Training rant

A forum to discuss overall training techniques, nutrition, injuries, etc. Discussion of actual pole vault technique should go in the Technique forum.
EIUvltr
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Training rant

Unread postby EIUvltr » Sat Aug 20, 2011 11:58 am

Ever since I unofficially retired from pole vaulting, I rarely look into this forum except when I'm feeling especially helpful. Unfortunately despite putting in years of what I thought was pretty good advice, people keep asking the same old questions as if the search feature didn't exist. The biggest problem I see with our athletes is not that they do not have the answers to their questions, but rather that they are asking the wrong questions or asking questions that are seemingly simple but actually quite complex. I've read thousand page books that answer questions as simple as "what exercises should I do for this sport?" But in an effort to enlighten and vent a bit, I will attempt to answer some of the questions I see all too often.

1. How much weight should I deadlift/bench/squat/Clean/snatch/etc.?

Unfortunately this question assumes that the athlete has perfect technique in these lifts which is almost definitely not true. So step one would be to learn how to do these lifts. It's presumptuous to think that you are a natural when it comes to power lifting and olympic lifting which are sports in and of themselves. Professional lifters take years to learn proper form. That being said, you do not need perfect form to perform these exercises safely and see benefits from them, however the majority of people are not there yet.

Now assuming you have good enough form to do these lifts safely, there is still no magical number or ratio that you need to achieve in order to derive the maximum benefit out of a lift. It depends on limb length, muscle fibre composition, muscle insertions, YOUR technique, the time of year (you don't need to be your "strongest" during the most important meets), flexibility issues (I'll explain this later), etc. So lift to get stronger, but remember that you are a pole vaulter, not an olympic lifter or powerlifter.

2. I have some type of injury, what should I do?

See a doctor

3. Should I do a certain lift?

Maybe. No two athletes are exactly the same. Everyone will respond differently to identical stimuli. If you have a pole vaulter who can squat 800 lbs. then squatting more probably won't be too beneficial. If you have an athlete who can hardly squat his bodyweight, then squatting may be very beneficial. If you want me to spit out a magic number, re-read question #1.

As a personal trainer, I've encountered a ton of strange issues that I've had to overcome before I could load one of my clients in a seemingly simple movement pattern. I have an ex-baseball player whose LATs and traps are incredibly tight. Having him deadlift, shrug or perform any strenuous internal rotation movements could potentially exacerbate his problem. Honestly there are very few lifts I "like" doing with him, unfortunately I only see him 2 hours a week so I have to take the good with the bad. If I was around him as much as a coach though, I would have him perform flexibility/mobility exercises constantly and also put a lot of focus on strengthening his external rotators of the shoulder, massage therapy, stim, etc before I would ever load him. So obviously, how much he can deadlift has no impact on whether I make him deadlift or not.

Also doing a lift can be beneficial or counter-productive depending on what time of year it is. Explaining this would be a book in itself, but obviously it depends on a lot of factors whether or not you should perform a certain lift.

4. Is P90x/crossfit/jazzercise good for pole vaulters?

Good relative to what? Compared to becoming addicted to black tar heroin, yes P90x is good. Compared to a detailed training program from a capable strength and conditioning coach, p90x is not good. Workouts like these are usually better than something the average person can come up with and require minimal equipment. However if you have access to proper training equipment and a knowledgable coach, you should not be doing these workouts.

5. High reps/low eight or low reps/high weight?

Again it depends. Assuming we are only talking about the slow lifts (squats, deads, bench, military, etc.) then a very basic recommendation would be higher reps in the off-season and pre-season, lower reps in the in-season. But that is extremely lacking advice, so again, talk to your strength and conditioning coach or start buying some books. Now if we are taking into account the speed of the lift such as plyos or olympic lifting, then its even more complicated and any advice you get on this forum could be potentially dangerous or just flat-out wrong.

To be continued...
"If he dies, he dies"

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Lax PV
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Re: Training rant

Unread postby Lax PV » Wed Aug 31, 2011 4:20 pm

Dig it.

ESPECIALLY "See a doctor."

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joebro391
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Re: Training rant

Unread postby joebro391 » Thu Sep 01, 2011 10:49 pm

glad I could inspire you :heart: -6P
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Re: Training rant

Unread postby golfdane » Fri Sep 02, 2011 3:05 am

Lax PV wrote:Dig it.

ESPECIALLY "See a doctor."


Well, that certainly depends on the doctor :D

If you go to a doctor here in Denmark with shin splints, will 90% of all doctors prescribe no running for 6 weeks. It removes the pain, so in essence, was the doctor correct, but it doesn't remove the reason for the shin splints or allows an athlete to return to training again.
So I would recommend: See a specialist. All injuries requires "hands on" by someone who has a clue about your specific injury, so DON'T use an internet forum as the final advice (unless they tell you to see a specialist).

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joebro391
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Re: Training rant

Unread postby joebro391 » Fri Sep 02, 2011 9:39 am

golfdane wrote:so DON'T use an internet forum as the final advice (unless they tell you to see a specialist).

golfdane, you ARE my specialist...one of them anyway ;) haha -6P
PR: 15'6 !!PETROV/6.40 MODEL!! http://www.youtube.com/user/joebro391


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