PoleVaultPower.com

Got a new camera the Casio Exilim EX-FH100. Its the best camera. Check out my vaults. Starting to do somethings better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfUfmhTWlCI

Good morning,

They all look pretty good..

Need to see the finish of the run/plant in “real” time.

Errors?? You look to be “reaching” a little on the last couple of steps… just little under.. then you hold your left arm strong into the pole to get it to move…

Suggestions… first check where your 6 step 3L “MID” is… keep that spot but add two steps to you run. Instead of 4 lefts use 5..

Use the same poles, grips etc..

I mentioned this yesterday in a post.. this will give you more speed but also “tighten” the last 6 steps, getting the feet and HIPS under you so you can run into the takeoff correctly..at a takeoff point that is a little more OUT, freer and you will attack the plant/takeoff in a better position.. then you just have to swing fast to go vertical.. the pole will move from the plant and body swing.

You can test the run on the side or on a track.. so you have the “feel” to increase the frequency over the last 6 as Petrov has said.

dj

You didnt mention anything to me. I think you are thinking of someone else. My camera shoots the video like this. Also my step is 6 inches outside. If I go back to a 5 step I will jump even more over the top of this pole and go right through it. I went from a 5 step on Monday and this pole did nothing I landed in the back of the pit almost off of it so i went to 15's and they are kind of small also. They dont bend that much but i land in the back of the pit. This is my second vault day of the week. I go from a shorter approach to work on my technique on the second practice. I have been just learning how to swing. I use to not swing and start tucking before i reached the cord. I think the reason for blocking was as much as I was yesterday was because of a tight left shoulder. It was pretty sore yesterday from lifting the day before. I believe in keeping the left arm straight and it coming back to my ear if not a little past. I might have been reaching a little on my run but like I said before I was tight from my sprint workout and lifting workout the day before, but i am not reaching on all of them just a few. Its usually caused by a different step out of the back. I have been working on getting my left arm to come back more, head looking up, and trying to swing through my hips all the way to the top of the pole.

Hey Scott, that camera works great, much easier to see what is happening.

I agree with DJ that you are stretching your last steps (more than usual). I think you can quicken them up and achieve a takeoff that involves better chest drive and less immediate impact into the pole.

I also agree that you are applying too much pressure with the bottom arm, but we've had that conversation before, so you know how I feel on this subject. I truly believe that if you can release some of that pressure and disengage/re-engage the shoulders, you will swing through the top hand instead of the bottom hand, your hips will rise quickly and easily, and the pole will bend later (in the swing instead of the drive), giving you more off the top, even on poles that aren't way above your weight. I think when you do this you will clear that bungee pretty easily!

I'm sure I sound like a broken record! Perhaps your bottom arm drive will be more needed when you get back to longer runs and 16'+ poles...? I'd be interested in hearing thoughts on this from the vault gurus. Either way you need to keep working on being less rigid in the shoulders in the drive phase.

Happy New Year!
Tom

hey

sorry i talked about the posture and rhythm before on another post but not to you specificially....

moving back and keeping the "MID", stride lenghts will allow you to "quicken" and maintain better posture... also give you more pole speed with less of a delayed stright arm at takeoff.. if that happens, yes you could use more pole, more bend and even a higher grip... but again keeping the same "MID" would allow quickening resulting in posture and mor "explosion" at takeoff.

seems you have things going in the direction you want...

keep it up

dj

i like the left arm. still a little blocky but better. wrapped the pole better on the last jump. hold that left arm straighter just a little longer to give you more time to rock back and not have to catch up to the pole. your last steps are long quicken them up and that will get u back outside. improvements noticed. looking good.

hey

thanks Tom.. you described what i was searching for..

if you move back like i suggested you will "blow through" because of the forced left arm...

quicker feet.. stronger takeoff... swing fast around the top arm... and you have a Petrov model.

pressed arm doesn't give you more time to rotate to vertical.. it stops the swing and delays your chances to get to vertical with the pole..

Bubka had a faster swing (from takeoff to max height) because of his explosive takeoff than all vaulters and he was holding higher, jumping higher..

run ...plant...swing

wave to the crowd.. you cleared the bar..

dj

Today was a pretty good practice. I did not realize that I had taken over 50 jumps until I got home and made this video. I was really focused on swinging up to my knees today which I think may have made my vaults all over the place. When I moved back to a 5 on the 15' poles I felt like I had no time.Everything was happening so fast. They were really easy to jump on but I felt like I had a lot of pole speed and not that much bend. There are some positive things to take out of this practice, but over all I am still working on things. I am happy that out of 50 vaults I stayed pretty consistent..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8m9XWtHJhw

dj wrote:if you move back like i suggested you will "blow through" because of the forced left arm...

quicker feet.. stronger takeoff... swing fast around the top arm... and you have a Petrov model.

pressed arm doesn't give you more time to rotate to vertical.. it stops the swing and delays your chances to get to vertical with the pole..

Bubka had a faster swing (from takeoff to max height) because of his explosive takeoff than all vaulters and he was holding higher, jumping higher..

