My HS Sr. Year Training Blog (by Joe Six-Pack)

[powerplant42]

Try 'gyming' 3 times as much as 'weighting'. For every active hour you spend in the weight room, you should have already spent 3 active hours (as in not just sitting there coaching) in the gym. For every bar you pick up, you should have jumped onto 3! For every weight plate you pick up, you should have hung on the rings 3 times! You get my picture.

I have a few excercises to add: Depth jumps, clap push ups, clean and jerk, snatch, and 'power' sit ups.

Depth jumps are excellent for improving vertical jumping ability, an obvious plus for a vaulter. Stand on a box 2' off the ground, step off, land on both feet, dip down, explode back up.

Clap push ups are good for strengthening the 'weak link in the chain' in an action-relevant way. These should be supplemented with bench press. (Maybe KB could talk about his 'cheater bench press' excercise again.)

Clean and jerk (I didn't see you even mention cleans in there at all) is probably the best thing you could do in the weight room. (It is 2 lifts in one, so it really isn't a fair competition, is it now? ) Seriously, it's got almost everything: explosive movement in entire body, especially the legs, simulates the extension, then another explosive movement in the legs and arms, simulating the fly-away (sort of). If I could only do one activity in the weight room, I would do clean and jerk.

Snatch would be next.

'Power' sit ups are helpful with quickening the SSC in your abdomen. Do your sit ups on a swiss ball while holding a 10-15 pound medicine ball at your head. Do them as quickly/explosively as possible.

You need to all-around lower the repetitions. Raise the weight. It is less time consuming, and it is more sport specific.

And do gym stuff the day before vaulting, like KB said.

[SlickVT]

Try 'gyming' 3 times as much as 'weighting'. For every active hour you spend in the weight room, you should have already spent 3 active hours (as in not just sitting there coaching) in the gym. For every bar you pick up, you should have jumped onto 3! For every weight plate you pick up, you should have hung on the rings 3 times! You get my picture.

I strongly disagree. Powerplant, when you get to college I think you will find that alot of the conditioning and strengthening for PV comes in the weight room. It is obvious that gymnastics is a crucial part of PV training, but if the strength is not there, the technical aspects of gymnastics is much harder to achieve. There are some elites with little gymnastics training and ALOT of sick PR's in Olympic lifts, and some vice versa, but I think your 3 to 1 ratio is neglecting one of the most important aspects of vault training.

[powerplant42]

Not for a high school student jumping 14'.

[KirkB]

... Clap push ups are good for strengthening the 'weak link in the chain' in an action-relevant way. These should be supplemented with bench press. (Maybe KB could talk about his 'cheater bench press' excercise again.)

The Cheater Bench Press is defined here http://polevaultpower.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=15845&p=113893&hilit=cheater+bench+press#p113893

Clean and jerk (I didn't see you even mention cleans in there at all) is probably the best thing you could do in the weight room. (It is 2 lifts in one, so it really isn't a fair competition, is it now? ) Seriously, it's got almost everything: explosive movement in entire body, especially the legs, simulates the extension, then another explosive movement in the legs and arms, simulating the fly-away (sort of). If I could only do one activity in the weight room, I would do clean and jerk.

Snatch would be next.

Yes, the Clean is the best one. But if you skip ALL weight training (and as a high-schooler, you can), I mentioned some gym drills that are equivalent (but admittedly not as heavy of a load as with weights).

When you do the Clean, don't do a full squat, like Olympic lifters do. You can do full squats without weight, but there's no point in stressing your knees with heavy weights like that. You don't need any strength there, and you could do major damage to your knees. You won't even know how to be careful. Your knee might just pop one day, without warning. So just avoid deep knee squats with weights.

