power vs. aesthetics vs. endurance lifting

[crayford]

This is a thread dedicated to LIFTING and general strength training. No pit, no pole.

I recently came across an article in a medical journal that discussed abdominal/core planks and the differences between what an athlete and average person needs. The article talked about how a simple plank regimen, without weight, only trains for an aesthetic, flat look for abs and obliques; then the author discussed how athletes needed a dynamic weight while doing planks, as to train for explosive abdominal power. He recommended doing a normal, face down plank (push-up position) while holding 5 - 10 lbs. weights in each hand, then, while holding the plank position, pull one weight up towards the shoulder, then put it back in place, and do the same with the other hand/weight: that's one rep. Now, I've been doing planks for a while, and can hold myself up for a respectable amount of time. I tried this version, and after 20 reps or so, my core was on fire.

So I pose this question; how much of a typical vaulters workout is training the right muscle(s), but not for the right outcome (i.e. explosiveness, aesthetics, endurance, quick-twitch, etc.)?

Also, which groups should be trained for explosive power, endurance, or otherwise?

[kcvault]

Even though the Abdominal are a slow twitch stabilization muscle it still needs to be trained in a specific way. Doing thousands of reps of crunches or sit ups will increase muscular endurance but will also make the abs much slower. It is much more beneficial to do exercises like 3x 10-20 ball throws, incline sit ups with weight, 3x10 levers or wipers and other explosive lifts of this nature. This will be a higher volume then other lifts due to the high oxidative compacity of the abdominals, but even at this higher volume it will help to recruit more fast twitch motor units and make the type one (slow twitch) muscle fibers act more like type 2b, and 2x (fast twitch) muscle fibers since it will be such a big volume decrease and intensity increase from what most people are doing. This should be more beneficial to the vault since it does not matter how many times you can perform the swing necessary for pole vaulting if you can not swing fast enough to roll the pole and get inverted.
--Kasey

[Lax PV]

This will be a higher volume then other lifts due to the high oxidative compacity of the abdominals, but even at this higher volume it will help to recruit more fast twitch motor units and make the type one (slow twitch) muscle fibers act more like type 2b, and 2x (fast twitch) muscle fibers since it will be such a big volume decrease and intensity increase from what most people are doing.
--Kasey

A little misnomer, but somewhat important one to understand. You cannot change muscles from one fiber type to another--type I (slow twitch) are fundamentally different than type IIa and IIb (both chemically and physically. You can choose to preferentially train specific fiber types however by changing your reps, sets and weights. It is not my intention to say this to sound arrogant/nit-picky, I think it is an important detail for people to understand.

Often times, people think by running distance they will turn their IIa and IIb into I. That is not the case. I actually think (and I might get roasted for this) running distance is not all bad especially for a novice athlete. Building a training base to create some level of work capacity is a good thing--but its just that, a base--read: don't go for a 4mile jog the day before your championship meet.

[kcvault]

Often times, people think by running distance they will turn their IIa and IIb into I. That is not the case. I actually think (and I might get roasted for this) running distance is not all bad especially for a novice athlete. Building a training base to create some level of work capacity is a good thing--but its just that, a base--read: don't go for a 4mile jog the day before your championship meet.

You cannot turn one muscle type into another but you can make type 2b more type 1-like. You increase the muscles mitochondria content causing the muscle to be more oxidative. This is good for distance runners because it allows them to burn fat for energy at a higher intensity and there lactic threshold could go from 65%, to as high as 85% of there VO2 max. Also the type 1 muscle fibers will hypertrophy making the muscles more efficient but slower. Motor unit recruitment happens in an orderly fashion from the smallest most oxidative fibers (type 1 muscles) to the fastest most glycolytic fiber types (2a and 2x) and also 13 others that are not really studied. Therefor, by running distance and developing more mitochondria in the muscles it will not only take longer to recruit the larger motor units but the athlete will be using a slower energy system for longer. (Also a couple studies have shown that hyperplasia accounts for 5-10% of hypertrophy.)

That being said, because the vault happens so quickly-- 4 to 5 seconds from the start of the run to landing on the pole vault mat, there is not much that can be done for training metabolic adaption aside from increasing how fast the ATP CP system recovers.

However, here is what you can do increase speed in the vault. Increase strength (1-5 reps 85-100% 1rm) since speed equals stride length x stride rate this increases stride length by having a more powerful push off the ground with each step. Increase the speed of the nervous system by sprinting (30-100m), over-speed training, and lifting (35-50% on Olympic type lifts 1-10 reps). Take advantage of the elastic stretch of the muscle by doing plyometrics moving through the motion as fast as possible so that you do not signal the Golgi tendon organ to make the muscle relax. Improve bio-mechanics through sprint and form drills. The last thing you can do to improve the vault is is to keep the body lean. Think of the impact going up 5 pounds in stiffness has on the vault (you will have a similar impact from being five lbs lighter) and all things being equal, an athlete can run much faster if they are leaner. This is why useless lifts like flat bench and bicep curls should be avoided by pole vaulters. Also weight control can be accomplished through proper nutrition and running something like 150m at a high speed. This is not far enough to use the lactic system for energy but it is far enough to develop anaerobic endurance and maintain a good body weight.

