pv training

[Rudym13]

this year im looking to start some serious training to get to states. Our school has no pole vault coaches so Ive come here for some advice on how to train during the season. What workouts should I do? How many times should i vault a week? I keep a great aerobic base by doing cross country during the fall and am capable of running a 17 minute 5k, but Im curious to know how a week in training as a pole vaulter should be and how their training should progress during the season.

[aseinc]

17 min in 5K is a very good pace speed, but pole vaulting is more about sprint speed, it would be better to know what your time is in a 30 or 40 yard sprint.
That being said I hate to be a downer but pole vaulting is a dangerous sport if done wrong. That is why trained coaches are required, not just to protect a school, and a coach, but most importantly to make sure that you are safe. Without a coach there to watch you, and to make sure that you are ready to proceed no to the next step safely I would say don't vault. find a club or place that has a trained coach to work with you. good luck, but be smart and safe.

[powerplant42]

Drop cross country if you want to vault your highest. It builds the wrong muscle type and the wrong stride pattern. Fall is better spent doing things like long jump, sprint work, etc.

Almost no schools have vault coaches. Many of them still somehow produce decent vaulters... You've already gotten to 11'6" by yourself, so you must have SOME sort of ability to coach yourself.

Do little to no lifting. If your team lifts together, focus on abdominals and legs. Try to keep reps low, maybe three sets of 6 or 8 for most lifts. Almost all of the strength the average high school vaulter needs can be developed on the track and on a high bar.

Find/build a high bar. Use it every day.

Pole runs, walking/jogging/running plants, stiff pole vaulting (especially in the sand), 20/20's (with pole), ostriches (with pole), claws (with pole). These are the essential drills to do with a pole.

Keep reps for sprint work outs 100m or under, barring "ins and outs"... Things like flying 20's are good, as are 40m sprints and "ins and outs".

Gymnastics, especially bar, rings, and floor excercises that simulate the vault. No stubby drills.

Vault on a pit 2-3 times per week. If you're doing full runs, never do more than about 10. Shorter runs (which you should do more often) you can (and should) do a lot more of. Make sure to be using a stiff pole a lot of the time. Do try to be supervised by SOMEbody, not only for safety but for a bit of coaching.

Feel free to PM me if you want to know more about any of these drills and suggestions or maybe want to build something more specific!

[Barefoot]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you should wrestle or play basketball or volleyball... do "some" weights... maybe some sprints.

Pole vault specific drills are very useful if you are doing them correctly, but even pole runs done incorrectly will re-enforce bad habits which will take longer to break. Training a bad pole drop, bad run structure, bad plant... ect... leads to problems. Find a skilled vaulter or coach to guide you. Little things like how exacly you grip, drop, carry the pole can help or hinder. Even one day a week with a coach can point your vault specific drills in the right direction.

Getting strong, fast, and quick would be better than, entrenching bad habits.

[vault3rb0y]

For a young athlete, I would suggest that the following lifts are well worth the time it takes to do them. The benefits of doing these lifts once a week for 6 weeks will greatly outweigh the downfall of being sore and the time commitment:

Squats
Half-Squats
Powercleans/Hangcleans
Pull-ups/Pull-downs
Pullovers
Squat-to-should press (hold 2 seconds at top)


Before you go off running into all the training tips listed, realize that EVERYTHING you do in training for the vault needs to be in a list of priorities. That list of priorities changes based on where you are at athletically, physically, and technically in the vault. If you are less experienced in one of these avenues (or subcategories of these avenues), doing just a little work in this area can go a long way. For instance, if you have never done squats/power cleans, doing these for 6 weeks will make you see huge increases in your sprint strength (learn how to do these lifts CORRECTLY with a coach, though). On the other hand, if you have been doing XC for years, doing 20min runs as part of your base training may really make no difference in your "athletic avenue" as it relates to the pole vault at all. So try and decide where you are weakest, and make those avenues most important.

