PP42's Senior Year Training Blog

[rainbowgirl28]

But maybe more to the point ... you have limited TIME and MONEY (don't we all?) ... so you need to spend that time and money WISELY ... which I appreciate that you're TRYING to do. But maybe ... just MAYBE ... you aren't balancing (or planning to balance) your time & money OPTIMALLY ... given your current training situation.

I don't think that anyone would consider PP to be wasting his time (except for maybe doing some drills wrong! ha!). From other posts I have seen him make, it sounds like his schedule is full of school and church activities that are all good things. Just maybe too many good things!

[KirkB]

I don't think that anyone would consider PP to be wasting his time ...

I was referring specifically to making wise choices between going to meets, or going to COACHED vault (and gym) sessions.

Kirk

[powerplant42]

We'll see what I can do. Things (VERY important things) pop up for me out of nowhere, so I can't promise anybody anything...

I've been working very closely with one teammate of mine for years now, and I've put practically all that I know into his head. He helps me out just about every practice, so it's not like I'm a total loner or anything.

Happy Thanksgiving all!

[KirkB]

We'll see what I can do. Things (VERY important things) pop up for me out of nowhere, so I can't promise anybody anything...

PP, you're IN CHARGE of your own career! Don't do anything to appease us online mentors, and don't make promises to US! Instead, realize that you're the captain of YOUR OWN SHIP ... and steer it safely thru the unchartered waters of YOUR CAREER. Listen to everyone with an open mind, but realize that it's ultimately YOUR decision ... and yours alone ... that determines whether or not you reach your target destination or not. Things pop up all the time out of nowhere for ship captains too, but enough of that metaphor.

Geez PP, just when I thought you were beginning to "see the light" and drop your egotistical, argumentative attitude a little, you go and make this post ... and THEN you go and repeat your SAME old arguments ... once AGAIN ... on the Jagodin thread ... as if stating the same arguments with slightly different wording would FINALLY convince us that you are the only true disciple of Petrov and Launder, and the rest of us ADULTS just don't get it. That thread should have been left for dead BEFORE your last post ... not AFTER! Give it a rest, already!

If you just wanted to have the last word in that post, then I hope that's it.

So what's wrong with THIS paragraph?

I've been working very closely with one teammate of mine for years now, and I've put practically all that I know into his head. He helps me out just about every practice, so it's not like I'm a total loner or anything.

Hint: Your teammate may be "another pair of eyes", but that's about the extent of his added value. What is your teammate lacking? What are YOU lacking?

Kirk

[KirkB]

... Goals? Let's talk short term for now... My first indoor meet is December 7th. I would like to jump at least 14' there. I will be on a full run (8 lefts). I might be in need of a new pole too ... And of course, my number 1 goal is to stay healthy. That might be my biggest challenge ...

So how did you do? How did you place? Give us the full rundown ... starting height, misses, makes ... pole length, weight, grip ... how many lefts ... your health ... the works!

I hope you had a good start to your season!

Kirk

[powerplant42]

Here's what happened...

I was on the bus ready to go when I realize I forgot something in the locker room... So I run (quickly, but not sprinting or anything) there off of the bus and I feel my piriformis (left) aching with each step... "NOT good," I thought to myself. I stretched out on the way down and used all sorts of analgesics all over.

Warming up I felt a bit better (I had wrapped my left leg). But it was still a bit irritating.

As I started to do some jumping it got worse. I came in at 10' (to win the meet), had a survival-clearance, then had 3 misses at 11'6". I proceeded to limp over to the bleachers to ice. Not a good day.

The run was blahhh and the take-off just felt so weak because of the piriformis... I didn't get film (I will definitely have the entire meet this Saturday taped), but I'm sure I was just picking my legs up, no real swing... Sorta subconscious protection of myself maybe? I've tried chalking this up to something other than my backside exploding, but I can't: it had to be because of the pain. It was very distracting during and between vaults!

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE: I won the meet... my hamstrings feel GREAT today... and my piriformis isn't acting up much at all now.

I have a chiropractic appointment tomorrow, which I sorely need. That should help get my nerves back in the right place and I can get back to real work!

Here is my plan:

Tomorrow - Walking plants, jogging plants (if I'm up to it), HIGH BAR (if that doesn't hurt at all). Chiropractic appointment.
Thursday - Could possibly pull out the pit, but if not then it'll be sand-vaulting from 2 - 4 steps.
Friday - Maybe some more sand, walking/jogging/sprinting plants, full approaches on track, LOTS of stretching, sauna, ice, elevation, etc. Maybe a bit of light high bar.
Saturday - Meet. I will use 6 steps, gripping 13'-13'6" on a 13'6" 160. I'll weigh ~145.

All through these sessions I'll be focused on a strong, rigid body after take-off. I feel like that's my limiting factor at the moment: jelloness. If I fix this enough then my pole selection will definitely need to change. I'll also do my best to get film on Thursday.

[VaultPurple]

I know this will go against everything you have ever been taught or heard before, but just bare with me. Right now you are a senior in high school who is pretty fast and athletic. Someone posted earlier that you run 11s for the 100 so that is more than enough speed to be an elite level pole vaulter. And Ive seen your videos of your sand plants that even if I don't agree with how you are doing them, your hand grip is much too high (in a good way) for you to be an 11'6 vaulter. I know you wan't to vault the Petrov way and have perfect technique and are looking to your max potential like Alan always says, and not trying to cut corners.

