Strength Training in the Weight Room - A Must

[superpipe]

I know this topic has been covered many times and technique seems to have won the battle over no weight training at all ( Until you are a more "advanced" vaulter ), but I'd like to throw out another angle to this. I'm a firm believer that weight training is a requirement even for beginners, and here's why:

The approach run and take-off are probably the most important factors in the pole vault. The rest can be taught to anyone and comes much easier, by default, if you have a great approach run and take-off. So what makes a great approach run and take-off? Speed, technique and power. Speed and power come from being able to apply the most amount of force in the shortest time possible. You can teach correct approach run mechanics, but if you want to jump high bars you need speed and spring. The best way to achieve this is in the weight room with exercises like jump squats, single leg squats, exploding step-ups and Olympic lifts. Yes, you will gain some of this simply by repetitious vaulting, but at a very slow rate which will plateau. You hear alot about Petrov stating how important that first step is in the approach run. To have a great first step, you need alot of strength and explosiveness. That first step sets the tone for the rest of your approach run. If you can come out high and explosively, you will keep your hips high throughout your run. This is much easier said than done since it's directly related to how strong you are. The biggest factor in determining speed is force applied to the ground. The weight room is the key here too. Pretty obvious. Aside from your technique at take-off, your explosive strength plays a key role in how high you can jump.

My point is that weight room training is key, even for beginners. Look at most beginners and intermediate vaulters. Their approach runs are usually pretty terrible, which sets them up for failure before they even jump off the ground, if they can even jump off the ground. 50% of the problem is a lack of strength and power. It's hard to even teach correct sprint mechanics when you are not strong and powerful in the legs to begin with. I'm not saying you should have them lift until they are strong enough to start training the vault, but proper weight training should be incorporated from day 1.

The vault also requires alot of core strength too. So while you're in the weight room it's a great time to incorporate that along with some other overall body strengthening to at least help prevent injuries. You can get a great weight room workout done in 1 hour if you're not goofing around. This leaves plenty of practice time for technique.

Bring on the comments.

[KirkB]

What months of the school year are you proposing that HS vaulters weight lift?

How would you balance this weight lifting with gymnastics, running, and vaulting?

Just asking.

Kirk

[powerplant42]

From the mouths of the prophets:

"What is technically desirable must be physically possible."
-altius

"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

[rainbowgirl28]

I'm with superpipe on this one... I see far more high school vaulters who need to spend more time in the weight room, not less.

[powerplant42]

What I see is high schoolers who need a coach that knows how to teach them to carry the pole properly.

Long-term vs. short-term. USA is a short-term system.

[rainbowgirl28]

Sure, but most of them also need to get stronger... it's not an either or thing.

[Pogo Stick]

Sergey Bubka, An Athletes View Of Limits And Possibilities:
"So, for example, I did no weight training at all until I was 16: just exercises with my body. Every exercise was designed to make me stronger, but slowly, without putting too much stress on my joints and muscles as I was growing.
It is dangerous to overload the body at this age. What we were doing at times was not really pleasant or fulfilling: just very specific exercises to strengthen muscles and to make tendons looser, but there was a good reason for them as they prepared the muscles for heavier loads. This is why I have had relatively few injuries in my career."

[rainbowgirl28]

Keep in mind that most US vaulters never touch a pole until age 14-16. I definitely prefer a strong foundation in body weight exercises for younger athletes, but if taught properly, using light weights as a freshman or sophomore is usually going to be OK.

I think part of the problem is so few kids are taught proper lifting technique, and the proper lifts to benefit pole vaulters. Most of the anti-weight room sentiment on this site may be rooted in that. But I see the AVERAGE high schooler as being rather unathletic, and if their choice is the weight room or sitting on their duff, I'll take the weight room any day.

[EIUvltr]

You bring up a lot of good points, I do have a few comments tho.

Speed and power come from being able to apply the most amount of force in the shortest time possible.

Power and speed are very important to the pole vaulter, although I feel their development is not as weight room dependent as people may think. This is primarily due to the fact that muscular strength in itself is very limited in its ability to help most athletes. Muscular strength is defined as the amount of force one can produce regardless of time. So obviously the amount of force you can produce dynamically (power) is limited by your muscular strength. However it is very rare for an athlete to ever be able to produce maximum force during a sporting movement. Sprinting for instance derives its energy primarily from stored energy in the Series Elastic Component of the muscle/tendon structure.

