Lifting for legs. website

[nitro]

kinda off topic but wrist weights will help you get faster along with doing leg workouts..... u can only run as fast as ur arms will go

[EIUvltr]

No on the foot weights please, I hear that they wreak havoc on your knees.

Not anymore than two footed if done correctly and with the right amount of resistance. It is actually really god for your CNS as well... lot of research saying unilateral stuff can be even more beneficial than bilateral... but for the most part I personally stick to bilateral movements.

Unilateral movements are good for acyclic movements, but for cyclic movements where both sides of the body are performing the same movement, such as running, it is better to stick to bilateral exercises.

As far as everything else I just read on this post, it is all terrible water-cooler advice. You cannot simply strengthen your legs to make you faster. A muscular strength phase is important for any athlete since maximum strength is the characteristic upon which all other abilities are maximized (including distance running). So not only do you need to figure out what exercises you need to do, you also need to learn how to do them (I.E. the amount of sets, reps, and length of rest periods), when to do them (A muscular strength phase precedes a so-called "conversion phase" where you change the focus of your training to power, power-endurance, muscular endurance, etc.) AND you need to figure out the duration of your phases. A shot putter would have a much longer muscular strength phase than a distance runner.

Remember that increasing the cross-sectional diameter of your muscles is not the most functional way of increasing sports specific strength. Your main goal when lifting for strength is to recruit as many motor units as possible (by lifting more than 85% of your 1RM) especially the Fast twitch muscle fibers, and increasing the discharge rate of these motor units. This will increase the protein content of your myosin filaments, which will not make your muscles bulky such as a sarcoplasmic hypertrophy workout that a bodybuilder would undergo. Bulk is not the goal of a pole vaulter.

Message boards are the worst place to find good information regarding training. I highly doubt the majority of the members of this site have a PhD in human bioenergetics or a comparable degree. If you are serious about finding good information on training, a few authors I recommend are Mel Siff, Yuri Verkhoshansky, Tudor Bomba, Bondarchuk, and Michael Yessis.

[Lax PV]

As far as everything else I just read on this post, it is all terrible water-cooler advice.

Not the most nice thing to say, but I agree with most of what you are saying. And yes, Verkhoshansky, Bompa and Yessis are the guys I would refer to--little thick at times, and each of their ideas of periodization will not be the same--but they offer a lot of indepth information regarding annual planning, exercise perscription and volumes.

[EIUvltr]

I realize it may not be very nice, but I think it is important that people realize the info they get in a message board is very suspect. I believe this message board is good for beginners looking for tips on how to get past obstacles in the learning of the pole vault technique, but I do not think the majority of posters have any clue as to how to organize the training of different energy systems, strength training, and technical and tactical aspects of the vault. I believe those topics are better reserved for the coach's forum where it is more likely that the information posted will reflect experience and research done in the field of human physiology and sports training.

[Lax PV]

I realize it may not be very nice, but I think it is important that people realize the info they get in a message board is very suspect. I believe this message board is good for beginners looking for tips on how to get past obstacles in the learning of the pole vault technique, but I do not think the majority of posters have any clue as to how to organize the training of different energy systems, strength training, and technical and tactical aspects of the vault. I believe those topics are better reserved for the coach's forum where it is more likely that the information posted will reflect experience and research done in the field of human physiology and sports training.

Well put. Having certifications and higher education in areas concerned, I would agree that much of what comes out of here may not be terribly up to date, but neither a lot of the texts that promote the certifications themselves so it's a double edged sword.

[EIUvltr]

Yes, and I cannot overemphasize the fact that a personal trainer certification is not a PhD. You can get a personal trainer certification over the weekend (seriously, I have one), whereas to truly know how to design, organize and implement training plans for athletes in sports of varying levels of ergogenesis, strength requirements, and technical issues is something that takes years. Unfortunately, most high school and even collegiate training plans are somewhat sophomoric and do not allow the athletes to reach their full potential in the time allotted. However, if we passed a law that said all high school and collegiate track coaches needed at least a Master's Degree in a fitness-related field, then we probably would no longer have track and field teams, which means no pole vault, and no PVP.

[Lax PV]

Yes, and I cannot overemphasize the fact that a personal trainer certification is not a PhD. You can get a personal trainer certification over the weekend (seriously, I have one), whereas to truly know how to design, organize and implement training plans for athletes in sports of varying levels of ergogenesis, strength requirements, and technical issues is something that takes years. Unfortunately, most high school and even collegiate training plans are somewhat sophomoric and do not allow the athletes to reach their full potential in the time allotted. However, if we passed a law that said all high school and collegiate track coaches needed at least a Master's Degree in a fitness-related field, then we probably would no longer have track and field teams, which means no pole vault, and no PVP.

I totally understand a CSCS is NOT = PhD... conversely I know plenty of very intelligent people without a PhD... and I know some with certs and PhDs that wouldn't do things the way I would. Doesn't mean it's wrong or right... no matter who you are, and/or how much training you have, someone is not going to agree with you.

[EIUvltr]

a PhD does not equal a CSCS, you can get a CSCS with just an undergraduate degree I believe

[Lax PV]

right, i said they are totally different... no i realize that i had a typo... it was late... i changed it.

[EIUvltr]

gotcha

[jumpbackin]

No on the foot
Unilateral movements are good for acyclic movements, but for cyclic movements where both sides of the body are performing the same movement, such as running, it is better to stick to bilateral exercises.

Where did you get this little tidbit???

People, many times "experts" make up this kind of shi- I mean garbage and present it as fact. Or, it gets relayed as fact. The truth is no one knows if what you suggest here is true, it's just speculation. There are two arguments; with a bilateral movement such as Squats, one will use more weight and perhaps stimulate a greater hormonal response. A unilateral movement, such as a Lunge, is done with less weight therefore is safer - less load on the spine, yet the muscles work equally hard and derive equal benefit.

I say do them both until we know better. We will know better by a double blind repeatable study or overwhelming evidence.


Regarding you author recommendations. Don't get Siff, way too dry. Forget Bompa. Would you go to Thomas Edison to find out how to make a lightbulb? No. There's plenty of people who know way more about periodization than Bompa.

[ipolevault]

Uhhh, wouldn't you want to go to Edison, seeing as how he invented the lightbulb???