PP42's Senior Year Training Blog

[powerplant42]

I'm thinking that the 13' 150 and 13'6" 150 are essentials. A 14' 165 would be good to have too. Would anyone like to donate to my pole fund?

I've inquired about the pole selection at Mount St. Mary's... I was up there yesterday and got to quickly look through the poles they had (that were visible at least)... A lot of 15's and 15'6"s from 165-175. If I have to buy a couple poles on my own I will.

[rainbowgirl28]

It would be ideal to have 5lb increments in poles, but you probably have limited funds, so buying them in 10lb increments is still safe and doable and helps you cover the gaps better.

- 13' 140
- 13' 145
- 13' 7" 160
- 14' 145

I'd probably go 13'155 then 13'165, and there is a good chance you'd be able to borrow a 13'150 and 160 at a lot of meets, those are super common sizes for HS boys.

I don't see you using anything bigger than a 13'7 160 this year, I haven't seen the speed/explosiveness that someone your size would need. And you can't seem to stay healthy enough to do the kind of training you would need to significantly improve it, plus you don't seem to believe in that kind of training anyway.

[powerplant42]

I am rather sure that I'll need something near a 14' 170 in 8 weeks or less. I can actually run again... My strength should return quickly.

The thing for me to do now is to... jump. I never get to. I'm scared stiff of a flexible pole (pun intended)... Take-off feels very uncomfortable from so far out.

[rainbowgirl28]

Well, if your decision making process for purchasing poles goes anything like your decision making process for setting goals or choosing what height to jump at, I would say you are fixing to waste money. Don't get ahead of yourself.

[KirkB]

I am rather sure that I'll need something near a 14' 170 in 8 weeks or less. I can actually run again.

PP, I'm going to call you crazy again. Your last meet was on a 13' 150 ... and now you're saying you're going to need a 14' 170 within 8 weeks?

That's an increase of one "stiffness" (on Jan's chart) per week! Eight stiffnesses higher than you've ever bent in your LIFE before!

I won't say it can't be done ... but I will say that it's highly unlikely ... and not advisable. Even if you HAD every pole in between ... no ... say every OTHER pole ... you would need to get on a new pole every 2 weeks. The issue is not how quickly you can get on new poles ... it's how quickly you can ADAPT your technique to IMPROVE IT to the point where you NEED a new pole ... every 2 weeks. You must be some kinda superman!

Either that ... or you're just NUTS!!!

Nothing wrong with visualizing success ... all vaulters should do that ... but come on, GET REAL!

Kirk

[powerplant42]

At the end of my sophomore year (right before I hurt my hamstring...) I was on my 13'7" 160 gripping about 12'6". I was lighter and a lot slower back then. My full run grip on that pole back then is right around my 3 step grip on it now.

I just need to do some jumping and get some confidence back. I don't know what else there is to do... it seems I've DONE everything else.

[vault3rb0y]

If you were gripping at 12'6" on the 14' 170, thats about 25-30 more pounds of pole than the 13'7" 160. Get your grip up and just stay focused on pressing your hands up and out.

[powerplant42]

So Maryland's going to get mega-hammered with snow this weekend and mid next week... I doubt I'll have school all week. I don't know what this means for Regionals... I DO know that it means that I have no place to work on my approach (which I did with success yesterday!)...

High bar time?

[rainbowgirl28]

God forbid you should ever set foot in a weight room...

[powerplant42]

That's the only thing I've really been able to do as of late actually. But I won't get into that - it's been dealt with too many times before. The Bartonietz quote that altius put up a while ago sums up my position pretty much perfectly.

[AVC Coach]

I must have missed that quote. What was it?

[powerplant42]

"It is a well known fact that faults which occur during the learning phases are very difficult to correct later and sometimes cannot be corrected at all. Therefore it is an absolute necessity that the target technique be developed as early as during childhood." (Bartonietz)

"But if you ask me which is the more important, the development of physical capacities or technical abilities, my answer will only be one, technical abilities. These abilities enable you to survive in different situations while the development of physical capacities is not so difficult." (Bubka)

Had a productive day at practice yesterday... I did a drill I thought up which I'd like to discuss sometime soon.

All practices were cancelled today.