You hear alot about Petrov stating how important that first step is in the approach run. To have a great first step, you need alot of strength and explosiveness. That first step sets the tone for the rest of your approach run. If you can come out high and explosively, you will keep your hips high throughout your run. This is much easier said than done since it's directly related to how strong you are.

I would definitely agree with this. Strangely enough, all that strength work in the weight room will help most during the slower parts of the vault since you have more time to produce force. Obviously the slowest part of the vault is the first step where you are overcoming your own body's inertia without the help of any stored energy. However as I said before, the faster you get the less time you have to produce energy therefore the less energy you will actually produce and the more you will store. This is why technique is so important. Being able to run efficiently will allow you to store maximum energy which will therefore allow you to apply more force with each foot-stroke in the run, and jump harder at takeoff.

The vault also requires a lot of core strength too. So while you're in the weight room it's a great time to incorporate that along with some other overall body strengthening to at least help prevent injuries. You can get a great weight room workout done in 1 hour if you're not goofing around. This leaves plenty of practice time for technique.

It is true that the vault requires what is colloquially known as "core strength" (a term i dislike). However, I believe one of the best ways to develop this is through full body lifts such as the squat, deadlift, power clean, and press. What most people fail to realize is that the core's role in sports 99% of the time is the efficient storage or transfer of energy from the lower body to the upper body. Rarely is there a need for any real dynamic strength from the core. Takes the abs for instance. During the run they remain isometrically contracted to increase the efficiency of the approach. During the flight phase, the pole is applying force to the hands and vice versa while the legs swing. The abs are really just along for the ride and they primarily act to store elastic energy via a strong isometric contraction. Electromyography tests have shown that there is more electrical activity in the abs during a heavy squat than during any ab exercise. Nevertheless, most people tend to do "ab work" in the form of crunches and other dynamic exercises, completely neglecting the isometric role of the core in the pole vault.


Now I'm not saying that I don't believe the weight room is important, however I believe the development of muscular strength is overemphasized in our country. The weight room does have numerous benefits such as:

1. It teaches kids to activate certain muscles in certain patterns. Coordination is a big problem for lots of high school kids. Correct form in lifts such as the deadlift and squat force kids to contract key muscles harder and more efficiently than running and jumping alone.
2. It increases the strength of connective tissues which as I said, is essential for the storage of energy in the musculotendonous structure.
3. It can increase rate of force development by means of "fast lifts," such as the ones superpipe listed.
4. It increases isometric strength of the core.

[superpipe]

Not trying to start battles, just want to make some additional comments.

How do you expect to efficiently improve your technique without strength training at least your legs? Gymnastics won't make you faster or jump higher at take-off.

All you vaulters trying to increase your 3-left straight pole grip won't get anywhere unless you strengthen those legs in the weight room.

The whole notion that weight training is bad for 14 year olds is bogus. Gymnastics, which is taught to 4 year olds puts the same, if not more, stress on your body and joints as weight lifting does. Like people have mentioned before, improper technique and more weight than you can handle when weight lifting, is the key to hurting yourself. This is seen so much that people say lifting weights is bad for you. Weight training even younger than 14 years old is fine as long as it's done correctly with proper weights. Is it necessary? No, but it's not bad.

You want to make learning technique alot more efficient, you need to have some overall strength, especially in you legs and core.

I don't pretend to know how Bubka really trained when he was young ( high school age and before ), but I'm sure his training incorporated leg strengthening and overall body strengthening to a great extent. "Beginner to Bubka" points out a sample of Bubka's weekly workout, which absolutely included weight training.

The fact is, you will not jump high on technique alone. You must have physical strength and that can absolutely be trained and must be trained early. Speed in the approach run and explosiveness at take-off is the key to jumping high heights. Without it, your technique will struggle no matter how much you focus on it.

As for when would high school kids should weight train. My philosophy is throughout the whole year, including in-season. A proper weight training program doesn't take that long. twice a week will show amazing strength gains. Once you get to college and beyond, training programs become alot more complex assuming you are a more mature and advanced athlete at that point.

[KirkB]

Not trying to start battles ...

Me neither ... I just think gymnastics is better than weights for HS kids. Here's why ...

I have no objection to a weight program off-season ... which doesn't conflict with other HS sports (or gymnastics drills) ... and if the vaulter is INTERESTED in training year-round for PV. For many, they lack the motivation or interest to weight lift seriously in the off-season, but if the coaching and the inspiration (self-induced or encouraged by peers and coaches) is there ... go for it!

