Gym workouts for when i don't practice! Nutrition?

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Rosie<3
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Gym workouts for when i don't practice! Nutrition?

Unread postby Rosie<3 » Sun Nov 13, 2011 9:30 pm

I practice on sundays and thursdays for Polevault and go ot the gym and do cardio and lift on the other days of the week. I usually take saturdays off. I want to build up strength that will help me vault and lose about 15 pounds by spring. What workouts are good for girl vaulters at the gym. I always do chin ups, but what cardio should i do and how should i mix up my routines? I am always at a loss when i go to the gym and i feel like i am doing the same thing over and over again! Also what is a good nutrition plan for a vaulter? How many calories should a 15 year old vaulter consume?
Last edited by Rosie<3 on Mon May 21, 2012 8:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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rainbowgirl28
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Re: Gym workouts for when i don't practice! NUtrition?

Unread postby rainbowgirl28 » Sun Nov 13, 2011 10:42 pm

You probably don't need to lose 15 pounds, and keep in mind that muscle weighs more than fat. So as you lose fat and gain muscle the numbers on the scale won't change much. They're not that important, just focus on getting faster and stronger and eating good food. You don't need to count calories. Eat food from home, not fast food. Don't drink soda. Don't eat junk food. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables and make sure you're eating protein. Many HS girls tend to undereat, and eat crap when they do eat, which screws up their metabolism and makes it harder to maintain a healthy weight.

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Re: Gym workouts for when i don't practice! NUtrition?

Unread postby rainbowgirl28 » Sun Nov 13, 2011 10:45 pm

Also, you don't need to be doing a lot of cardio. Do a 10-15 minute warmup of jogging or elliptical or jump rope or whatever before you lift or workout. That's enough cardio. Running hills or stadiums is good for getting faster, do them fast with a decent amount of rest in between.

Also, look through the old threads in here, there are plenty of good discussions about lifting and training.

Rosie<3
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Re: Gym workouts for when i don't practice! NUtrition?

Unread postby Rosie<3 » Sun Nov 13, 2011 10:58 pm

well my coach wants me to lose like 10lbs, and i know i should. I am a little bigger than the rest of the girsl and i know that is holding me back. But what are good workouts for the gym? Like strength workouts?

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Re: Gym workouts for when i don't practice! NUtrition?

Unread postby Lax PV » Mon Nov 14, 2011 10:33 am

rainbowgirl28 wrote:You don't need to count calories. Eat food from home, not fast food. Don't drink soda. Don't eat junk food. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables and make sure you're eating protein.


well said.

I don't claim to be a nutritionist, and anyone on here who knows me personally will tell you I am addicted to mountain dew, but that said, a good general rule of thumb is if there are more than 5 ingredients in the food that you cannot pronounce, you probably shouldn't be eating it. For example, pre packaged foods like "Green Giant Steamers" for veggies are not that good for you... you are better off buying veggies from the produce section and preparing them yourself--plus they are much cheaper than you might think. There is a lot of information out on the web on how to prepare veggies well, just ask Dr. Google :)

as far as training is concerned, there is a search function in the upper right hand corner of the site that will help you find what you are looking for. I will give you the reprise of what you are going to find mostly--

1) get faster

2) work on the high bar (bubkas, swings, kips, pull ups etc--the guys that I coach do very little actual upper body lifting--almost all their upper body work is done here)

3) squats, power cleans, snatches, jerks (if you know how to do them, or someone who does know has time to teach you how to do them correctly)


People get very concerned about weight, but I agree with Becca--you are better off making good use of the weight that you have, than focussing on loosing weight. Muscle does weigh more than fat, but only by about 10%--if you are gaining muscle while loosing fat at the same rate, the number isn't going to change on the scale much, but you will see results and your relative strength (which is what REALLY matters in PV IMO) is going to go up.

Good luck!

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Re: Gym workouts for when i don't practice! NUtrition?

Unread postby Andy_C » Mon Nov 14, 2011 8:18 pm

For nutrition, I suggest eating about 5 times a day. If you can't, 4 is still good. As mentioned, try to avoid foods with lots of preservatives. If you look at the back label it will say stuff like "food coloring x" or "flavor x" or anything with a color and number like "FD&C Red/Yellow #6" Try and keep these to a minimum because they can throw your body function out of whack if you have too much. There's a million different types (hence the numbers) and they interact with your body in a million different ways. That does not matter so much if you're sitting on your computer all day but it's a completely different story if you want to compete seriously. Sometimes avoiding preservatives is next to impossible and it's okay if you have some but as long as you stay away from the stuff that the majority is artificial sweetener like Coke, you'll be fine. And don't be fooled by "Diet Coke" or "Coke Zero" - they cut down the calories and maintain taste but putting in even more additives. Your body can deal with sugar by using it as fuel, as long as it's within moderation (ie. not Coke, Pepsi or Mountain Dew levels) it will not be converted and stored as fat. But an overload of the preservatives can be the real performance killer, some of them stay in your system for weeks before your kidneys can clear them.

