Vaulting in the Big Leagues

This past week’s training:

Monday – 4km on the track in 20:10.00, Cleans, Squats, Dumbbell Bench

Tuesday – 6x50yd sprints (full recovery), Plyometrics

Wednesday – 8x200m tempo (100m walking recovery) Clean&Jerk, Snatch, Pull Ups, Lunges

Thursday – 6x50yd sprints out of blocks with spikes on (full recovery)

Friday – 4×300, 4×200, 4x100m tempo, HOT out!, Snatch (back cramp stopped me), Leg Press, Bench, Abs

Saturday – Off

Sunday – Off (Happy Father’s Day!)

Maxes this week:

Cleans: 120lbs, Squats:235lbs, DBench: 110lbs, Jerks: 110lbs, Snatch: 95lbs, Lunges: 75lbs

Feeling good this week. Very humid. Started off chilly and easy to run in, ended in a heat wave. It’s still pretty hot, and this week will be pretty heavy in the heat. If you’re working out in this heat and humidity, remember to drink tons of water, or you’ll get muscle cramps like I did on Friday. Be Smart!

-Sambo

Ok, since I am not only a vaulter, and I am not in competition mode, let’s focus on the sport that brought us pole vault, and how to train for it COLLEGE STYLE!

Track and Field is a wonderful sport and I, like many of you, have been called to many other events OTHER than pole vault. Yeah, pole vault is the best event and the most fun to train for and compete, but you have to be in shape to do so. First things first: If you want to be a world class vaulter, you have to be a world class sprinter and jumper.

So how do you get there?

Summertime is a great time for preseason shape up and now is the time to get yourself prepared to multitask, and to take on anything late in the season. The base you build up over the summer and fall will carry you on to an explosive indoor season and by the end of outdoor, you will be smashing PRs all over the place!

Since this is my only blog, and it is a sports blog, I think I’ll post some workouts I’ve been doing. perhaps some of you can take something from this. Don’t do exactly what I am doing, cause everyone is different and I am training for decathlon, not just the vault. So here it is: (week of 6/6 – 6/12)

• Sunday: 20 minute run around neighborhood in Lowell [PV practice canceled ]
• Monday: 20 minute bike ride, cleans, back squats, bench press, simmons
• Tuesday: 6x30m sprint workout, full recovery, at baseball field
• Wednesday: 10x100m tempo, 50m walk recovery, clean&jerks, snatches, lat pull downs, lunges
• Thursday: 6x30m sprint workout, full recovery
• Friday: 4×300 (1:45 rest), 4×200 (100m walk rest), 4×100 (50m walk rest) tempo, snatches, bench press
• Saturday: 20 minute run around Auburn

I am working on endurance for the season, and trying to maintain sprinting speed and explosiveness. Coming off of a hiatus from running, this is a decent starter schedule for a college athlete. The 20 minute runs and the long tempo help with endurance. The short sprint workouts and short tempo allow you to revive your explosiveness and form early in the season and stay relaxed. I do not exert myself during any of these. Everything is done at around 80%, including my lifting. You gotta be able to last through workouts and feel fresh the next day to take on other ones.

The above schedule excludes my ‘daily routine’ at the track. Every day, I do a 4 lap jogging warm up on the turf field, where I mix in skipping, bounding, arm rotation, karaokes, and backwards running. After, I do leg swings on the fence, then about 6 half-field runs where I work on various hip exercises for strength and flexibility, and sprinting drills. Everyday ends with a one lap (usually barefoot) jog around the turf, rolling out of muscles, toe walks, heel walks, and side-of-the-foot walks.

Take everything I say with a grain of salt. You will not be doing exactly what I do, no matter who you are, or the level you’re at. Your warm up will probably be different, and you will have different workouts. I am only posting this so you can take a look at what else is out there, and judge what you could try for a different workout. This schedule is typical for Umass Lowell athletes, and you should stick to what you feel to be regular to YOUR team practices. Just don’t treat it like you’re in season, cause you’re not and you don’t want to peak too early, and exhaust yourself before your season ends.

My lifting maxes this week:

Cleans – 110lbs

Jerks – 100lbs

Snatches – 90lbs

Squats – 225lbs

Lat pulls – 150lbs

Simmons – 45lbs

Lunges – 75lbs

Dumbbell bench – 105lbs

All 5 sets of 5.

Again, with lifting in preseason, don’t come close to ‘maxing out.’ You don’t want to feel like you’re pushing until the 4th or 5th set of a lift.

I hope you enjoyed my first weekly workout post. The others will not be as long, I promise. This was the ice-breaker. If you have any questions or want to talk about training, vaulting, college athletics, running with me, or anything you can comment on here, friend ‘Sambo Fancypants’ on facebook, or leave me an email at sam_lebeau@student.uml.edu

Thanks for reading! Train this summer, but don’t beat yourself up. You’ll be prepared when, in mid-season, your coach throws you (a vaulter) into the 1,600m or the 400m.

-Sambo

Hey PPVC community! I’m back.

As you may have read in my previous post, my sophomore year was turbulent. It’s officially over now, and although I have taken a hiatus from a number of things (this blog, athletics, life in general) I am ready for my return to the world.

I have basically been in hibernation, getting my life back in order. I have taken the year to bond with my track team, plan for a future in graphic design, put together a debut album for my music project “Dino Stampede,” lease an apartment, and figure out where and who I want to be. And one of those titles is still ‘pole vaulter.’

Yeah, I broke my foot, got sick, became ineligible credits-wise, got sick again, failed a class, and broke my leg. BUT, wakeup call after wakeup call, I’m finally up! I’ve built up stronger character in the meantime. The time I had to take off made me miss track and field more than anything! I’ve been itching to get back and compete, and now have a chance again. I’m ready to take it on now. Ready for big things. It sure is a downer when all of this happens, against your will after Doug tells you beforehand: “I’ll be mad at you if you DONT clear fourteen this year!”

So summer has started. I have a new outlook. I have been attending Sunday practices at North Andover High School. My new roommate is a recent graduate of the nutrition program, and is in the process of becoming a personal trainer. I have been taking his advice in regards to summer training, and feel great about it. Lotsa lifting, lotsa volume. If you’re looking to train over the summer, remember: it’s not all about speed right now, it’s about finishing workouts and maintaining good form comfortably.

I will be competing for Umass Lowell as a sophomore next year, although I am technically a junior. I can’t make promises, but I’m feeling good as of now Decathlon and UML school record possibly in the near future. FINGAZ CROSSED!

-Sambo