I think gymnastics is even more important than weights during the off-season ... becuz your entire body is conditioned ... with excercises and drills which simulate PV.

How do you expect to efficiently improve your technique without strength training at least your legs? Gymnastics won't make you faster or jump higher at take-off.

Agreed ... your off-season sports MUST strengthen your legs. That's a weakness of gymnasts that try to convert to PV. During the season tho, I think it's a poor way to spend your valuable training time and energy. There's so much technique to learn, and so little time to learn it.

All you vaulters trying to increase your 3-left straight pole grip won't get anywhere unless you strengthen those legs in the weight room.

There's other ways to strengthen your legs ... that are less boring than weights. Basketball, volleyball, soccer, football, HJ, LJ, TJ to name a few. I'm speaking from direct experience here. When I say basketball, I mean LOTS of basketball ... like 5 or 6 days a week for a couple hours a day ... year-round ... with lots of layups, rebounding, and touching the hoop. And in volleyball, you should ALWAYS jump as high as you can for each spike.

The whole notion that weight training is bad for 14 year olds is bogus.

I don't think it's "bad" ... I just think it's hard to find time to add it to a year-round regimen that includes several sports.

Gymnastics, which is taught to 4 year olds puts the same, if not more, stress on your body and joints as weight lifting does.

Not sure why you mention 4-year-olds, but if it's to say that it's too "basic" for teenagers, then I disagree ... it's great for 4-year-olds, but it's also great at ANY age level for PV training. If it's to say that 4-year-olds shouldn't be subject to so much joint stress the I also disagree. There's a very good reason why gymnastics is promoted for 4-year-olds but weight lifting isn't ... and the reason is related to my main point ... that the weight you lift in gymnastics is limited to your own body weight. Gymnastics gives you all the resistance you need to get strong in the core and upper body (not legs).

You want to make learning technique a lot more efficient, you need to have some overall strength, especially in you legs and core.

I agree with the core, but not so much the legs. I assume that a rookie vaulter can already run down the runway ... maybe not very fast or very powerfully ... but they can run. And they can already jump on takeoff ... not very quickly or very powerfully ... but they can jump. But can they SWING properly? Unless they have a gymnastics background, most PV rookies just don't have a clue ... and they don't have the STRENGTH to swing ... even if they knew how. Weight lifting isn't going to give them the strength to swing PROPERLY ... gymnastics is.

I don't pretend to know how Bubka really trained when he was young ( high school age and before ), but I'm sure his training incorporated leg strengthening and overall body strengthening to a great extent. "Beginner to Bubka" points out a sample of Bubka's weekly workout, which absolutely included weight training.

In BTB2, Bubka's weekly workout (pp 168-170) is from 1988, when he was 25. This is 3 years after he first jumped 6.00 ... so it's not a good argument as to why a HS vaulter should weight lift.

The fact is, you will not jump high on technique alone. You must have physical strength and that can absolutely be trained and must be trained early. Speed in the approach run and explosiveness at take-off is the key to jumping high heights. Without it, your technique will struggle no matter how much you focus on it.

Of the RUN, JUMP, and SWING, my personal opinion is that young vaulters can run and jump sufficiently well, but they can't swing (properly). In fact, it's partly BECUZ they run so fast down the runway that they don't have the upper body coordination or strength to turn that powerful run into a good vault. The solution isn't to run faster and jump harder. Rather, the solution is to swing BETTER! This is learned/taught on the highbar and rings ... not in the weight room.

As for when would high school kids should weight train. My philosophy is throughout the whole year, including in-season. A proper weight training program doesn't take that long. twice a week will show amazing strength gains. Once you get to college and beyond, training programs become alot more complex assuming you are a more mature and advanced athlete at that point.

If they have the time and inclination during the off-season ... AND if they're balancing it with AT LEAST as much gymnastics training (if not more) ... then I have no objections. However, I've seen so many kids that try to learn to swing ON THE POLE that have never even tried any highbar or rings drills that I think they're just wasting their time ... especially during track season. To me, it's the wrong focus.

In the time it takes for one turn in a PV practice ... even a short run ... you can do 10+ reps on the highbar or rings. So to my way of thinking, you can learn to PV 10 times as fast with gymnastics drills ... compared to actual pole vaulting. Weight lifting is a distant fifth ... after gymnastics, running, jumping, and vaulting.

Kirk

[IAmTheWalrus]

I'm just going to poke my head in really quickly and say that if you have time to play basketball for 2 hours a day, 6 days a week, you can spend 45 min in a weight room twice a week.