The fitness of pole vaulters: a discussion...

[powerplant42]

So let's take a look at what we feel to be the right direction to go in as far as what lifts, set structures, supplements, periodization methods, etc. that a vaulter should use.

I will start with my opinion on what are the most beneficial lifts (grouped, but listed in no particular order):
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Power clean
Power snatch
Dead lift
Push jerk
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Lunge (or one leg squat) (or split squat...plyometric perhaps?)
Parrallel Squat
Sit ups
Pull ups
Shrugs
Bench press
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Clap pushups
Side hops or front/back hops
Depth jumps
Squat jumps (what do you think about this one?)

Any thoughts or notable additions or changes? Again, these are the MAJOR lifts that I'm suggesting that a vaulter should do AFTER a suitable strength base has been attained...

[VaultMarq26]

actually that is a pretty solid list.....only comment I would make was doing some sort of bench....i see push-ups, but you need to add some weight to pec exercises to get overload (or do a huge amount of push-ups)

[Split]

actually that is a pretty solid list.....only comment I would make was doing some sort of bench....i see push-ups, but you need to add some weight to pec exercises to get overload (or do a huge amount of push-ups)

I agree. Somewhere on here I recall reading that you should be able to bench 135 percent of your body weight.

[powerplant42]

Added. I can't believe I missed that... I once thought that the bench press was a relatively unimportant lift for pole vaulters, only to reread Bubka's interview on neovault and find that he said that it was one of the most important lifts a pole vaulter could do! As agapit has mentioned (somewhere deep in the bowels of the 'repent' thread I believe,) the pecs are the weak link in the chain. Thanks for catching that.

[KYLE ELLIS]

Thats funny because I thought I remembered seeing something about Bubka not really caring much about the bench press at all. I think overall strength is good for a vaulter, I don't know how sport specific bench is to alot of things but it may help in two areas. 1-The poles may feel lighter and easier to carry. 2- It may give a psyche advantage or confidence. I am guilty of working on my bench even though i know its not relational to polevault- My max was around 315lbs weighing 170... But I am not bulky at all and I can truely say most of it was nervous system since my previous best was 220lbs weighing 175. I didn't lose any range of motion.

I wouldn't say depth jumps or side hops belong in the lifting category... Those would go into a jumps category which I could fill pretty high. I don't think side or back hops are sport specific to pole vaulting at all and aren't that important. I also think that other body building lifts such as bicep curls/ forearms/ dips/ military/ RDL's/ other leg lifts etc could be beneficial to an overall strength program... These are less intensive lifts that can be done inbetween high CNS stressing lifts.

I would like to add a couple lifts 1- half squats- more sport specific than full squats (when you run and jump you dont have a 90degree joint angle, the key is to do alot of weight since it is easier than full squats.) I do think full squats have their place as well. 2- Bulgarian split squats (and bulgarian split squat jumps) and also med-ball throws/ exercises. And I think it is also very important to work your lower back, (along with hamstrings)this will help with finishing the take-off and achieving that desired C.

[KirkB]

I think overall strength is good for a vaulter, I don't know how sport specific bench is to alot of things but it may help in two areas. 1-The poles may feel lighter and easier to carry. 2- It may give a psyche advantage or confidence. I am guilty of working on my bench even though i know its not relational to polevault- My max was around 315lbs weighing 170... But I am not bulky at all and I can truely say most of it was nervous system since my previous best was 220lbs weighing 175. I didn't lose any range of motion. ...

Bench press is quite important for your plant. If you don't have the pec and shoulder strength to withstand the impact of the pole hitting the box, you could injure yourself quite easily - especially on a bad plant.

I remember debating with Agapit a couple months ago about whether you should do a straight-arm plant, or hunch your shoulders slightly. I recommended straight-arm, but he said it was dangerous. What I forgot to mention in that debate was that it's not dangerous if you bulk up your shoulders by doing bench presses. I had forgotten that I bulked up by doing them with serious weight, so that's why it wasn't dangerous for me. I pressed 415.

To emphasize the shoulders more than the pecs and arms, you should use a very thick pad and/or towels on your chest. Then, your press is almost a straight-arm press. The intent is to load as much weight as possible on, to put bulk on your shoulders. You need a strong spotter for this! Cheating by pushing up with your chest is recommended, although true bench-pressers would frown on this (and the thick pad). Remember - you're not a true bench presser, you're a pole vaulter, so don't worry about cheating here.

Also, re your range of motion, you need to stretch out every day, as bench presses will reduce your flexibility if you don't.

Kirk

[KYLE ELLIS]

I agree that strength is important but I never feltlike a strain on my pecs at the plant. Wouldn't military press be more related to the plant than bench? I guess it really doesn't matter since most vaulters propbably do both anyways. For me personally I was only a mid 17ft jumper I felt my shoulders push up at plant and more of a strain on my core than anything else.