The Jerk and the Snatch aren't nearly as important as the Clean, so you could skip those. This is one way to reduce your lifting. The problem with the Jerk is that there's a pause between the Clean and the Jerk, and you're left just standing there, holding the weight at your shoulders. This is heavy, but doesn't really work the body as well as an active lift (like the Clean part). Instead, it just gets you tired. Then, when you Jerk (if you''re going to do it), you should stride-step with takeoff leg forward (not side-step). Or you could alternate legs (for better symmetry). But this could be rather dangerous with free weights. All in all, the Jerk isn't that important for a high-schooler, nor is the Snatch. In order of importance, I'd say Clean, Snatch, Jerk.

'Power' sit ups are helpful with quickening the SSC in your abdomen. Do your sit ups on a swiss ball while holding a 10-15 pound medicine ball at your head. Do them as quickly/explosively as possible.

Yeh, these are important, although I'm not familiar with "SCC" or a swiss ball. Just make sure you don't hyper-extend your back too much with weight, or with quick movements. You could throw your back out.

In high-school, I actually built a very professional-looking inclined situp board with a place part-way down to hook my BENT lead leg foot into. The board also had 2 inclines to it - with a hinge at the waistline. This allowed me to do situps that emulated starting from the Split (the "C"). I usually had my hands behind my neck, and touched my elbows to my lead leg foot in each cycle. The board was adjustable to various inclined heights, just as straight boards (connected to the post of a "pulley machine") are.

I think what you're proposing, PP, is similar in effect, tho it's not in the Split. I thought it was important to work the proper muscles this way. I did LOADS of situp reps over my UW years, which is probably one reason why I had such a strong, quick swing. The other reason was my loads of Hinge/Whip Drill reps.

I brought my situp board to UW and kept it in the weight room. After my 4 years was up, I took it back home with me. The other vaulters weren't too happy with me about that, but I had built it myself, and I needed to continue using it after I graduated.

I hope this gives you some more ideas, 6P. Really, I'm a bit worried that we're giving you TOO MANY ideas. Once you experiment a bit with each of these things, you might want to narrow down your workouts to just your favorites - the ones you think help you the most, with the least danger to your health and the best payback on your time.

Kirk

[joebro391]

PP- you forget that this is only for the month of november, the month before, the month before my meets start. this is the month to build EXPLOSIVE POWER and strength. I don't spend more time and the gym, because i don't have the option. My boss is cheap and won't give me extra hours and i can't afford a membership, so I'm limited to sundays. But i hit the monkey bars a bit on track days and so some light stuff, like tomorrow. But for NOVEMBER, this is what it is

You need to all-around lower the repetitions. Raise the weight. It is less time consuming, and it is more sport specific

yea...no. PP, hopefully you typed this wrong, because you want the excact opposite. see, one of the things that i am very aqquainted with, is lifting. I'll jump strait to examples. FOR POLEVAULTER AND GYMNASTS, you want to do HIGH REPS and LOW WEIGHT. if you do the opposite, you're gonna bulk up, and you don't want to do that in this sport.

Yes, the Clean is the best one. But if you skip ALL weight training (and as a high-schooler, you can), I mentioned some gym drills that are equivalent (but admittedly not as heavy of a load as with weights)

ah, personally, i rather skip the cleans in the weightroom (because of prior back injuries) and do "equivelent" drills in the gym. specifically, the rope drill, where i hang upside down and extend (drop shoulders and extend legs)

I did LOADS of situp reps over my UW years, which is probably one reason why I had such a strong, quick swing. The other reason was my loads of Hinge/Whip Drill reps.

yea, don't worry, i got you covered haha. i used to do over 1000 sit-ups a week. but the problem there, was that i worked my abs, disproportionately to my back, and it, over time, pulled everything outa wack. I think i'm gonna add back-extentions to my workout with more sit-ups (varied)

[KirkB]

6P, make a new post each time you revise your workout. That way, it's easier to follow chronologically.

Kirk

[joebro391]

6P, make a new post each time you revise your workout. That way, it's easier to follow chronologically.

