Everett Stadium March 26th 2009

Swing

Dutch Warmerdam

He cleared 15 ft. 43 times during his competing years. None of his competitors cleared 15 ft. during this time. Notice he does not bend the pole and he is landing into saw dust!

Meet results: March 26 2009

GREAT JOB EVERYONE!!!

Its all in your head

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2

There is only one way to pole vault, any other will lead to injury or death. Pole vault technique is very narrow, body position must be almost perfect to achieve a safe and high vault.

Pole vault is about perfection. Pole vault technique at first seems to go against the natural movements of the body. But through a long and sometimes tedious process a young vaulter will begin conform to the image of perfection. World class vaulters take years to reach perfection, Bubka was 33 in his prime and Yelena Isinbayeva is 27.

So the first step is to focus and think. The key to perfection in pole vault and in any other area of life is a renewal of the mind. Focus your thoughts on the image and goal that you seek. Your mind will be transformed and your body will follow. Mind over body! Practically we do this by watching other vaulters, watching videos, and reading articles about technique. We must be able to picture each phase of the vault in our head.

Focus Focus: Mental Practice, Meditation and Michael Phelps

In listening to Phelps speak about his own training methods, we hear the mantra “focus, focus, focus.” Dedicated goal setting, avoiding negative mental chatter, and being with the very moment of his action (a.k.a. the ole Ram Dass mantra “Be Here Now”) — this is the stuff of Olympic athletic mental training.

We also learn that Phelps has the gift of maintaining a relaxed state before a meet and there’s talk that he produces less lactic acid build up in his muscles that most athletes. No doubt, there are many online (yours truly included) who are curious to comb through the details of Phelps Olympic genius.

And what can we learn from this athletic genius? Mental training of Olympic athletes has long been of interested to sports trainers, kinesiologists and sport psychologists but more to the point: Phelps’s own minimalist theory (”Set a goal. Focus only on that goal”) insinuates the brain technology involved in peak body performance. Sports psychologist Steve Ungerleider offers a somanautic perspective culled from years of researching Olympic athlete training:

From his 1996/2005 book MENTAL TRAINING FOR PEAK PERFORMANCE:

Breath, Meditation and Forming Mental Snapshots are two of the four mental practice traits shared amongst Olympic athletes. (The other two being building confidence by means of positive self-talk and learning to use relaxation to cool down and revvv up!) Yep, taking time to find the natural rhythm of ordinary breathing and picturing the goal — using your imagination to see the goal accomplished — even visualizing all of the steps in getting to the goal — the power of creating a mental “snapshot” cannot be under-estimated by anyone engaged in sport or movement training.

Here then are glorious mind/brain/body fruits for digesting: Those fascinated by the challenge of peak performance, be you swimmer, biker, dancer, designer, entrepreneur, corporate leader or pole vaulter the kernel of Olympic truth seems to lie in the story told by those who have imagined and accomplished their goals.

Practice

Bubka

Vertical Minds

"A lot of people sterotype vaulters as being totally crazy and not afraid of anything. Most of them do have their fears, its more a question of meeting your fears and beating your fears than about being fearless."




"Be not afraid of sudden fear" Proverbs 3:25

"What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee." Psalm 56:3

"Be not afraid, only believe" J.C.

Kamiak Meet: March 19th 2009