Weight Room

[yankee814]

I've been hitting the weight room about 3-4 times a week, but I don't know exactly what muscles to work every time I go. I often find myself working out the same muscle group 3 times a week.

Anyone have suggestions on what muscles to work out? Also, could someone show me their workout plan for 1 week?

[birdi_gurlie]

well, the number 1 thing to work out is abs.
Also, don't work out the same muscles 2 days in a row because you will hurt them that way.
The only exception is abs, but you still gain more if you take a day off in between.
Try to modify things specifically for pole vault.
If you have a high bar, try to do some drills on that.
ALSO...when benchpressing, DON'T GO DOWN TOO FAR. YOU WILL GET HURT THAT WAY!
Go so that your arms, when your biceps are about perpendicular to your body.
And do it wide, not close...when I go into our gym at school, and my friend spots me, he's always asking me why I hold out so far and telling me to go down so the bar presses my chest. I won't; it will injure you.
If you're holding the bar wide enough, when your arms are perpendicular to your torso, your elbows will be about 90 degrees.
That's USUALLY about where the two little marks are on a bar.
Don't pay attention to the weight as much as you do the form; if you have bad form, you will hurt yourself with the higher weights.

Also, don't think that the best way to gain muscle is to work out every day. You can actually gain more working out 3 times a week for an hour than 5-6 times for 90 minutes, if you do the right exercises. HOWEVER, if you're young, you can go up to an hour or two a day for 6 days...if I understand what my dad said at least, but I wouldn't recommend it. Your body needs rest. That's how it gains strength. If you work your muscles out every day, you can tear them up.

I'm a high school vaulter; however, my dad is a marine and he knows what he's talking about when in the gym.
[He reads up on such things. Also, he, as a middle-aged man, benches more than some of the younger marines. And I've read some of the books he's read. They're reputable books...I just can't remember the titles at the moment.]

[powerplant42]

I suggest you avoid the weight room almost altogether for now. When you're there (which should be 2-3 times per MONTH), do ~80% 1RM (maybe 3-2-1 set) for squats, VERY low weight for power snatch (set structure of 8-6-4), and same for push-jerk. Get someone to teach you how to do these correctly (especially the SNATCH!!!)... There's much better a chance of injury doing these incorrectly than benching like bg mentioned (but she WAY overexaggerated the danger... ). (The further your hands are spread, there is more pectoral work done. The closer your hands are to eachother, the more arm work is done. And I'll usually go to my chest when I bench... FULL range of motion! )

I'll PM you more info later.

[birdi_gurlie]

Okay, you will EVENTUALLY hurt your shoulder if you go down like that.
And I've heard it from two marines [dad and my math tutor...not a "new" marine] and my dad said that if you ask any physical trainer, you shouldn't go down to your chest.

[Andy_C]

Let me just make a quick recommendation, especially beginner pole vaulters...

As a general rule of thumb, the gymnastics hall is much more useful to the pole vaulter than the weight room. This is not to say that the weight room does not have a purpose in a vaulter's training. It is just much more beneficial to combine technical training as well as specialized strength training like what gymnastics offers.

You may come up with the reason "but, all we have is a weights room and we don't have any gymnastics facilities at our school" - that's fine, you have to go with what you have but I would still STRONGLY recommend that you go out of your way to find some nearby gymnastics facilities. I would reserve weight training for general strength and conditioning as well as to supplement specialized strength training for more experienced vaulters. But in all regards, for pole vaulters the gymnastics hall should take priority over the weights room.

Heck, if I had 2 sessions a week to choose between gymnastics and weights, I would do gymnastics twice a week.

[VaultMarq26]

I suggest you avoid the weight room almost altogether for now. When you're there (which should be 2-3 times per MONTH), do ~80% 1RM (maybe 3-2-1 set) for squats, VERY low weight for power snatch (set structure of 8-6-4), and same for push-jerk. Get someone to teach you how to do these correctly (especially the SNATCH!!!)... There's much better a chance of injury doing these incorrectly than benching like bg mentioned (but she WAY overexaggerated the danger... ). (The further your hands are spread, there is more pectoral work done. The closer your hands are to eachother, the more arm work is done. And I'll usually go to my chest when I bench... FULL range of motion! )

I'll PM you more info later.

WHAT.....you must be kidding.....avoid the weight room.....i challenge you to fine college or elite vaulters that don;t weight train.....Lifting only 2-3 times per much is a good way to get hurt.....powerplant, that is one of the more asinine things I have herd you say.....I don't try to bust your chops too often, but you can't be giving advice like that. I realize that high school vaulters don't get the opportunity to strength train very often, but you make it sound like strength training is detremental.....I agree with your full range of motion comment, but strength training is essential to becoming a higher level athlete.

