CHC04Vault wrote:Also, stay away from creatine, it dosn't do anything (its not BAD for u), just a really big waste of money when u could spend it on protein or a gym memebership.
Actually, it can cause kidney damage. Your body wasn't designed to get as much creatine as it does when you take it in supplemental form. Supplemental creatine may do something for you psychologically, because the added waterweight makes you feel more muscular and stronger, but there is not really a decisive physiological benefit from getting more creatine than you would get from eating the right food.
Also, on another note, it is stupid to take in huge amounts of protein for a few reasons:
-Your body can only digest approximately 30-35 grams of protein at a time.
-Protein significantly in excess of what you need according to a balanced diet (approximately 15% of your total calorie intake) is converted to and stored as fat.
-Protein powder frequently does not have sufficient vitamin B6, which is essential for metabolizing protein.
-Taking in excess protein is typically that much less carbohydrate intake that you are getting, resulting in less high intensity energy than you would have otherwise. Protein is not meant to be a fuel but rather a means of repair
-The only athletes who actually need to take in more protein as a percentage of their calorie intake than normal people are endurance athletes (such as bikers and distance runners), whose bodies have to work overtime to repair a large amount of cardiovascular tissue that is torn down during cardio workouts in addition to normal muscular tissue.
The whole issue with protein is not how much you eat. It's WHEN you eat it. The idea is to time your meals so that you get your protein at the time of the day when your body is using it the most (i.e. the meal that occurs after your workout).
Another thing that is aggravatingly incorrect is the idea that gaining weight and mass is desirable in the pole vault. NOTHING could be farther from the truth. From a physical standpoint, pole vault is largely about your strength-to-weight ratio. If you strength train and get stronger but not bigger, you have a God-given gift that you should take full advantage of. NEVER
try to get bigger. Stay small and light.
Odds are, you will gain a little bit of mass during strength training. Just make sure it is highly functional, and try not to hugely bulk up. Doing excercises with your body weight should be a big priority. Of course, some "body-building" exercises are necessary for range of motion, connective tissue strengthening, and injury prevention, but you should make sure to build a strong calisthenic and gymnastic base, with your upper body, core, and lower body. Power lifting, when combined with elastic strength development exercises (such as plyometrics), is also helpful.
As far as specific exercises go...
Gymnastic Exercises
-Bubkas
-Windshield Wipers
-Inverted Hanging Upward Hip Thrusts (Hang from a bar, bring your feet up to your hands, and drive your feet upward until your hips are to the bar and you are upside down)
-Kips
-Muscle-Ups
Calisthenic Exercises
-Pull-Ups
-Chin-Ups
-Push-Ups
-Handstand Push-Ups
-Single-Leg Squats
-Single-Leg Calf Raises
-Lunges
-Single-Leg Donkey Kicks(you get on all fours and and raise one flexed leg up behind you)
-Yogis (VERY advanced-must get very strong on leg curls in the weightroom before attempting these--You kneel down, someone holds your feet behind you, and, keeping your hips and upperbody stiff and using nothing but your legs, you lower yourself to the ground and raise yourself back up to the kneeling position--most people have to be aided by a strength spotter.)
Core Strength Exercises
Pedestal Exercises (Pilates)
Crunches
Crunches w/Twist
V Sit-Ups
Back Hyperextensions
Back Hyperextension w/Twist
Torso Twists
Ab Ball Exercises
Leg Throws (Partner throws your legs toward the ground in multiple directions, and you raise them back up while laying on the ground and holding onto your partner's ankles--keep your legs straight).
"Body Building" Exercises
Leg Curls
Calf Raises
Leg Extensions
Glute Press
Leg Press
Leg Spreads
Leg Squeezes
Hip 4-Ways
Pulley Leg Cycles (Resisted from Front)
Pulley Leg Cycles (Resisted from the Back)
3-Way Shoulder Flies
Bench Flies
Reverse Bench Flies
Rows
Biceps Curls
Triceps Extensions
Lat Pull-Downs
Pull-Overs
Overhead Press (Dumbell)
Bench (Dumbell)
Incline Bench (Dumbell)
Wrist and Ankle Exercises (Thera-Band)
Power-Lifting Exercises
Snatch
Clean
Clean-and-Jerk
Hang Clean
Squat
Bench
Ideally, you should emphasize the body building and core strengthening exercises very early in the pre-season, for injury prevention and muscular endurance (for most college and high school athletes, this would be during the summer). During the middle part of pre-season (fall for most college and high school athletes), you should start to get into the calisthenics and gymnastics, as well as some power-lifting. In late pre-season (winter for most college and high school athletes--STAY WARM!!!!!), you should still be doing calisthenics and getting more into the gymnastics, and by this time, you should be full-force in the power-lifting and plyometrics. At the end of pre-season, you should back off a bit and give your body a littl bit of recovery. Then, you should start emphasizing explosive lightweight repetitions, utilizing your elastic response, but not lifting to the point of fatigue, since at this time, the season will be in, and you will begin polishing your technique.