: 38cm to 41cm
- 10m sprint: 1.92s to 1.86s
The Athlete
Deborah is a back-row forward with a well-balanced athletic profile. She combines good strength with good speed and has no single obvious weakness. For athletes like Deborah, gains come from timing: training the right quality at the right point in the season.
The Problem
Rugby asks for size, strength, power and speed, but they can’t all be maximised at once. The off-season is the time to build muscle and strength. Pre-season has to turn that into explosive power and speed, without carrying fatigue into the first match. Get the timing wrong and players either lose speed as they gain mass, or start the season tired. Deborah needed a plan that moved her between these phases in order, with data to show when each one had done its job.
Testing with PeakLines
Vertical jump battery
- Squat jump (SJ): 33cm. Good concentric force for her position.
- Countermovement jump (CMJ): 38cm. The 5cm gap from her SJ showed balanced use of elastic energy.
- CMJ with arm swing (ACMJ): 43cm. The 5cm gap showed good coordination between upper and lower body.
Velocity-based training (VBT) assessment
- Back squat: estimated 1RM: 115kg.
- Hex-bar deadlift: estimated 1RM: 150kg.
- Bench press: estimated 1RM: 67.5kg.
- Power clean: estimated 1RM: 72.5kg.
Her load-velocity profile was balanced, with good velocities at light loads and good force at heavy loads. There was no single limiter, so the priority was planning each phase of the season around the right adaptation.
Diagnosis
- Strengths: a balanced force-velocity profile with no major weaknesses.
- Opportunity: build muscle mass in the off-season, then convert it into explosive power and speed before the season starts.
For a back-row forward the challenge is to gain size for contact without losing the speed she needs around the pitch, and to arrive at the first match powerful and fresh.
The Training Plan
Phase 1: Off-season hypertrophy (10 weeks)
Goal: build muscle mass and strength.
- Back squat and bench press at 0.5–0.75 m/s (mean velocity)
- Sets stopped at 25–30% velocity loss to drive enough volume for muscle growth.
- Hex-bar deadlift at 0.4–0.6 m/s (mean velocity) to build total-body strength.
Phase 2: Pre-season power and speed (6 weeks)
Goal: turn new strength into explosive power and speed.
- Power clean at 1.2–1.6 m/s (peak velocity) for explosive power.
- Jump squat at 1.0–1.3 m/s (peak velocity) to develop speed-strength.
- Hex-bar deadlift at 0.8–1.0 m/s (mean velocity) for high-velocity power.
- Sets stopped at 10–15% velocity loss to keep every rep fast and limit fatigue.
PeakLines gave live velocity feedback on every rep, so each session matched the goal of its phase. The velocity-loss cut-offs managed training volume automatically, high in the off-season and low in pre-season.
Jump monitoring
- SJ height: to check that strength gains carried over into force production.
- CMJ height: a readiness check to manage fatigue, especially in pre-season alongside field training.
Results
After 16 weeks:
- Body mass: 76kg to 79kg
- Back squat 1RM: 115kg to 127.5kg
- Hex-bar deadlift 1RM: 150kg to 165kg
- Bench press 1RM: 67.5kg to 75kg
- Power clean 1RM: 72.5kg to 80kg
- Squat jump: 33cm to 36cm
- CMJ: 38cm to 41cm
- 10m sprint: 1.92s to 1.86s
Deborah started the season 3kg heavier, stronger and more explosive, and her 10m sprint was faster. Because each phase was managed with data, she went into her first match fresh.
Deborah’s testimonial
“In rugby you need everything: size, strength, power and speed. Trying to build all of them at once used to leave me tired, and I’d often start the season either fast and weak or slow and strong.
PeakLines let us plan each phase around one clear goal. In the off-season I focused on building muscle, then in pre-season we shifted to power and speed. The real-time velocity feedback showed me exactly what training zones I was working in so i could aim for specific adaptations.
I started this season heavier, stronger and faster than ever, and I felt fresh going into the first match. Having that data every session was a game changer.”