Importance of Power vs. Speed

[EIUvltr]

This is mainly directed at experienced vaulters and coaches

Commonly people on this forum relate a person's potential in the pole vault directly to how fast they are. However the more I learn about biomechanics and muscle physiology, the more I realize how this belief could definitely hinder someone in their performance.

What first made me think about this was a study I read about how once a Long jumper reaches a certain skill level, training purely for speed not only no longer helps the athlete improve, but actually hurts his performance. The author then went on to elaborate on how the better an athlete gets at his/her respective event, the importance of specificity of training increases exponentially.

For example) A couch potato who never does any type of exercise can go out and ride his bike for a half hour a day and probably improve his long jump despite how nonspecific bike riding is to that event. This is simply due to the fact that any kind of physical stimulus would help this guy. However eventually he would stop making progress and would have to make his training more specific, perhaps running distance instead of biking, and then maybe some sprints, then jumping exercises, etc.

So I wondered why it is that we constantly compare the pole vault to the long jump, yet we emphasize speed as the end-all be-all characteristic of a great pole vaulter? Also, why are horizontal jumpers limiting theirselves by training like a sprinter?

I figured the answer lied in the takeoff step. After all, you can create all the energy you want in the first 5-19 steps, but the last step is the one that transfers that energy you've created into the jump, so if your takeoff is inefficient, your speed is basically irrelevant. Theoretically someone could walk up to their takeoff step and if they were some kind of physical anomoly and were able to rip their takeoff step back as hard as someone who was running 10 m/s could, both jumpers would jump equally high (technique aside).

(Eventually I'll get to my point, I promise)

So once I realized that the takeoff is probably the most important aspect of the non-airborne portion of the vault, I became confused because of the types of training people recommend to hit your peak performance. The typical recommendation is to do short sprints and speed plyometric training to get as fast as possible. However, there is a difference between power training and speed training. It would seem to me that having a powerful takeoff is more imporant than having a fast approach.

So why don't we emphasize power training around the time we want to peak? Examples from plyometrics would be power hops instead of speed hops, power skips instead of speed skips, Standing Triple jumps instead of flying 30s, etc.

Am I thinking along the correct lines here, or am I missing something?

[Barto]

Don't let the terminology confuse you. Speed is just applied power.

[EIUvltr]

Don't let the terminology confuse you. Speed is just applied power.

Actually power is STRENGTH applied in a given time.

I assume by your terse and unthoughtful reply that you believe pole vaulters should simply train like sprinters because jumping ability is apparently the result of an insignificant difference between speed and power and how they are developed via training.

[Sebes]

I think speed and the take off are like "Love and Marriage": you can't have one without out the other. All kidding aside, you need to have a lot of speed on the runway to jump high, and if you don't have a good take off all the energy you created will be wasted. Concerning training power vs. speed....who knows man.

[theczar]

I was always one who put power over speed. I did more plyometrics early on (jumping, bounding, etc) and power-orientated activities than I ever did sprinting, and I think it definatly helped in the short run, and now that it's been 5 years since I started my power routine, I am now training for speed (but still maintaining the power aspects of corse). That's a little backwards than what you explained, but I definatly agree that power is a HUGE factor in the vault.

[EIUvltr]

I'm not saying that one is better than the other, I was just wondering how one should structure their workouts with this in mind. In the last cycle before peaking most people emphasize pure speed, I was just wondering if it would be better to build up speed throughout the season in earlier cycles then primarily focus on power and jumping ability right before your big meets (conference, nationals, what have you).

[ladyvolspvcoach]

Actually the speed you need is very specific to your grip! For each incremental change there is an associated change in the stride length and frequency required to develop the energy(especially in the last 6 strides) needed to translate that change to vertical! Does anyone know of a resource that relates the stride length and frequency to grip height. If that were available it would allow a crafty coach to develop run drills that would teach the athlete exactly how to run in order to maximize their grip height. It's an interesting notion. Then we train our athletes with specific stride targets in mind that can be measured with visible marks on the track....hmmmmmm

[captainfalcon43]

I figured the answer lied in the takeoff step. After all, you can create all the energy you want in the first 5-19 steps, but the last step is the one that transfers that energy you've created into the jump, so if your takeoff is inefficient, your speed is basically irrelevant. Theoretically someone could walk up to their takeoff step and if they were some kind of physical anomoly and were able to rip their takeoff step back as hard as someone who was running 10 m/s could, both jumpers would jump equally high (technique aside).

Taking off is the converstion of horizontal speed to vertical speed. If a person could just jump up at a low speed, they wouldn't be able to hold as high. They would be able to jump up, but they aren't going to be able to role the pole as a result of the lack of speed. The speed is a necessary part of the vault as well as the ability of the vaulter to jump up and transfer the energy to vertical.

[vault3rb0y]

I believe that whether a vaulter should do more speed or plyo training depends on their individual needs.

For instance, as im sure most of you have seen, some kids can HAUL down the runway. However their take off angle is terrible and there isnt much force. Lets assume they can jump 14' by doing that.

At the same time, someone can run considerably slower, yet hit that take off just right, and still jump 14'.

I believe that an experienced coach will analyze a vaulter based on their top speed and take off ability, and decide what it most important to train. I train with a kid who runs 9.4+m/sec, but his take off is the reason he jumps so high. When you see that, it can be misleading, because you might think "run fast and i will jump high". Now im realizing thats not the case, and speed is only as good as your power at the box.

So back to what i believe you may have been asking about speed vs. power.... in my mind, they are all chain links in the fence of vaulting. If you dont have the speed to jump high, it doesnt matter what your take off looks like, you wont jump high. Likewise if you have an amazing take off but mosey down the runway, you wont jump high either. I think its these individual characteristics of every different vaulter that a coach must analyze and utilize to bring him/her to his maximum potential.

Just my thoughts.
Jason