But here is what I am proposing. You can grip between 13' and 13'6 from only 6 lefts. That is more than enough grip to be a 13-14 foot vaulter, and I bet your grip will go up even more by the end of the year and you can jump even higher. But your not going to be able to do that with the Petrov model any time soon. But with your current hand hold if you were to just do what ever it took to rock back and do a Bubka off the top of the pole I bet you would jump at least 12'6 this Saturday. Yes this may be kind of 'tuck and shootish', but it is easier to obtain in a quick amount of time if you have any sort of abs in you body.

Yes the petrov model is the best way to go, and what I myself use, but it takes a lot of time and a good coach watching you every day to point out little things you need to change from vault to vault. The tuck and shoot model, you can easily feel if you are getting your hips over your shoulder, and then you can just explode off the top with just strength. But still use a free take off and start with a long trail leg, but you got to get upside down and off the top of the pole to jump higher than 11'6.

And I know you may think I am crazy for even suggesting this, but the truth of the matter is that you're a senior and you are not going to be able to vault in college jumping at your current level. So yes petrov will help in the long run, but if you don't worry about a short run, there will be no long run....

Anyway, I'm pretty sure there are a lot of college coaches out there that would much rather a guy coming out of high school to have jumped 15' with a 14' grip using any technique no matter how bad, than a guy that jumps 11'6 with perfect petrov technique. They can retrain you when you get there!

So for now, get on big poles, grip high, and get inverted!

Good Luck!

[rainbowgirl28]

PP, what pole, grip, and run were you on at the meet?

[powerplant42]

VP: I'm not surprised by the advice... it's an attitude that sometimes should be taken... in the moment. If I feel like I need to "survival vault" (I think I'll make a thread about this) then I do. But I will not PLAN to survival vault! I've also been practically guaranteed a spot on the roster at MSM... I'm not concerned with impressing anyone with massive heights, I want to do it for me and my team.

Becca: I was gripping 12'6"-13' on a 13'6" 160. 5 steps for 3/4 jumps, 6 steps for my last attempt at 11'6".

Petrov's take-off test (3 step stiff pole grip = take-off length) says I should be gripping 14'7". DJ's chart says that a 14'7" grip = a 16' vault... I just need to get the run together and be more aggressive I guess. AND STAY HEALTHY!!!

[kcvault]

It's December it is very early and you have not been able to jump on a pit. You did not no height and had 3 attempts at your pr I would say it was a successful day.

I do not recommend vaulting on an injury but once you have made the decision to vault in a meet your mind set needs to be that the injury does not exist, just focus on the task at hand.

Other then that I'm not sure if you are but you need to sign up for one of the many camps going on in a few weeks. You need time on a pit with good coaches watching you. For now keep trying to get people to video you so we can try to help you.

---Kasey

[KirkB]

... STAY HEALTHY!!!

I couldn't have said it better myself.

But it seems like you're planning to do one heckuva lot of training between now and Saturday. Why?

The best way to stay healthy ... or to GET healthy ... is to relax in the whirlpool ... jog a bit ... watch TV with your feet up ... do homework ... anything ... but DON'T sprint or jump! Whatever hurts in your back, AVOID IT! I'm serious.

Think about this ... you don't need to GAIN SPEED between now and Saturday, so why sprint? You just need to stay loose (to avoid atrophy ... or tightening up ... and especially TO AVOID RE-INJURY!).

Just RELAX! Don't feel guilty about "not training". This IS training ... or it's at least rehab!

Need I remind you of your over-training last year (training harder than your body was ready for)?

Regarding VP's advice of tuck/shoot re Petrov, I don't think your technique is going to be "Petrov-perfect" no matter what you do. This is true for ANYONE in the 10-12 foot range. That's becuz at that bar height, the swing is just a blur. Did he swing or did he tuck? Hard to tell from the sidelines, and hard for the athlete to tell too ... one way or the other.

So I wouldn't fuss over whether you swung or tucked ... just get upside down ... however you can. The Petrov swing will come later. This might sound similar to VP's advice, but I wouldn't call it a tuck/shoot ... becuz there's no shoot anyways. It's probably going to be more of a "get jerked off the ground" (I might be exagerating here) ... and then a "get the trail leg whip" (however you crudely do that ... this is where your body will go into "automatic", based on what you trained it to do on the highbar) ... and then a bit of a tuck ... and then quite a bit of a flag out. Just guessing ... but I don't think you can analyze a 12-foot vault much better than that.

What you REALLY need (besides the PV clinic advice, which is dead on) ... is a bunch of tries at 11-13 feet ... until you start clearing some bars. Then once you get into the 13-14 foot range, you can start worrying more about technique. Really, this is the way to (a) learn how to clear your grip (a 13-8 grip is a 13-0 jump!) ... and then (b) learn how to swing / invert "properly" ... to get SOME pushoff.

Kirk

[rainbowgirl28]

... STAY HEALTHY!!!

I couldn't have said it better myself.

But it seems like you're planning to do one heckuva lot of training between now and Saturday. Why?

It didn't sound like that much training to me, and it sounded like a lot of it was dependent on how he felt.