Controlled Falls: After the Vault and During the Push/Pull

                In a post I put up a few days ago, I discussed the methods of jumping over the vault. The jump is just one aspect of the vault; the other one is landing and controlled falls. Once you’re over the vault, you have to make sure you land in control before you perform the falls. Depending on what lap you’re on, you will drop to either your front or your back.

Front Falls

                When you drop to your front, make sure your chest and hips touch the ground at the same time. Failure to do so will result in repeating the fall. You want to make the fall as quick as possible; I always like to say “as soon as you’re down, you’re up.” Remember, time is ticking and the more time you spend in one spot, the slower your test time will be.

                Commonly, when people drop to their front they end up being parallel to the vault. But nothing says that you have to fall that way. I encourage people (if they’re able) to land and face forward when they drop on their front. Why? Usually people who land parallel end up making a big arc around the start cone on their way to the next lap. By facing the cone, when you get up you end up making a bee line for the cone, saving you some time.

Back Falls

                The back falls are usually the slowest to get up from between the two falls. With the back fall, you want to make sure you’re landing flat on your back; both shoulder blades and hips should be touching at the same time. Don’t worry about your legs; they can pretty well do whatever, just as long as your back is flat.

                The back fall is slower because of the amount of effort that’s needed to get up. People will try to get up like they’re performing a sit up or they rock their body to get up. Even if you’re strong, the sit up isn’t the way to go because it uses too much energy (and not everyone can do a good sit up). Remember, you want to conserve as much energy as possible for the push/pull. The body rocking isn’t a good idea either for two reasons. The first is you end up rolling on your back, losing the flatness and therefore not performing the back fall correctly. The second is you waste time rocking.

                How do you get up faster then? One way is to use one leg to help you out. Some people like to swing one leg up, and then use that same leg to swing down as they sit up. That leg swing gives you some momentum to sit up. This is a good alternative to the body rocking. The other way people will use the leg is to swing it up and then grab it with both hands to help pull themselves up. Both are good methods to use.

                The one I highly recommend is the rollover method. Instead of sitting up or using a leg, what you do is roll onto your side to get up once you’ve fallen on your back. I like this method because you use less energy to get up compared to the other methods, and you make a direct bee line to the start cone.

PUSH/PULL CONTROLLED FALLS

                Since we’re on the subject of controlled falls, I should touch briefly about the controlled falls in between the push and the pull. Essentially you’re performing the same type of falls. Make sure to always face the machine every time you drop. So when you fall on your front, your head is toward the machine; when you fall on your back, your head is away from the machine, but your face is still toward it, not turned away.

                Also, when getting up from the back fall, you could still perform the rollover method, but you have to make sure you still get up toward the machine. This would be one case where I suggest you do the sit up method or you use your legs to get yourself up. It is only 4 falls total that you’re performing, 2 on your front and 2 on your back, so do what you can at this point. Just remember to spend as little time being flat on your back or front.

                Whatever method you use for controlled falls, make sure you practice it. You’re better off sticking with something you know rather than trying something new on test day.

Jumping the PARE vault

                Of all the obstacles you have to tackle on the course, the vault is likely one of the most time consuming of them all, next to the stairs. Typically, the vault will take anywhere from 2-6 sec to complete (including controlled falls). Generally the more fit you are, the faster you will take the vault. Conversely, the less fit you are, the slower, and therefore more time-consuming the vault jump will be.

                There are two parts to the vault jump. Obviously there is the jumping and getting over aspect of the vault. The second part is landing and the controlled fall. You need to be proficient at both to get through the vault at your fastest. Getting over it is the hardest part to master but when done correctly, it can save you a lot of time.  Today I want to go over the different ways of jumping over the vault.

THE JUMP

                 When it comes to jumping the vault, unless it’s specified, you basically get yourself over however way you can. There are generally 5 different methods of getting over the vault listed below:

1)      Two handed

2)      One handed

3)      One footed

4)      Arcing

5)      Scissoring

                You can also jump the vault without touching it. Very few people are capable of doing this, though, and I usually discourage anyone from the no touch method. I’ve seen applicants do it for the first 2 or 3 laps and end up using more energy necessary and they end up going back to the two handed method. I’ll describe the 5 methods below, but before I get to that, I want to explain two common mistakes that are made at the vault. The first is the approach; the second is the jump.

                With the approach, I’ve seen too many people run to the vault with too much caution. You lose a lot of momentum when you approach it this way. Speed is lost that could be used to help power your jump.

                With the jump, people spend a lot of hang time in the air; we’re not trying to be Jordan here. The reason for the hang time is because people jump up and over, rather than trying to clear across the vault. Obviously you need a certain amount of vertical jump to clear it, but you don’t have to jump like you’re trying to clear a building.

Two Handed

                The two handed method is the most common method performed. This is where you place both hands on the vault and jump over with both legs together. I find this is one of the most efficient methods to perform. Not everyone can do it, but it’s certainly one that I think everyone should try to perform. This method requires good leg strength and power, as well as good upper body strength to support the body as it’s going over.

One Handed

                 The one handed method would be the second most common method I’ve seen performed. It’s just like the two handed method, except you grab the vault with one hand instead. For some people this is the most efficient method for them, and I’ve seen people vault just as quickly with this technique as the two handed method. This one does require a lot more upper body strength though, and a little more coordination.