In terms of a plan, something like this would be good:

Breakfast (early AM): oatmeal + fruit (blueberries, blackberries, grapes, kiwi, melons go well with oatmeal) + multivitamin would be good
Brunch/Snack (Late AM): tree nuts (almonds, walnuts, Brazil nuts) or sunflower seeds are also good or yogurt or fruit (apple, banana)
Lunch (Noon): turkey or chicken sandwich on whole grain bread or whole grain pasta or salad
Afternoon Snack (Late PM): tree nuts or fruit or yogurt
Dinner (before 7PM): Fish or turkey or chicken or salad

To mix it up you can also have:
lean beef 2x per week at lunch or dinner
eggs + multigrain or rye bread 2x per week at breakfast

This isn't a 100% concrete plan you must stick to but it's a good way to start thinking about eating.

That plan may sound pretty intense but those portions are pretty small. The big problem is that there is a lot of work put into preparing all that throughout the day. But it is a good habit to get used to though. Do this now and you will have very healthy eating habits for the rest of your life.

For getting started on an eating plan like this you may just get into the habit of eating 4-5 times per day at first. It's hard to jump completely into the whole thing in one attempt. Once you're into the habit of eating 4-5 times per day you can start focusing on what you're eating. First thing is always breakfast IMO, it sets the tone for the rest of the day. Oatmeal + fruit is not hard to get down pat. It's very quick and easy to prepare. The other stuff might take some working around. Planning snacks should not be too hard to do; just get some tree nuts (not fried and unsalted - you need salt but not this much) or seeds and put them in a zip lock bag. Or fruit or yogurt - easy enough to prepare. A multi-grain bar would also be okay for a snack. Lunch and dinner are the two hardest meals to prepare for but see what you can do and talk to your parents about it. Fish is my #1 recommendation but poultry (especially turkey) is also good. Salad is always good and should be eaten once per day. If you can't get a salad, those steamed veggies or fresh broccoli should be good enough and easy to prepare.

In terms of losing weight:
The more frequently you eat, the higher your base metabolic rate. So the goal for losing weight is to eat frequently but in small portions. If you finish your portion but still feel hungry it's a good idea to wait 10 minutes before getting up again to get seconds because it takes about 10 minutes for the stretch receptor signals in the stomach to go into full effect to tell you you're full. If you eat till you feel completely full as fast as you can, chances are you've over eaten. Satisfied, not full, is a good way of thinking of where you want to be. For the snacks you shouldn't really eat until you're satisfied though. Just eat something, it's like a little hold-over until the main meal when you should eat until you are satisfied. Additionally, you can drink more water or eat a high fluid food like watermelon will get you full fast while still being healthy and nowhere near as calorie dense as downing a pizza. Water helps to fill up your stomach and makes you feel more full.

Just remember, healthy is good enough for high school. Your body is still developing. You don't need to go through some crazy dieting routine that doesn't let you eat calories. A good thing to keep in mind is that you need to feel satisfied without feeling full. But my biggest advice to you is to build good habits now because psychologically, habits for life are formed when you're still young. This will keep you healthy as an adult and it will give you a huge leg up over the competition as an athlete. I do not like to recommend crash diets because they are essentially forms of starvation with very little long term value. Most people in a crash diet will gain the weight back within half a year. A "true" diet is about forming good habits. But take small steps at a time because it doesn't happen overnight. I don't believe in teaching somebody all the good pole vault habits all at once so I do the same with teaching dietary habits. My little plan I like to tell people:
1) Get used to eating 4-5 times a day, it will let you get used to preparing your food and planning your day - "sets the table"
2) Sort out breakfast (what you eat and your portions)
3) Sort out your between-meal snacks
4) Sort out dinner
5) Sort out lunch

6) Modify a meal when necessary! It's easy when everything is sorted like this. You don't have to throw everything away and go back to the drawing board. And as you learn more about eating well you can get ideas to improve your meals. The main thing is that your "framework" will be your diet buddy for life!

-Andrew
Hard work is wasted energy if you don't work wisely!


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