PoleVaultPower.com

I sure hope I'm posting this in the right place.
I'm going to be a high school junior soon, and I'd really like to do pole vault next season. I'm 5'4 and about 140, I'm working on getting back into shape after taking a few years off from sports (i'm a band geek looking to get back into athletics). Anyways, what are some things I should focus on as I try getting into shape? I know things like sprints and weights and whatnot, but most of the things I've found are for people that are already a bit experienced with vaulting. So exercises for someone just starting out would be greatly appreciated. Maybe I haven't looked well enough, feel free to tell me if I'm making myself look stupid, haha. Thanks

There's absolutely nothing wrong with being a band geek going to vault. You'd be surprised who picks up this event well and who doesn't. I happen to have 3 freshmen boys on my high school team at the moment, 2 are from football and 1 is a band geek and I'm banking on him being the first to vault over 10 feet!

Seeing as you're a junior its about the right time to introduce weight lifting. I'd say do high reps and low weight, you should be focusing on high reps and low weight to build strong lean muscle that's more suitable for vaulting. For example, in the summer time I'd have my vaulters do a specific lift, lets say just for the sake of this, squats.

It would be 4 sets
@ 20 reps Warm up set, not too heavy, just to get blood flowing.
@ 16 reps Increase weight, not by too much, just enough to feel difficulty.
@ 12 reps "Heavy" set, probably another 20 or so pounds just to emphasize form and gain strength.
@ 12 reps same reps, but this time drop your weight down, probably between set # 1 and # 3, this way you build strength without tearing too much cartilage.

I typically have them repeat this for one month at a time, doing the same lift the same day of the week. For example, mondays are squat days, Wednesdays are Bench press days, Fridays powerclean days.

Abs and core are essential too since you'll most likely be relying on a powerful whip swing to get you safely into the pit and to roll your pole through the vertical.

Lots of planks, oblique work, plant drills and jumping in the sand pit from 2/4/6 steps (not lefts/rights, but steps) to help you build a solid plant foundation as well!

Also attempt to perfect not only the timing of your plant but the technique you run with, relaxed, high knees, high pole carry, structured active pole drop, etc etc. Good luck!