With much attention focused on gym work in readying the troops for a final push through to May, head of strength and conditioning Andy Smith said: "It's almost like a mini pre-season."
Having seen last week's schedule disrupted by the snow ahead of a memorable 12-6 victory away at London Wasps, Smith said: "There were differences in what we did from a normal week, mainly because we didn't have a full size pitch available to us.
"That allowed us to focus on a little more speed work using the indoor facility at the English Institute of Sport in Gateshead, and the duration of the sessions has been a bit shorter. Whilst the EIS track is very good and extremely quick for training, we made the sessions shorter and increased the recovery time because it is a harder surface. If we had spent the same time on it as we do on our regular training field at Druid Park, then it may have increased the likelihood of injuries.
"Following Sunday's game down at Wasps the players had a day of recovery on Monday, just a light pool session to get the game out of their legs, a little bit on the CV machines and some massage, and that was really just to set them up for the rest of the training week leading into Sunday's scheduled game against Gloucester.
"Tuesday was the normal strength session in the morning, and what was apparent was that the boys had recovered very well from the Wasps match having looked after themselves on the journey home and throughout Monday."
With news of the Gloucester cancellation forcing a midweek change in plans, Smith said: "After Wednesday morning's strength/power session the word had come through from the club offices that Sunday's game had been postponed, and that allowed us to schedule an extra speed session at the EIS indoor facility along with some conditioning games.
"The training focus had changed, and it gave us a chance to work on some things that during the season we wouldn't normally be able to do. Thursday was a scheduled day off in any case, but then on Friday we've had the boys back in the gym on a one-on-one basis to work on some really specific areas.
"It's definitely not a case of beasting the lads because we don't have a game, we're just looking at the players on an individual basis over these next few days and getting them in the best possible nick for the rest of the year. Having no game on the weekend will allow a chance for some minor injuries to calm down, and also gives us the opportunity to include some more conditioning work next week ahead of the trip to Albi."
With advances in post-match recovery now factored into the routine, Smith revealed: "At the start of the season we got each player a set of recovery skins, which they wear to travel to all of the matches, on the return journey and when they are asleep after the game.
"The theory behind it is similar to the flight socks some people wear on planes, it keeps the blood flowing around the muscles, keeps the oxygen around those muscles and prevents a lot of the stiffness that you might get the day after a game.
"The lads didn't have any booze on the bus back from Wasps, which again helped their recovery, and the players' attitude towards the whole recovery process has generally been spot-on."
Assessing the wider issue of the team as a whole, he added: "I'm really pleased with how the players have gone this season from a conditioning standpoint, it's been a big change for a lot of them but the feedback has been very good.
"At previous clubs during this time of the year a lot of players may have started to break down with niggly muscle injuries but, touch wood, our boys still seem to be very fresh. I think we saw evidence of that with the way we defended down at Wasps, and the way the players are taking responsibility for their physical condition is a real credit to them.
"One example this week was James Hudson setting a new personal best of 130kg in his power clean, which is great for a second row, and he is one of many who are still improving as the season goes on. That will undoubtedly benefit his rugby, but he's far from the only one making that kind of progress."