Kirk

I'm just afraid of a dozen workout's, floating around. I'm just gonna update the main one, that's marked as Post #6. You know me Kirk, you give me some of the best advice on this forum...but my obsessive compulsive disorder will kill me hahaha, long story

I'll have a new one up for december, anyway

[VTechVaulter]

sets and reps should be changed based on time of year

in the fall, higher reps lower weight
moving into low reps high weight just before the season
and during the season i prefer light weights, low reps, being quick and precise, and then get out of there!

[KirkB]

6P, make a new post each time you revise your workout. That way, it's easier to follow chronologically.

Kirk

I'm just afraid of a dozen workout's, floating around. I'm just gonna update the main one, that's marked as Post #6. You know me Kirk, you give me some of the best advice on this forum...but my obsessive compulsive disorder will kill me hahaha, long story

I'll have a new one up for december, anyway

I think you misunderstand. You see, there's no cost to the extra posts when you update your Training Schedule. Disk space (needed to store the updated schedule at the END of your thread) is cheap. Free, actually. But there's a cost to the time it takes to browse back to Post #6.

This is time that I don't want to spend, nor will many other readers, including yourself. The tolerance level of most readers is that they won't want to go back more than a single page to find something - like your training schedule. So they just won't bother.

Do you realize that this thread has 600 views so far? You need to make it convenient for these readers to follow, and to find information.

Here's another problem ... Suppose you took my advice and modified your weekly schedule to have 2 gym workouts and 1 weight workout (rather than the way it is now). If you edit Post #6 and then someone reads my subsequent post advising you to change it, they won't be able to follow the logic of the thread - chronologically.

They will see that Post #6 already has 2 gym workouts and 1 weight workout. So the thread is "broken" - it no longer makes sense. That's why people put "EDIT:" in front of anything they change in a post once other people have replied to it.

Think of this thread as your Training Log. In a real log, you MUST NOT destroy any chronological information in it. You need TRACEABILITY. For your own sake, you need to see for yourself how your schedule was originally, and how it changed over time. For the sake of readers, you need continuity.

Once you do at least one workout from a plan, that "planned workout" becomes an "actual workout", and you should be logging the details of your actual reps either here, or in a hard-copy Training Log. Either way, you will find it both interesting and beneficial to trace back thru your log (or blog).

You will CONSTANTLY be adjusting your plan (or your actuals) - from week to week. This is called "rolling wave planning", or "iterative planning". It works for planning and executing software development projects (my profession), and it also works for PV training!

Just as you publish new vids each week, you shouldn't be shy about publishing your revised "plan" and/or "actuals" - at the END of your thread, where it's easiest to find, and easiest to follow chronologically.

Trust me on this.

Kirk

[powerplant42]

yea...no. PP, hopefully you typed this wrong, because you want the excact opposite. see, one of the things that i am very aqquainted with, is lifting. I'll jump strait to examples. FOR POLEVAULTER AND GYMNASTS, you want to do HIGH REPS and LOW WEIGHT. if you do the opposite, you're gonna bulk up, and you don't want to do that in this sport.

A little snippy in the beginning, but that's fine... I know I do it too. But what makes no sense to me is if you are 'acquainted' with lifting, then why are you asking? Wouldn't your work out schedule already be perfect?

The concept you are describing is SPEED. Where do you get your STRENGTH component from? All those low weights? Building TYPE 1 FIBERS? (And I believe I've been switching 1 and 2 in the past, and I'll go clean that up later.) That's the wrong kind of STRENGTH... The muscle fibers that it creates are slow-twitching, aerobic junk. What you're doing is only a piece of the whole picture. I will explain this one last time (I would like to believe!) on this board, simply for the sake of this thread.