Well If my left arm is straight and is relaxed and comes back to my ear or a little past it then why wouldnt this be better? I have watched jumps where bubkas arm is straight and he has a lot more energy. Yes I block in a few of my jumps but the thing is with practice I will learn how to allow my left arm to come back relaxed which will allow me to have a longer swing, which equals more energy and it can be faster in my opinion because now you have two arms in action. if you watch the vaulters on the 6meter list all of them have a straight left arm except for brad walker. Yeah bubka has a bent arm in some of his vaults, but as he progresses in his career it gets straighter. These are my observations. I think the left arm straight is going to really benefit me once I get it down. My problem is I dont know how to swing effectively just because this is my first year doing it. I am breaking at the hips like a hinge. This is what I think is making you think my left arm is causing a lot of problems. Tarasov blocks but swings nicely still so i know swinging effectivley is still possible with a blocking straight left arm , even though i am going for a relaxed straight arm that comes back to my ear or a little past. I am going to continue to vault with a straight arm and hopefully one day I will get it mastered and jump some big bars and have people maybe reconsider the whole left arm issue.
Also I agree I could run faster, but who couldnt? I am working on it and Its getting better because today I had moved up on my step to force my self to turn over faster and am taking off a little farther outside then last time. I am still not as far out as I should and can be but I am really happy with how it is going considering last year I barley left the ground. I have had more jumps this year then probably all of last years combined, so things are going great.

hey

i agree with what your saying... straight arm and all.. it's what the arm is "doing" that counts.. not that it's straight..

the attempt or the “punch” to have a straight arm at takeoff is a good thing.. and as in some of Bubka’s jumps can “save” a vault if you are slightly “under/close” but the down side is the chance to “blow through” .. pressure to long you blow through and think you need another pole.. to little you suck into the pole. One of the reasons a “free” takeoff works is the consistency in bending the pole with top arm pressure and the weight of the body…

I have tried to explain this in the other threads on “bottom arm pressure”… it’s pretty much physically (physics) impossible to “block” the bottom arm if you have a “out” free takeoff. The pole will bend and move “away” creating a situation where the left arm is simply following the bend.. but if you get in the habit of “force” bending you will over bend every time on a good takeoff, get a bigger pole and have to force bend just to get in and continue to repeat the cycle..

A straight arm should come from the action not from force… I always coach a straight arm “punch” to both arms extended above the head and go to “elastic”..

dj

You should never have a straight bottom arm at take-off. The only way that's technically possible without negatively affecting the vault is if your bottom and top hands are in the same place or the pole is near parallel to the ground at take-off (which can never happen).

You are still blocking with that bottom arm. I didn't grab a still shot from your vid, but look at the angle of your bottom hand wrist. Your wrist is "cocked" under your hand. The wrist should be neutral or straight across forming a straight line with the forearm. "Cocking" your wrist under your hand applies an immediate "block" of the bottom arm. Not huge, but it's very evident. Your "blocking" is causing you to not get a FULL pre-stretch. Your chest should be more upright and be in farther at take-off and the trail leg should be farther back. Here's my favorite take-off photo again of Bubka jumping what most would say is the highest vault ever:



He's definitely applying some pressure with the bottom arm, but because his elbow is way out to the left ( think "chicken winged" ) and his wrist angle is neutral, it "disengages" the shoulders and the ability to "block" allowing his shoulders to rotate back and hands move back over his head. Since he's not blocking, his chest moves very far into the "pocket" and it's completely UPRIGHT. He has a FULL pre-stretch to get the fastest swing possible. Not blocking allows your COM to get as close to the pit at take-off as humanly possible. This is one of the main goals of the take-off

Hope that wasn't too confusing. Lastly, you tuck your trail leg in your swing because the swing is too slow because your COM is too far away from the pole and you didn't hit a full pre-stretch.

You do alot of things right so don't let my comments drag you down. I just wanted to drive that "blocking" point and straight bottom arm idea out of your head.

P.S. Your head looks good. You are keeping it nice and neutral and looking straight ahead at take-off

No one will drive the straight arm Idea out of my head. I think its a good thing. I just dont have it down yet. I cant even swing correctly on the rings, yet alone a pole. It is possible to have both arms straight and not block. I have done it. I am just not to the point of consistency. Its not where I want it right now but I know I will be able to do it. I also dont look at bubka as a "God" like I feel a lot of people on here do. He can be beat, maybe he could have jumped even higher on that jump in Athens if his left arm would have been a little straighter. We cant base that the left arm shouldn't be straight or bent because of this jump. We just dont know. I dont think that is going to be the best jump of all time either. I just think left arm should be straight and I know it is possible to do this and still be elastic in the shoulders and get a full pre-stretch. Just hard to do, but it is possible. When it comes to the left arm issue I will never change even if the person with the highest jump ever was bending it. I go off the petrov model for the most part. This is just one thing I think can be done and will be a good thing. The thing that bothers me about most people is that they see the best person do it and they just want to copy that person instead of thinking on what could be improved.Everyone can and will be beat. Scientists had said no one can jump higher then 6 meters, but that was proven wrong. My point is that things can be proven wrong and I hope that one day I will make the left arm discussion on here change to why you should keep your left arm straight. How I will do this is by training and practicing it. People can tell me all day how the left arm should bend, but i wont change what i am going for. I see how bending the left arm is better then blocking but I dont see why it would be if you can keep it straight with out blocking. These are my opinions on the left arm issue and I am sticking to them. I thank all of you for advice though, but dont bother trying to convince me to let my left arm bend because it wont happen. I am working on it being straight and elastic. which is possible. I am very open to advice still. I just dont want you to sit here and spend hours writing me trying to convince me to change the left arm from being straight to bending. Thanks to everyone that has posted on here, I do appreciate all your comments.