Periodisation

X Vault athletes typically prepare for a double periodisation. We feel this is a crucial training strategy for our pole vaulters, allowing them to peak twice in a season—once for the indoor season and again for the outdoor season.

Pole vaulting requires a blend of technical skill, speed, and strength, all of which can be honed more effectively with two distinct peaks rather than maintaining one prolonged cycle. This double periodisation allows them to fine-tune their technique indoors, where conditions are controlled, before transitioning to outdoor events, which present different variables like wind, temperature, rain and generally the British weather.

Peaking for indoor competitions helps our athletes work towards excellence in technical execution early in the year, while the second peak for outdoor championships enables them to adjust to environmental challenges and improve their performance.

Research supports the benefits of this approach. Studies on strength and power sports show that double periodisation improves neuromuscular adaptations and reduces the risk of burnout. For our athletes, this means not only achieving higher heights but also minimising injury risks associated with repetitive heavy training blocks.

By resetting between seasons, vaulters can analyse their indoor performances, address weaknesses, and arrive at outdoor competitions refreshed, both mentally and physically. This cyclical approach has proven successful for elite vaulters aiming for top performances at both indoor championships and major outdoor events.

We break our training down from macro to meso and micro cycles in order to optimise performance. The macrocycle spans the entire season, covering both indoor and outdoor peaks, guiding long-term goals. Each macrocycle is broken into mesocycles, which are several weeks long and focus on specific training phases—strength, speed, or technical refinement. Microcycles are the weekly or daily training sessions within each mesocycle, where athletes focus on day-to-day tasks like technique drills or recovery. This structured approach ensures gradual, targeted progress towards peak performance during key competitions.

I've compared and contrasted multiple training philosophies including, Charlie Francis, Randy Huntington, Dan Pfaff at Altis, Vitaly Petrov, Ralf Ohman and have incorporated

my own knowledge and expertise to formulate the X Vault training philosophy.

So what does are training year look like?

The Macrocycle

We aim to peak in February and July, our focus is around building strength and speed with heavy work loads that taper close to the competition phase. This allows us to use longer runs and bigger poles during the competition phases. Our vaulting overview will look something like this

Month	Steps	Thursday Focus	Steps	Sunday Focus	Volume Per session
Sept	6	Soft Pole Tech	6	Soft Pole Tech	15-25
Oct	10	Soft Pole Tech	12	High Grip / Pole press only	10-20
Nov	10	Soft Pole Tech	14	High Grip / Pole press only	10-20
Dec	12	High Grip Tech	12-14	Hard Bar / High Grip	8 to 15
Jan	12	High Grip / Hard Bar	12/16	Comp Replication	8 to 15
Feb	12-16	Comp Replication	comp	Technical Proficiency	<15
Mar	12-16	Comp Replication	comp	Technical Proficiency	<15
Apr	12	Soft Pole Tech	12-16	High Grip / Pole press only	<15
May	12/16/18	Soft Pole Tech	12/16/18	Hard Bar / High Grip	<15
Jun	12/16/18	High Grip / Hard Bar	comp	Technical Proficiency	<15
Jul	12/16/18	Comp Replication	comp	Technical Proficiency	<15
Aug	12/16/18	Comp Replication	comp	Technical Proficiency	<15

The Mesocycle

Our mesocycles are split into 3 week blocks, and all training is based around a specific theme. For example we place great emphasis on eccentric strength development during early phase mesocycles, followed by Rate of Force Development (RFD) and then a transition phase into high velocity based movements that are specific to pole vaulting. During these mesocycles we can manipulate volume, intensity and frequency of sessions to create individualised programs for each athlete.

Each 3 week block is comprised of 2 weeks training followed by 1 week of 50% de-load, we maintain the intensity but drop the volume to allow recovery and adaptations. We complete 2 blocks in each phase of training totaling 6 weeks where we stress tissues with volume blocks, recover then re-stress tissues with similar volume but higher intensity loading blocks. Our training blocks look something like this

Block	Phase	Focus
Block 2 - week 1	Volume	Eccentric overload
Block 2 - week 2	Volume	Eccentric overload
Block 2 - week 3	De-loading 50% vol	Eccentric overload
Block 2 - week 4	Loading	Eccentric overload
Block 2 - week 5	Loading	Eccentric overload
Block 2 - week 6	De-loading 50% vol	Eccentric overload
Block 3 - week 1	Volume	RFD
Block 3 - week 2	Volume	RFD
Block 3 - week 3	De-loading 50% vol	RFD
Block 3 - week 4	Loading	RFD
Block 3 - week 5	Loading	RFD
Block 3 - week 6	De-loading 50% vol	RFD

The Microcycle

Depending on the athletes age, experience, level, training age, event, life and work commitments we must consider what will work best in a typical training week. The athlete may have a daily plan or even a (am/pm) plan.

Here is an example of a typical weeks training plan we use for an elite level athlete working part time.

Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun
Tempo Run	Hurdle Drills	Gymnastics	Vault Drills	Lift	Recovery	Vault Drills
Lift	Run Drills	Inj Prevention	Medball			Vault Long
	Medball		Short Speed			Plyos
	Complex		Short Vault			Gymnastics
	Speed					Abdominals

Here is an example of a typical weeks training for a sub elite university student

Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun
S&C 1	Blocks	Gymnastics	Vault	S&C 2	Long Run Fartlek	Recovery
Abs	Plyometrics	Abs	Plyometrics	Abs
	Isometrics		Med Ball
			Speed Endurance