am i screwed already?? XC for pole vault

[xjoeyx]

well i realize that XC is almost over and were already into the speed phase but i want to know.. am i already screwed too much from XC to the point that i will suffer big this spring? when we get in the weightroom i do specific workouts for vaulting lots of pullups, core-work, bench press, pushups, medicine ball stuff.. but im more worried about mechanics than anything.. will it affect me bad or can i reverse the effects?

[powerplant42]

How is anyone but you supposed to be able to tell? Introduce yourself to the 'search' button, talk with your pole vault coach. Talk with your cross country coach. Talk with your school's strength coach/teacher.... Generally, people that know your situation better... This would be someone like asking 'What pole should I get on next?' without posting a video or in depth analysis of their vault with current poles.

I may sound abrupt, maybe a little rude, but you've got to realize how little information you've given... First of all, have you even vaulted before? Is this your first time doing cross country? If it isn't, then why are you asking this question? Shouldn't you already know the answer? Tell us everything you can about your situation. I assume that you don't have an indoor season, but are there any training opportunities with local clubs or other schools? How hard/long have you been training as a distance runner? How much do you weigh? What are some of your current 1RMs? Etc., etc., etc... The list goes on and on...

And search for this topic.

[xjoeyx]

well ill add some more in depth stuff here.. yes its my first season doing xc and theres no indoor here or we wouldnt have this problem. i started training for xc once my club season was over (my club team doesnt have a pv coach its basically just me vaulting).Football dominates everything around here especially at my school. but i already did the search. and my coach wouldnt be of much help. neither would any strength coach or trainer or anything of that sort at my school. 90% of the coaches at my school are so wrapped up in football they dont even know what XC is. i mean the trainer calls us track people. about the only help xc has brought me that i know other than being able to use the weight room is that i went from being on my pole weight(170) to 155. thats with adding some muscle on. thats about as much as i can tell you other than we get to use the weight room for about 3 days a week monday, tuesday, and thursday.

*EDIT*-my first time pole vaulting was end of last spring when club team started so i basically only vaulted for a month for 2 days a week.

[rainbowgirl28]

You have plenty of time to develop your speed. Cross country gets way too bad of a rap on this site. I coach middle school cross country and I think doing cross country in the fall can be good for lots of high school vaulters. It just depends on your situation.

If you enjoy doing cross country, just enjoy the rest of your season and quit worrying about what people here think. It's more important what you do in the next couple months than what you did the last couple. I am guessing you guys are already cutting back on your mileage.

Cross country is a great sport and a lot of fun.

[xjoeyx]

well we havent cut back yet in fact were going harder now but region is 10 days away.. my main concern is not being able to use the weight room after the seasons over (you would be suprised at how stingy they are with it especially considering the ad is the football head coach at my school. lets just say all 5-6 vaulters at our school have 2 poles to choose from.)

[birdi_gurlie]

You're fine. Or at least, you should be. Out of our school's pole vaulters from last year who didn't graduate [which equals 6 people], 4 of them ran/run XC. And one of those made it to the state level in Indoor and Outdoor last year [6th and 4th] and yes, she did run it that year too. And another person made it to regionals and ran it last year. I ran XC this year. That said, I worked out in the weight room a little after practice too, some days, despite being not-muscular, haha. [I'm still a beginner.]

[xjoeyx]

well im still a beginner too but i go lift every day i get a chance in the weight room. ill talk to my coach tomorrow about being able to use the weight room once the seasons over. he could probably let us go in when baskebtall is in

[altius]

Re: am i screwed already?? XC for pole vault
by xjoeyx on Sun Oct 12, 2008 5:59 pm

well im still a beginner too but i go lift every day i get a chance in the weight room????

If your aim is to become a pole vaulter I suggest you give the weight room a miss - probably forever - and do short approach 2/4/6 steps jumps in a sand pit three times a week for a month or so - and on two other days do pole runs and pole plant exercises.
As a beginner, technical development must be your absolute focus.

[xjoeyx]

i would but theres only one problem.. the only time i get to be even near the track is when the xc team does speed workouts on the track.. the poles are in the shed with the rest of the track stuff and coach wont let us get the poles out to practice with until the season starts.. trust me id rather be doing jumps into the sand than any of the other stuff.

[KYLE ELLIS]

We always get bad advice on these topics. If you are wanting to be an elite hs, college, or national vaulter cross counrty is terrible!! If you just want to to jump 12-14ft, then yeah you can still do that. And weight lifting is not bad, I just wouldn't reccomend alot of lifting for a growing body; not forever as it will become an extremely important part of training one day. There isn't much to argue because science backs up that pole vault and cross country do not mix! What component accounts for most the vaulters potential height??? --speed at takeoff

[VTechVaulter]

if your coach wont let you touch a pole, i would recommend finding a local club to workout with. where do you live?

waiting until april to start pole vaulting will not lead to the results you are capable of

[SinCity]

X Country is great for young athletes,even pole vaulters. The gains you will get from cross country you can not get from any vault specific work. The body is very adaptable to various types of work and cross country will improve your work load for the spring. Also, if you are doing runs of 6mi to 8mi, even 1 or 2 of these every few months your recovery from hard run days will increase two fold.
I believe it is a great sport, and anything in the fall which keeps you active and competing whether its football, soccer or tennis is wonderful too. Don't get caught up in being one dementional, especially in HS. It dosent develop a total athlete concept and is a receipe for burnout.
You are doing the right thing. Keep it up