[VaultPurple]

Alright vaultmarq26, i accualy almost started a post a min ago that looked just like urs and then changed it because ive realized arguing with PP is about like arguing with a brick wall. For now i will try to keep my post constructive..

The topic of this thread is Weight room so here is my weight routein I have right now as a college vaulter.

Monday- Hang clean 3x3, front squat 3x4, (thing where you put dumbell on ground and pick it up with flat back.. cant rember name but 3X8 with each arm), One leg squat with a plate in arms with one leg on ground other on bench behind you 2x6. Med ball toss against wall to left and to right 10 each side, hit big tire with sledge hammer 30 right handed 30 left handed). Abs

Tuesday- Lat pull down 3X12, Dumbbell bench 4x4, Big 60 with 5lb or 10lb plates, Bench 4-3-2-2 (sometimes 2-2-2-2 heavier and startingto use towel bench since near end of season). Abs

Thursday- Jump Shrug 3X4, Dead lift 3x3, Back Squat 4-3-2-2 (sometimes 2-2-2-2 heavier), lat pull 3x8 heavy, Incline dumbbell bench 3x6, walk about 60m x 2 plate pench, toss big soft med ball hard into ground 10times infront 10times to left and 10 to right, then sledge hammer 5 times hard on left and right then 3 times as hard as you can on left and right. Abs

This is what we do every week with a few alterations ever now and then. When determening what weight you need just use a weight that you can finish all the reps and all the sets, start lower so you can figure out what you need.

As far as abs, we usualy do about 300, ie sets of 25 with diffent exercises and sometimes with med balls. No need to stress abs with just exercises because the most benificial ones are from high bar with leg raises and things like bubkas.

But any weight routein will only be productive if it is maintained, you can lose what you gained very quickly and if you only lift once every 2 weeks you will gain noting but being really sore for a few days. And if you use 80% of your max once every 2 weeks thats just asking for an injury.

[altius]

Agree with PP42 - for a 9/9 vaulter to spend any amount of time in the weight room is an absolute waste! Spend your time improving your technique first and foremost - if you cant actually jump on a pad- work in a sand pit -if you cant do that - do thousands of repetitions of the planting action walking. trotting, running sprinting on the track, work on your run up and pole carry. The only thing you need to do in the gym -at this point in your development - is to get on a high bar and improve your whip swing. Oh and you can do basic strength exercises on the bar while you are at it.

[yankee814]

Thanks for all the replies. I don't have a full gymnastics room in my school, but I do have a high bar in the weight room. So if I'm right: get my form down on the high bar by doing different abs and upper body drills like bubkas and pull ups, and also do a lot of ab work out to help my swing.
All of that until I've got my swing perfect, and then I can start weight room stuff to help out the other components of my jump.

[decanuck]

WHAT.....you must be kidding.....avoid the weight room.....i challenge you to fine college or elite vaulters that don;t weight train.....Lifting only 2-3 times per much is a good way to get hurt.....powerplant, that is one of the more asinine things I have herd you say.....I don't try to bust your chops too often, but you can't be giving advice like that. I realize that high school vaulters don't get the opportunity to strength train very often, but you make it sound like strength training is detremental.....I agree with your full range of motion comment, but strength training is essential to becoming a higher level athlete.

PP42 did not tell an elite or college vaulter to avoid the weight room, he told a HS freshman (and therefore probably 14- or 15-year-old) beginner vaulter with a 9'9" PR to avoid the weight room. Put another way, would you tell this same vaulter to use a 17-foot pole, as elite vaulters do?

Yankee, in addition to your swing, do some strength work as altius suggested. You may wish to try some of the high bar strength exercises on this page:
http://www.polevaultpower.com/media/video/skillsanddrills/

I would also throw in lots of bodyweight exercises including pullups, pushups, dips, front and back levers, 360 degree pulls ("skin the cat") and variants.

[ACvault]

You don't even need a gymnastics room! Do you have a wrestling room or mats?

Handstands
Roll Back pushups
Inverted pushups

Also, there are tons of two person balance strengthening drills to be done. Get your P.E. instructor to show them to you.

Hits Bubkas on the bar in the weight room

Work your core!

Benching 200 lbs doesn't mean much if you can't do a decent handstand or a set of bubkas.

[altius]

"Benching 200 lbs doesn't mean much if you can't do a decent handstand or a set of bubkas."

OR carry and plant the pole efficiently!