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I'm trying to build my upper body a little (my legs are pretty solid ) and I have very little direction in my lifting...Does anybody know what good goals would be for lifting for a girl(bench/curls/squat/clean..etc.)

I'd be interested in knowing what Stacy Dragila does...we're about the same height/weight

thx.

my goal is always 10lbs more than i just did. Id get depressed if I tried to hold my self to Tim Macks 380 something bench.

or my 520 pound press

Well, being a chick i've been sort of lifting off and on for a few summers, and haven't really gotten serious until about a year ago And i've been getting good strength and definition for upper body from it...or at least i would like to think so :

Here's what i do for upper body (note this is just upper body, lower body is a whole 'nother story):

<All free weights, with the exception for the triceps and pull down>:
-Deltoid/military press with dumb bells(shoulders)
-Curls with a bar and weights(Biceps/fore-arms)
-tricep flex machine(triceps, wrists)
-Bench Press, it does wonders(shoulder,chest, shouler blade area?)
-Pull down machine(biceps, chest, shoulders)

I do like 10-15 reps per set and i ussually do 3 sets. This is my PERSONAL work out, because i don't have any input, so don't think this is something that i got from a trainer or a coach. Have fun!

I just talked to coach today, and he said i should be able to theoretically do my body weight in most exercises ....i'll have to work on that

I heard about a good program it goes a little like this.... You do Curls, Squat, Cleans and incline bench...you do a max and divide the total by your body weight and try to get number equal or greater than 5

ex: 160 pound vaulter.. 800 pounds on 4 lifts.

even on days you dont have access to a gym, you'd be suprised how good of a workout you could get from all the diff pushup variations...
-wideset hands
-close with tight elbows (triceps)
-diamond grip
-decline pushups
-inverted pushups

and make a small investment in a pullup bar, mount it in a door...and do pullups and chinups for arms...they give you a great workout, i do them all the time...

LancerVaulter07 wrote: and make a small investment in a pullup bar, mount it in a door...and do pullups and chinups for arms...they give you a great workout, i do them all the time...

Agreed I have 4 chin-up bars throughout my house, and on days I cant make it to the weight room, or vault days, its easy to make a very effective 45 minute workout with a chin-up bar

scubastevesgirly wrote:I just talked to coach today, and he said i should be able to theoretically do my body weight in most exercises ....i'll have to work on that

I don't know what theory your coach is describing to you. Every lift is different for men and women. Also, since you are an athlete, many of the standard weights and percentages that have been set won't apply to you. Now for you doing your body weight in the bench would be very good, but only doing your body weight in squats would mean you need to train your legs more.

Whatever you do to lift, just make sure that whenever you do a push you also do a pull. If you do bench press (push) do some sort of rows (pull). This is true for virtually any lift. If you strenthen a muscle and do not strengthen it's counterpart, it could lead to injuries.

Getting a specific direction in your lifting program comes from where you want to be in about 6 weeks. For the pole vault you'd want to concentrate on fast explosive lifts, for arms and legs alike. I feel, however, that you should start with a strong base. What it comes down to in the long run though, is what you like and what you feel comfortable with and what kinds of lifts you will make you actually want to be in the gym 4 to 5 days a week. You should read up on some different ideas and sit down with a trusted coach and put somthing together with goals, and current abilities and weaknesses in mind. You know your body best, everybody's body responds to lifts differently.

bubka only benched around 280 lbs

work on explosiveness and action specific movements. How many times during the vault or sprinting do you slowly rep a bar etc. ?

Work on your core with bench/squat/cleans, this will improve your overall speed/athletic ability, but always think usefullness in your event, the pole vault. (i.e. don't just do squats with legs wider than average like typically instructed to do, place a 25lb weight between your feet as a guide and do some squats in that position, this going back to how often do you run with your legs spread that far apart).

bubka only benched around 280 lbs

Probably 280x10x10