One footed

                The one footed method is a variation of the two handed method, as well as a variation for the one handed method. Essentially you’re performing the same movement as the first two, but instead of swinging over both legs at the same time, you place one foot on top of the vault for support. The supporting foot will either help with balance as you go over, or it can be used to help get you over the vault. This method still requires leg strength, but not to the same degree as the two handed and one handed methods.

Arcing

                The arcing method is similar to the two handed method, but instead of both legs swinging over the vault together, they go over one at a time. I’m not a fan of this method. The reason I don’t like it is 1) too much hang time compared to the other methods, and 2) people are usually not in control of their body while going over. These people end up landing out of control on the other side of the vault. When you land uncontrollably, you usually have to repeat the jump again.

Scissoring

                The safest method to perform, but also the slowest method to perform, is the scissoring. This method is usually performed by those who don’t have the strength (lower or upper), or the confidence, to jump 3 ft. What you do is place one hand and one leg on top of the vault. You use your top leg to pull yourself up and over the vault while swinging the other leg over. If you can, avoid this method unless you absolutely have to.

                Those are the 5 methods of jumping over the vault. I wouldn’t say these are the definitive 5, but they are the ones commonly performed. The best thing you can do is to practice the method that you are capable of performing. You can practice on the backs of couches; you can go to a park and practice on a bench; you can find a 3 foot fence. Anything you can find that’s roughly 3 ft in height, practice on it. The more you practice, the more comfortable and efficient you will get at jumping the vault.

Rolling With the Punches

                Life can be full of surprises; you never know what it will throw at you. You can have the best laid plan, and suddenly it’s thrown out the window. The great ones know what to do in those situations. They learn to adapt and adjust their plan accordingly.

                In fitness (and everything else really), you need a plan of attack to reach your goals. But you must realize that at any point, that plan falls apart because of unforeseen circumstances. It could be you got sick. It could be you got injured. Maybe you got a lot to do at work. Maybe a change in family matters. Whatever it may be, you won’t be able to follow the plan to a t. So adapt to the situation. Don’t sit and sulk that you can no longer follow the plan. That’s life. Find alternatives instead that will still help you toward your goals.

                Now I’ve been talking about this in an overall sense, but it also comes down to the individual training sessions too. Let’s say you’ve gone to the gym and you’re planning to work on your bench press. When you get there, all the benches are taken. What do you do? Complain that you can’t work in? Sit on the side and wait 30 min just to bench press? No, you find an alternative. Do DB bench presses instead, or use the machine, or work on weighted push-ups. Those 30 min spent waiting could’ve been put to better use on something else.

                Maybe you’re swimming, but it’s a busy time. You have to share a lane with 5 swimmers but you hate swimming with others because they get in your way. Suck it up and swim. Adjust accordingly rather than complain and sulk.

                Learn to roll with the punches. Adapt to the situation and you will make life easier on yourself.

Last Minute Training For The PARE

                Procrastination, it’s the enemy of everyone getting ready for a test. From the elementary school days, to college, to everyday life, everyone procrastinates. It’s easier to do when it’s a written test; you can cram the night before and do alright. But when it comes to a physical test, you can’t leave your training to the last minute.

                The brain can retain information relatively quickly; the body takes time to adapt. Giving yourself only two weeks to get ready for the PARE is cutting it close. I don’t want to say it’s impossible, but if you’ve been lacking in consistent training, the chances of you failing are quite high.

                Now, it is possible to pass the PARE with only two weeks of training, but it’s very difficult, and you’re certainly not going to have as competitive time as you would like. A couple years ago I had an extreme case with a client who failed her first test, running the PARE in 7:00, including 0:30 in penalties. She hired me as her trainer, but to be honest I did not think she would pass her test in only two weeks. That didn’t stop me from training her to her limits. Even if she failed again, I at least wanted to improve her time. I trained her 8 times over the two weeks, and I trained her hard. It helped that she was determined and put in the effort. When test day came, she surprised the hell out of me; not only did she improve her time, she passed the test in 4:36, with no penalties. That’s nearly a two and a half minute improvement.

                So what did I do with her? Her cardio conditioning was low, so I did a lot of sprinting and suicide drills, with short rest times. I worked on her mat jumping ability because she touched it on all 6 laps during her first test. Her strength levels were lacking, so I worked on her overall strength using bodyweight exercises such as push-ups and squats. I worked on specific obstacles and got her to be as efficient as possible, starting in a fresh state, then in a fatigue state to simulate the fatigue that will occur on the course.

                I don’t want to say this is the kind of training you should be doing in the last two weeks, since this was a unique situation. Everyone is going to be lacking something different. If I had only one advice to give for last minute training, though, I would say focus on sprint intervals; even better if you can do the intervals on a hill or stairs. The intensity of the intervals (and they should be performed at a high effort level) will kick start the cardio into high gear. I will warn you, when done correctly it will hurt. If it’s not hurting, you’re working not hard enough.

                 I’d recommend starting at 4-6 repeats of 0:20-0:30, with 0:30-1:00 of recovery. But you can play around with the number of repeats, the time interval, and the recovery.  When in doubt, start at the lower range and build up from there. Make sure to warm-up thoroughly, 5-10 min worth of warm-up time. You can perform the intervals 3x/wk over the 2 week period, taking at least one day of rest in between each session.

                I’m not going to guarantee a pass with the above training plan, but it’s a push in the right direction. If anything, it should give you a kick in the ass for not starting your training earlier. For all those desperately looking for some last minute training, feel free to contact me at redline.conditioning@gmail.com.