Alysha Newman is a powerhouse in the world of pole vaulting, recently earning a bronze medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The Canadian athlete has also claimed podium spots at the Commonwealth Games, Pan American Games, and Pan American U20 Championships. As her career soars to new heights, Newman remains focused on pushing her limits.
A few weeks ago, she gave fans a behind-the-scenes look at her training regimen on Instagram, sharing a set of photos captioned, “Here we go again! My goal this year on the PV runaway is to get faster & to jump high asf!šš„³” Her blend of optimism and determination has been key to her success, as she channels her energy into building strength, speed, and technique for future victories.
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Newman shared some of her training secrets in an interview with Muscle & Fitness. “I think one thing for me to persevere in the past was literally not focusing on what I did wrong but focusing on the positives and my strengths,” Newman said. “As you know with athletes, we have this timeline in being our best self. I worked on all my weaknesses, and I’ve gotten weaknesses to turn into strengths, but this late in my career ā I probably have two more Olympics in me ā there’s no point in trying to fix that because I already have the habits. Now, we’ll focus on what I’m great at.”
Newman talked about her favorite workouts in her Muscle & Fitness interview. “We do very elongated exercises,” she says. “Not crunches or any of that. It’s rope climbing while upside down. We’re doing pole-rope climbing, wall bar where you’re laying on your back and lifting your legs up but we don’t crunch at the hips; we crunch at the shoulders. When we talk about abdominal strength in the pole vault, it’s literally from the chin to the pelvic region. So, it’s our lats, core, obliques and all that stuff is activated while we’re doing core work. Some other amazing stuff that we do is we hold med balls over our heads and do a lot of hurdle walking. So, heavy weight above our heads for strength and balance, and it also activates the core.”
Newman tells Muscle & Fitness that she does a variety of different things to keep herself in shape. “I’m really only doing technicals twice a week. The other four days are usually plyo, sprinting, tempo running, weightroom training, and med-ball work. You don’t want to overtrain one thing at all times. You have to adapt, be in different scenarios and situations to hit every single core muscle that you need. I do watch film but doing actual pole vault work ā I’m probably only doing four to six hours a week out of my 30 hours of training.”
Newman tells Muscle & Fitness that sprints are a big part of being a successful pole vaulter. “To start, you must be a good sprinter. You have to be fast but it’s like a head-to-toe thing. A lot of gymnasts turn into pole vaulters just because we get that body awareness at such a young age and we’re able to be aware in the air when you have the pole, and you connect the neck with the pole. Sprinting and running technique are always number one and headed into gymnastics, it’s body awareness and body strength. We’re like an all-around, head-to-toe athlete.”
Newman makes sure to eat healthy. She talked about this in the caption of this Instagram post. “Training at high intensities doesn’t only require physical and mental strength but internalš§š¼āāļøš“In order for me to have the level of energy I need, to get up and practice everyday, I have to fuel my body in the most nutritious ways. I’m selective and ensure my food choices will be ones that benefit me, not hurt me. During competitions, especially for upcoming Paris Olympics, I go gluten-free and dairy-free to keep my body in the upmost condition š„©š„¬”