[powerplant42]

Bubka in IAAF interview: "There are vaulters like Britts, who are stronger than I am, physically speaking. For example my best result in bench press was around 130 or 135 kg, while he has something around 160 kg. The bench press is important for pole vaulting, but it is a general movement that helps to develop physically, but when we jump we must do specific movements which we need to develop and improve in our vaulters. "

I would agree that perhaps the side hops or front/back hops probably shouldn't be a main excercise. However, I believe that they help to train the calves plyometrically, just like the jumprope.

[KirkB]

I agree that strength is important but I never felt like a strain on my pecs at the plant. Wouldn't military press be more related to the plant than bench? ... I felt my shoulders push up at plant and more of a strain on my core than anything else.

To be blunt about it, "cheater bench presses" give you the strength to keep you from disclocating your shoulder (or tearing ligaments) on impact. Pec strength really isn't an issue here.

You won't get the HIGH weights / LOW reps in military press that you get in the cheater bench press. I'm sure you're thinking more of a STRICT bench press than a CHEATER bench press, and if that's the case, your PR of 315 is impressive. But consider how much more intense pressure you can apply to your SHOULDERS by adding another 100 lbs, by the cheater bench presses that I'm recommending.

Now if you could hang the free weights up near where you can military press them (without having to raise them up by human means), then the last part of a military press would give you the same benefit - as long as you're lifting about the same weight. It's just not very practical to set this up. And I don't think the angle of your arms in relation to your body really matters that much, as you're mostly going for core strength in the shoulders - you're not trying to simulate a vault movement.

Having said that, it doesn't hurt to have strong pecs for vaulting too - you just don't need them for the PLANT.

Kirk

[Lax PV]

Good topic--

I REALLY like squat jumps as long as they are done correctly (i.e. ~30% of max squat weight, with quick plyometric like concentric and eccentric phases--should be quick contact time > .25sec).

I think bench is a common lift used, however, I don't feel it is very important to most sports. I think it's a great core lift, and great for an anatomical adaptation phase, but once you are more in the swing of things (sorry for the pun) I think overhead shoulder presses, and incline benches might find more use, as you are to push up--not out in front of you--when planting. Main muscle group used in benching is your pectoarils major, which, mechanically is used as the prime mover of shoulder flexion, but that is not really the past of motion used in raising you pole when approaching take off.

Personally (and I know everyone has their two cents...but I am solely speaking about the competition phase of training at this point) I like hang clean early on in competition, and hang snatch and jump squats later on towards the championship phase of training. I have to dig up the source, but hang snatch, given it's rainge of motion and speed performed, is supposed to be one of the best lifts for power output.

I like a lot of shoulder stability things, rotator cuff, shoulder girdle protraction/retraction exercises. I am going to get set on fire for this, but I really hate elastic band training for most activities, with conditioned athletes (physical therapy is a different story) and as a whole, I think the a lot of people--myself included--are over concerned with the weight room. My thought is, get your high intensity training through plyometrics (and for pole vaulters, gymnastics are great--no surprise there) and in the weight room, concentrate on how you move. I read somewhere that Tim Mack's max backsquat was something like 315... nothing that seems rediculous--you don't have to be freakishly strong to pole vault hi Matter of fact, my greatest PRs in bench and squat were done 3 years before I PR'ed in the vault, and by the time I had PR'ed in the vault, my squat was down 40lbs, and my bench was down about 25. Concentrating on which joints move, and how well they move when lifting heavy weights tells a lot about how your muscles are recruited, innervated, and sequenced--and those variables can have a HUGE impact on an event like the pole vault.

I like the lifts that were intially posted. I think they form a great base of training for many athletes. The next question now is, what is the motivation for lifting? For a young athlete, obviously get stronger, and more powerful. What about someone who has reached a max at most lifts, and hsa found a desirable weight to compete at? To me, that is where 'learning to move' comes into play. Knowing thie range of motion of specfic joints, and what muscles specfically move those joints in the way you are trying to mive them (i.e. your biceps brachii does more than just flex your elbow--also abducts your arm, and supinates your forearm)

[VaultPurple]

Power clean
Power snatch
Dead lift
Push jerk
---------------
Lunge (or one leg squat)
Parrallel Squat
Sit ups
Pull ups (or 'reverse shrugs')
Bench press
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Clap pushups
Side hops or front/back hops
Depth jumps
Squat jumps (what do you think about this one?)

Id say you need to add some pull ups, or a type of curl, because everything in your list requires pushing which is mainly triceps... and where pushing the pole up is very important in pole vault , it probably wouldnt be too good to have giant triceps and no biceps.

But im mostly a fan of explosive lifts and more along the plyometric lines like squat jumps.

[powerplant42]

Again, the pectoralis major is the weak link in 'chain theory'. But maybe more discussion on that later.

So now we have a pretty mutual agreement on our basic excercises. When/how often/what intensity/what volume should these lifts be done in each season stage: Preparatory, Season, Championship

What other lifts should accompany these lifts in most workouts? What about sprints?

Id say you need to add some pull ups

Apparantly, you did not read the post very well...