I am not saying conditioning is not important but how conditioning is traditionally thought of may need to be reconsidered. Also periodization is necessary because when running full speed all muscle fibers are recruited at the same time, fast twitch with slow twitch and fast twitch do not heal very fast due to there low oxidative capacity. Volume and intensity need to be carefully thought of and planned out throughout the year along with proper rest intervals. It takes the body 21-28 days to adapt so I like to go 3 weeks on then one week off at 10-20% less volume/intensity to allow the body to adapt and then change the stimulus. (If the stimuli is not changed i.e volume intensity the body will quit adapting). Also at the end of the year it is necessary to let the body relax for a month or two by going on light jogs and doing other relaxing activities to let the body recover.

Sorry if this message rambles on I do not have time to to explain it better right now.

--Kasey

[Lax PV]

Also at the end of the year it is necessary to let the body relax for a month or two by going on light jogs and doing other relaxing activities to let the body recover.

I don't disagree with any of the physiology.

Jogging/cross training has its place... thats what I was getting at--but should not be a significant portion of training. Many people get dichotomic about it, and many uninformed people get concerned that they will rapidly loose all the training they have done.

...but now we are getting off topic... back to our regularly scheduled program...

[crayford]

I like the discussion.

What I guess I was trying to get at was this; how much training should be done for explosiveness, and how much for endurance? Yes, the vault itself lasts only 4-5 seconds, but the vaulter has to warm up, take a few practice runs, and then jump anywhere from 3 to 15 times in a meet. I know the "recommended dose" of jumps in a meet is supposed to be less than 10, but when the competition heats up and a vaulter is taking vaults number 13, 14, and 15, which lifts/exercises can help out in this situation?

I'm curious because although pro vaulters can get away with only taking 5 or 6 vaults in competition, most amateur vaulters I've seen take closer to the 10+ range (even though this may be too many to some of you coaches out there).

Also, are there any tweaks to basic exercises that make them much harder/more relevant to the vault? Like, for example, the exercise in my original post.

[kcvault]

I know the "recommended dose" of jumps in a meet is supposed to be less than 10, but when the competition heats up and a vaulter is taking vaults number 13, 14, and 15, which lifts/exercises can help out in this situation?

It depends on the vaulter I know when I jumped my Pr it was on my 19th jump of the day. This does not mean to run cross country but that at your high volume training you need to do a workout similar to 20 x 50m. However I should specify going on a mile or 10 or 20 min jog early in the season is not going to do any harm since you won't be running fast enough for the body to adapt as far as slow twitch fibers and slower energy systems. Also doing a half mile warm up for a meet is beneficial as long as your doing running drills and sprints after the jog to complete the warm up. This is because by warming up 5 minute you raise the core temperature about 10 degrees and double the force output of the muscle. What would be harmful for the athlete is to have them compete at cross country by trying to run fast for that long of a time will force the body to adapt but again going on a jog will not have a negative impact and will also be beneficial on recovery days or a cool down after the workout. One thing to consider when designing a program is an athletes starting point. Before two years ago my wife use to jump to train instead of train to jump. In 2010 she did a program that had a considerable amount of volume to it for the year. It still had sled pull days and sprint days but two days a week she did run walks for six months. Three months were running 60 seconds walking 30 seconds with a goal of 90 strides with a steadily increasing volume each month, and the next three months were walking 45 seconds running 30 seconds with a goal of 50 strides. She went from an 14.9 100m to a 13.6 100m and vaulted a foot higher. This was because of her starting level of fitness and performance. By doing a higher work volume for a year her body learned to train resulting in a huge increase in performance (Also this training helps the body to lean out). What needs to be understood is the training that got her to a 13.6 in the 100m is not the same training that is going to get her to a 12.9 hundred meter. An untrained athlete needs to learn how to train and needs to get there body ready for intense training this is why training in high school should have a higher volume then training in college but training in college or post college has a higher training intensity.

That being said it is this phenomenon that causes coaches to think the harder they work there athletes and the more they run them the better they will perform. These are the coaches in college that often injure there athletes and make there sprinters slower. My belief for high school and college is focus should be on having sound physiology and training your athlete year round WITH OUT INJURING THEM If you can do this your athlete will most likely improve and this is why having proper warm ups, cool downs, and rest days and weeks is very important to training.

Here is an older post for what I am doing for workouts for the year http://polevaultpower.com/forum/viewtop ... 30&t=21512 (if I was writing them for high school they would be a little more volume and less intensity) Not sure if I wrote it in the post but I have a two lap warm up before every workout and a two lap cool down after every workout.

--Kasey

[Pablot585]

Kasey,
Did you have any lifting involved in that schedule you posted? I'm just wondering for future reference. Thanks a lot!

[kcvault]

I will post them in about a month they are still under reconstruction.
--KC