HossInReno wrote:... Any of you guys every been this out of shape at my age? (52)
Well I was only about 20 pounds over my college weight when I started up again. That was in 2002 when I was 56 years old. Prior to that, the last time I had jumped was in 1968, that's a 34 year lay off if I did my numbers right. We all have our own stories to tell about a pulled this or a torn that, some of us have done a this or that multiple times. But we still keep coming back. As Dennis Phillips told me when I first talked to him about starting vaulting again, the vault will find the weak link in your body, so be ready for that to happen. It usually takes a building up 3 or 4 of those weak links before you can jump relatively free of discomfort.
On the plus side, there is the thrill of competing, the satisfaction of getting yourself in good enough shape to compete, and especially the camaraderie of your fellow masters vaulters.
About how to start, after you make the commitment to do the necessary workouts to get in shape, you will soon want to have a venue where you can vault. Most of us have some association with a local high school, either as an official coach or as a volunteer. You kind of work into the discussion about making the trade of your time for a chance to jump on occassion. Whatever you can work out. You should also see if there are any clubs near where you live.
As souleman says, there have been several discussions on this board about us old guys and what we can and cannot do. Setting a goal for yourself is often a motivator. Mine is to jump higher than I did in high school. I was within 2 inches of that this past year when I got injured again.
Anyway, a big hearty welcome to you and I hope to meet you one day at a competition.
- master