POWER = STRENGTH x SPEED

POWER should be a pole vaulter's fitness goal. There should be much training of STRENGTH and SPEED together through plyometrics. Plyometrics quicken the stretch shortening cycle (SSC). This is the process your muscle goes through to get from eccentric to concentric motion. The quicker your SSC, the quicker you can apply maximal force with that muscle. Plyometrics are great (they are probably the best type of strength training to do), but they can not be the only thing a vaulter does to increase POWER. (I'll let somebody else explain that if they care to, because I really don't feel like it, and I have math home work to do.) So, what is a vaulter to do? Train STRENGTH and SPEED separately. SPEED can be trained with little weight and high repetitions. Keep in mind that each repetition should be as explosive as possible while staying safe. The last component is STRENGTH, which should be trained with high weight, low repetitions. Most of the STRENGTH lifts that I recommend actually still retain SPEED as a necessity: one can't do a snatch slowly if they have high weight on the bar. These will cause hypertrophy, yes, but what is more important, being light or being strong? (Also, not all STRENGTH works like that. You'll cause hypertrophy and/or hyperplasia in varying levels, even with the same gains in STRENGTH, because muscle fiber is only half of the picture. The adaptation of the central nervous system is important too: it holds the key to maximizing absolute strength. KE has explained that on here before.)

KB: Swiss ball, core stability ball, balance ball, big, burst-resistant, rubber ball that's in a lot of TV advertisements... all the same thing. And now you know what the SSC is.

[KirkB]

6P, I think VTV and PP are both giving you good advice here. Remember ... don't ask for advice if you don't want it! That's what this forum is for.

You won't get much advice at all (good or bad) if you just dispute it. If you don't understand certain advice, then just ask for clarifications. (You do remember our private chat about this while back, don't you?)

... Plyometrics quicken the stretch shortening cycle (SSC). ...

KB: Swiss ball, core stability ball, balance ball, big, burst-resistant, rubber ball that's in a lot of TV advertisements... all the same thing. And now you know what the SSC is.

Yeh, that's what I figured a Swiss ball was. CSB! But you got me on SSC!

We're not all as well-read as you PP, so you might have to explain your TLAs for some of us older guys!

Kirk

[joebro391]

Hey guys, i went through the LIFTING workout and the PLYO workout, and found what worked best for me, and also added some stuff that was reccomended to me by others on this forum. here it is:

MONDAY: Heavy Plyo's
TUESDAY: Lifting
WEDNESDAY: Easy Runnin, Sand-Pit Drills, Pole Runs
THURSDAY: Vaulting
FRIDAY: Lifting
SATURDAY: Gymnastics, Light Plyo's
SUNDAY: REST

**PLYOS:
20/20's, without pole (4-5)
Bunny Hops (30 Seconds, 3 sets)
Quick Hops (30 seconds, 2 sets)
Gazelles (10 each leg, 3 sets)
Box Jumps: legs together, knee-thrusts with eash leg, sit-stands (3 sets of 12/each)
Squat Jumps (10, 3 sets)
Split Squat Jumps (10 each leg, 2 sets)
Lunges (10 each leg, 3 sets)

**LIFTING:

(UPPER BODY)
Push Up's (4 sets of 20)
Pull Up's (3 sets of 12)
Dips (3 sets of 12 with 35lb plate)
Curls (3 sets of 12 with 20lb bar bells)
Back Extentions (3 sets of 12 with 25lb plate)

(LEGS)
Squats (3 sets of 12, with 185lbs-205lbs)
Calf-Raises (3 sets of 15, 115)
Box-Drills, sit-stands with both legs, then each leg, seperately (12 reps each, 3 sets)

(CORE)
100 Sit-Up's: 25 Regular, 25 Switches, 25 Inclined, 25 inclinded switches (2-3 sets)
Toe-Touches (12 reps, 3 sets)
Side-Planks (each side, 3 sets)
Supermans (12 reps, 3 sets)

**GYMNASTICS:
Hip Circle Shoot to a Handstand (6 times)
Bubka's On Rings (10 reps, 3 sets)
Extentions on Rops (10 reps, 3 sets)
Rope Swing-vaults (4-6 times)
Bubka's on High Bar (8 reps, 3 sets)
Roll back on the floor to your neck, then extend to a handstand (5 reps, 2 sets)

that's about it. tomorrow i vault in an indoor facility for the first time since april. It'll be fun, and i'm looking forward to the greatest public pole selection on the easter sea-board haha

Special thanks to everyone for their advice on my routine -6P