Do I need to be fit already to start this?
No. Every speed comes from your own week 1 test, so the program meets you where you are. The lookup tables run from 4:00 to 8:00, which covers everyone from an international back to a club front rower in their first pre-season.
Why are there no Broncos inside the program?
Testing is not training. A full Bronco costs you roughly three days of quality work and teaches you nothing you did not already know. You test in week 1 to set your speeds and in week 8 to see whether it worked. In between you train.
What do I actually need?
A field with 60 m of clear running plus a marked 100 m straight, six cones and a stopwatch. No GPS, no heart rate monitor, no gym. Set the cones once and leave them.
Can I keep lifting?
Yes, and you should. Put lifting on separate days where you can; if it has to be the same day, leave at least 6 hours and lift first. Two heavy, short lower-body sessions a week. Do not add extra plyometrics on top — BRAKES & BOUNCE is already 24 minutes a week of high-intensity eccentric work.
What surface should I run on?
Flat, dry grass, in the footwear you will test in. Artificial turf is fine if that is what you have. Avoid wet or frozen ground — the turns are where you will slip, and 29 of them is a lot of chances. Do not swap surfaces between the two tests or you are measuring the ground, not yourself.
How much faster should I expect to get?
The program targets 5%, or about 15 seconds off a 5:00. Athletes with a lower training age or a slower starting time routinely beat that. Anything under 2.4% cannot be distinguished from the measurement error of the test.
What do I do after week 8?
Recalculate BAS and MAS from your new time and run the block again. Everything gets faster because your reference speeds moved. Most players get a second, smaller improvement from a repeat block before they need a different stimulus.
Is this only for rugby?
The Bronco comes from rugby, but the qualities it measures — aerobic ceiling, repeated change of direction, braking and tolerance for a hard five minutes — are the same in football, hockey, netball, AFL and sevens. If your sport tests the Bronco, this works.