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I am a collegiate 16 plus vaulter that needs help with some training. I feel like the training ive been doing is very repetitive and i have began to plateau i am pretty strong for a vaulter and my coach has told me i need to chill out on the lifting. I weigh 180 im 5'11" and have decently high max's. I am fast but not as fast as id like to be and i also dont have the greatest vert.
What i would like help with is ideas on new training that deal with lifting and speed and vert workouts. I must improve. I have high goals for myself and must get them.
Id like to hear from successful vaulters on what you guys felt worked best for you. I also want to hear some motivational stuff. Nutrition ect...
Thanks guys

Are plyometrics something you've considered/are already implementing?

Yes ive been doing plyos every monday for about a month now but again its been repetitive and i dont feel like at this point i am improving. Plus i have only been doing plyos based on my knowledge and research on them. Ive been kind of coaching myself and training myself. I do need to implement a set plyo workout twice a week i feel. I kind of just go in the gym and jump around a lot. Dont feel to effective.

Jfraser wrote:Yes ive been doing plyos every monday for about a month now but again its been repetitive and i dont feel like at this point i am improving. Plus i have only been doing plyos based on my knowledge and research on them. Ive been kind of coaching myself and training myself. I do need to implement a set plyo workout twice a week i feel. I kind of just go in the gym and jump around a lot. Dont feel to effective.

Plyos can be very beneficial to your workout when done correctly, however, can kill you if not. Be careful of the types of plyos that you are doing, and the number of ground contacts per workout. Another term you hear get kicked around is Vertical Ground Reaction Force (VGRF). VGRF (in simple terms) is the force that you are producing into the ground to cause your motion (i.e. ankle pops do not involve a lot of VGRF, however single leg bounding does). That said, you would like to be able to create the most VGRF, in the shortest amount of time. However, as I stated before, that leads to a lot of intense impacts/impulses on the body, which can have some very negative effects.

The first place I would look for answers would be your jumps coach. Two plyo-dedicated workouts a week plus jumping and running (let alone any gymnastics you may do, weight room etc.) is going to be too much for the average athlete (in my humble opinion/experience) so you really want to practice quality over quantity (the most extreme case I have seen is a full workout of 18 total touches...but every touch mattered... and was pretty intense on the body).

Hopefully this gives you a starting point.

Thank you that is very helpful. I do have bad shin splints so i do limit the impact on my jumps as much as i can for that reason. Ill definetly take what you said though for the rest of my workouts. Thanks a lot

Jfraser wrote:Thank you that is very helpful. I do have bad shin splints so i do limit the impact on my jumps as much as i can for that reason. Ill definetly take what you said though for the rest of my workouts. Thanks a lot

One thing that can help is doing your plyos on either a basketball court, turf, grass (provided no pot holes obviously), but not on the track. The track surface is usually pretty solid. Shin splints, among other things, can be caused by too much training--which brass tax, is too much VGRF. "When I was in college.." (that makes me feel old..) we actually had some wrestling mats that we cut up so we had a path of mobile, soft ground. Yes, you are giving up some of your CNS activation in that your contact time will inevitably increase, and the softer landing area will dissipate the force created... but it will do just that. It will decrease the impulse on your body, thus keeping you away from injury--and if you are susceptible to training injuries, this HAS to be a priority.

A "not at peak performing" athlete will still do better than an injured athlete--all other things held constant...

That said, get icing those shins--good luck!

I assume you are finding time to do a serious amount of drill work and at least one session of full run ups -away from the box - each week. No point in getting stronger if you do not improve your technique.

altius wrote:I assume you are finding time to do a serious amount of drill work and at least one session of full run ups -away from the box - each week. No point in getting stronger if you do not improve your technique.

Yeah, we only did 1 plyo workout a week, although we didn't do as many pole runs and approach work as some suggest.

The key to avoiding shin splints in terms of GRF's is to engage your ankle/shin muscles while jumping and ESPECIALLY when landing. If you train your shin muscles correctly, they act like a spring off the ground instead of your heels essentially transferring all the energy into your shin bones. No magic answer, but working your shin muscles before every workout has been a very effect step in my prevention of shin splints.

I realllllly hate doing anything on a basketball court those hurt the most on my shins. But thanks for your guys advice i will be doing most of my jumping at a gymnastics facility on tumble tracks and mats to save my legs.

if your shins bug you and you still need a work out, try doing some tuck jumps and single leg jumps on the pole vault pit. sets of 10. it can be a killer work out, and easy on the shins.

AllaboutPV1 wrote:if your shins bug you and you still need a work out, try doing some tuck jumps and single leg jumps on the pole vault pit. sets of 10. it can be a killer work out, and easy on the shins.

never thought about that i can see how that would kill my thighs. gettin out of that dam pit is like wading through water cause ours is so old and broken in.