Freakish Old Man Strength or Injury Waiting to Happen. HELP

[Tim McMichael]

I’ve got a problem here. I started back in the weight room three weeks ago, and I can’t make myself sore. No matter how hard I lift, I recover by the next day. The college kids I coach are having a much harder time than I am. I’m literally working them into the ground. I am also MUCH stronger than I thought I would be. I’m strong enough that if the wheels are there, (which is very much in doubt), I could easily make 17’. The problem is that I have never experienced this. Does anyone else know what is going on? Am I headed for an injury, or should I just roll with it and keep going hard?

Perhaps it’s the phenomenon I call “freakish old man strength.â€Â

[gtc]

I think it is definately Freakish Old Man Strength Tim!!

[jumpbackin]

I don't see how it could be a bad thing. I think the key is if you are making strength gains. If you are, all is good. If you're loosing strength, your probably over doing it. If you're stagnant, it's tougher to know, but you should probably try something different.

Some would argue if you are making gains too fast, it could be dangerous for your tendons and ligaments. Muscles are able to respond faster to training than the conective tissues. I don't think this is a likely problem, but something to consider.

I think it's interesting you used to get sore but now you don't. Maybe you should get serious about vaulting again for a while and see what happens. I know I was a better athlete at 35 than I was at 23. maybe the same will be true for you at 39.

[theczar]

lol...that doesn't sound like something to complain about! Put it to good use! Work on your "wheels" and GIT-R-DONE!

[Bubba PV]

You were never normal anyway Tim. LOL!! Most with your small stature would not have had the talent to jump as high as you did. I'm thrilled for you Man!! Have some fun, but don't TRY and get hurt or you might. U 'D Man!! You and Gary Hunter!!

BTW - for those of you who don't know this character, one year at the Sunkist Invitational in LA he went to the bathroom and let out a huge scream as he passed a kidney stone. Then came out and won the meet. I was just outside the bathroom to tell him he was coming up when I heard the yell and then pit side when he won. He’s AMAZING!! Bubba

[theczar]

now THAT is athleticism!

[Tim McMichael]

Thanks for the encouragement fellas. I’m working on the wheels, and I need to drop about ten pounds. We shall see what we shall see.

Last year, after I gave my college kids a speech abut being tougher in training, one of them said, “I heard there was this guy a long time ago who won a meet while he was passing a kidney stone.â€Â

[GeorgeN]

I need to know one thing. How old are you?
If you are in my age brackett, then stop exercising and never pole vault again!
If you are not in my age group, go for it!

[Duncan]

Well, it is getting close to 2 months since this thread started. How are you feeling now - has the soreness caught up to you yet? Have you tried out your wheels? Any short run vaults?

I can build strength now as well as I ever did (I'm 42), but I do get very sore - so you are a bit of a freak as far as I can see.

I have had a good couple of months after taking a month off. The conditioning and speed work are feeling pretty good. I've been mixing in 1 day per week of speed, 1 day of light running, 3 days of biking (sometimes same day as running) and 1 day of vaulting. I wish I could do more speed work, but my Achilles can't take it. My weight has come down - I have about 5 pounds to go.

I have been working on somewhat short runs - last weekend I moved from 5 rights up to 6 rights (I am a lefty). It felt good. I am holding 14' and working on a nice clean run at the end - I tend to turn my sholders a bit and it is a bit awkward. I felt I made very good progress last weekend - I am running a 6 step better than I ever have. I am going to stay at a 6 step for a few more weeks before mixing in some longer runs.

Duncan (42 from NJ)

[Bubba PV]

Way to go Duncan!! Speaking f freakish, not only is Duncan a great talent, none of us can live up to his training methods!! http://www.bubbapv.com/Pages/BYVault-DuncanNJ.htm

HeeHee!! Keep up the good work Buddy!! Bubba

[Tim McMichael]

Well, I managed to hurt myself doing plyometrics and have not recovered yet. Bummer. The strength is there, but the wheels are not. Earl Bell’s indoor record is safe from me anyway. Pat will blow it away next year. The problem for me now is finding motivation with more realistic goals. Anybody have any suggestions to help? I really want to jump well again, but at 40 I have to change my mindset, and I have no idea how.

We McMichaels suffer from a generational curse. We feel compelled to pick up professions that are ridiculously hard and are convinced that we have a birthright to be the best in the world at whatever we attempt. The problem with this is that when we run up against limitations we can’t handle it. My great grandfather was a gunfighter. You can’t get any more of a high pressure profession than that. He was good enough that the killers and assassins didn’t challenge him, and every one else he could defeat without killing them. He once shot the heels off a man’s boots for instance. Then, one day when he was about 50, he killed a man, more or less by accident. He came home in the middle of the night drunk out of his mind, buried his gun in a field out behind our house, and became a hopeless alcoholic. My grandfather fell apart when he could no longer out work every other farmer in the world. I am afraid that my father and brother are headed down the same road, and I am staring it right in the face. I know this is too personal and confessional, but I am serious as a heart attack about needing some help here.

[rainbowgirl28]

It helps me to set lots of smaller goals. I have all kinds of PRs from every run imaginable, and every year I kind of start over and keep season PRs. I also have grip PRs, height cleared over handhold PRs, etc.

I also have a lot of fun doing multi-events. I am really bad in everything else, but it helps take my mind off pole vaulting.

My high school coach is a masters multi-event athlete, and he keeps PRs for everything he does. He keeps yearly lists, bests since he turned 35, bests since he turned 40, etc. He was a high jumper in college, but he switched to the decathlon because he did not want to get too focused on HJ and spend the rest of his life fighting burnout.