In general, you can always be working on vault drills/technique because it requires practically no physical toll on your body, and because ingraining the best technique in your head goes a long way when you DO start vaulting. This allows you to put it in your training and not really worry much about recovery from it the next day. As a young athlete, I would put drills as your first priority twice a week, but also do 3 of those lifts twice a week after your drills. The other days, be sprinting and working on proper sprint technique, and doing gymnastics/core training. If you don't have a vault coach, that doesn't mean a regular coach can't help you with the other parts of the training.

[souleman]

Go to http://www.bubbapv.com/Pages/runoff.htm , there's your winter running schedule. Then go to http://www.bubbapv.com/Pages/CurrentTraining.htm . There's your lift schedule.
Then go to http://www.bubbapv.com/Pages/speed.htm . There's your speed development schedule. There are many more training tips and off season drills on Bubba's website. If you're serious though, the first three pages will keep you plenty busy. Later...........Mike

[Rudym13]

lots of great help here! this is exactly what im looking for, Id say my weaknesses would be obviously be the sprinting but as the fastest cross country runner in the school its not something id like to give up, keep in mind i sometimes run the mile and two mile.

[powerplant42]

Maybe ask your coach next season if he can give you more speed workouts/shorter runs and then get your indoor coaches to work with you between fall and winter on your sprinting.

[Rudym13]

well i just had my last xc race at regionals today. I was considering doing p90x and combined with some cardio runs for track conditioning, should i take like a 2 week break inbetween seasons? or just continue training at low intensity?

[Polevaulter2012]

So I did xc and pole vault in high school. I honestly would just do body weight drills and and light weight lifting. Try for perfect form in everything you do. Do gymnastic type workouts also. There are a lot of good drills on pvp that you can watch. Also I would do sprints that are about 50 meters long. In high school I didn't really have a coach there so I developed a lot of bad habbits. So I would take it slow and just work on the small stuff now. It will help later on in your career. Do a lot of standing, walking, jogging, running and sprinting plant drills. Your run and take-off are HUGE In the vault. I would say about 90% of the vault is your run and plant. So practice your plant as much as you can. Do you have any videos of you vaulting? Anyways just train smart and do things correct. Its not important how high you jump now, its all about training and progressing right. You want to always make forward progress and not have to spend years trying to fix your problems once in college. Even if that means its slow progress at first. Hope that helps.

Keep reaching for your dreams. Scott

[souleman]

I was considering doing p90x and combined with some cardio runs for track conditioning, should i take like a 2 week break in between seasons? or just continue training at low intensity?

Nope! Trust me. If you do what is listed on Bubba's training pages you will be jump ready and frankly you will not have time to do much of anything else. Rather than looking for more answers just do what's proven to work. Bubba is 58 years old and is jumping 13 plus feet. If it works for him I can guarantee it will work for you. There is no magic bullet. You have to put in the effort and get to work. Maybe take a week off if you need the time to unwind but just remember that's one less week of training between now and track season. Likewise, the more time you spend LOOKING for a workout regimen the less time you have to DO a workout regimen. Good luck............now get to work darn it! Later...........Mike

[Barefoot]

I was considering doing p90x and combined with some cardio runs for track conditioning, should i take like a 2 week break in between seasons? or just continue training at low intensity?

Nope! Trust me. If you do what is listed on Bubba's training pages you will be jump ready and frankly you will not have time to do much of anything else. Rather than looking for more answers just do what's proven to work. Bubba is 58 years old and is jumping 13 plus feet. If it works for him I can guarantee it will work for you. There is no magic bullet. You have to put in the effort and get to work. Maybe take a week off if you need the time to unwind but just remember that's one less week of training between now and track season. Likewise, the more time you spend LOOKING for a workout regimen the less time you have to DO a workout regimen. Good luck............now get to work darn it! Later...........Mike

No question if you can do Bubba's workouts you will be stronger and faster... Bubba is one of my idols. As a CC runner, you no doubt need more speed and strength.

But I'm going to restate something... Running improperly with the pole will create bad habits. Doing bad pole drops will hinder your progress. Practicing bad plants and bad vault mechanics is practicing to hold yourself back. GET SOME GOOD HELP with your carry, drop, plant, etc. Bubba has vaulted for nearly 45 years and probably has a pretty good idea how to run with and plant the pole, yet apparently even he still gets help from his coach.