The Swing

[agapit]

I understand that the swing is a natural reaction to the take off but if the take off leg is not exactly perpendicular to the ground the moment after take off then for the fraction of a second that the swing goes from its take off state to perpendicular gravity has to assist it, even though it may be very minimal; and after the leg passes perpendicular then gravity acting on it once again, am I not correct?

I understand what you're saying, but you really need to simplify this process in your mind.
1. Finish the take-off with maximum force
2. Trail leg "finishes" to parallel to runway
3. Swing to the top as fast as possible

I agree.

I would insist only on one difference. When we say swing, people think leg action, kick, whip, etc. What I am trying to say, that in order to accelerate the “swingâ€

[volteur]

Bubka does not even have a straight leg as he is 'swinging' through. this to me indicates his force is being driven centrally and not peripherally.

[powerplant42]

While not completely locked out straight, it is very long through the cord of the pole.

[volteur]

It appears to be at it's longest when parallel with the cord/chord sp?

That is meant to be the longest point of the vault and Bubka isn't too concerned with a having a shortened leg and quite clearly not swinging his foot. Something else is driving the swing. Agapit says the muscles but which ones does he mean? interesting huh?

[golfdane]

Beside the inertia of his bodymass (from the run-up and take-off), the driving force of his leg (thereby aiding the swing and the following inversion) are abs, pecs and hip-flexors (primarily).

I'm puzzled by your remark, that Bubka isn't swinging his foot......

[agapit]

My view on this is that a vaulter should not time the swing/inversion to a pole penetration. The inversion should be done immediately after the jump is complete and as aggressively as possible to maximize the energy input.

The pole penetration is controlled by other measures such as completing the jump off the ground, adjusting the grip on the pole, adjusting the pole stiffness, etc.

In my opinion timing the inversion to the pole actions is a one of the biggest mistakes. It is definitely not going to lead to a vaulter working ahead of the pole, as I have described in previous posts.

I have a hard time distinguishing when you mean swing, and when it's inversion. Perhaps my definitions are wrong. I see the swing as the pendular action of the CM until it passes the chord, where I see the the inversion is initiated (roll-up the pelvis and get upside down, so to speak).

I agree, that the swing should be initiated as fast as possible, but I also feel there's a certain amount of arching that is desirable to prestretch the hip flexors and abs, in order to have a vicious kick, and thereby maximise energy input into the pole (at the desired time).

In my world, there is no swing, but not because there is no swing in the real world. LOL. The swing and prestretch that you describe as desirable should be a result of the complete jump off the ground (active phase, that can be trained). You see if you complete jump correctly the swing is a natural outcome (in my world) more so natural that is hard to imagine how you would train it. Therefore, I do not focus on the swing since it is happening as a result of the take-off and completion of the jump, rather if I want to get a better quality swing I would focus on the take-off and jump quality.

Make sense?

Since I do not want to emphasize the swing on its own. I do not mention it at all in the 640 Model. To me the focus after the jump is work of arms, abs, hip flexors to change the natural trajectory of the swing and to speed up the rise of the center of gravity. The inversion begins as soon as it is possible to begin the rise of the center of gravity above it natural swing trajectory. In most cases this point is when the swing foot crosses the vertical line drawn from the left (or bottom) hand grip on the pole. Only at that time it is becoming possible to add vertical speed component to the center of gravity. In real world the time between the jump and that moment is so brief that it cannot and should not be perceived by the vaulter (in my humble opinion).

Another very important point is that the free jump allows for shortening of the time between the completion of the jump and inversion. This, apart from more efficient take-off, is the biggest benefit of free take-off.
Here you also may notice that the more chest penetration you have the further the swinging foot has to travel before inversion can begin. Hence, this is not desirable and should be corrected with more precise take-off. Being under or having to push pole with the bottom arm also delays the inversion that is why it is a killer of 640 clearances.

Cheers!

[ADTF Academy]

The magic word Chest Penetration!!!

Now does this mean in terms of the top hand or imaginary pole cord.

[powerplant42]

So agapit, what you're saying basically boils to this: After a prestretch of anterior muscles, the vaulter should only redirect the energy that is created by exploding out of the prestretch upward to inversion. Is this correct? Might that insinuate a tuck and shoot method to many people?

[volteur]

Beside the inertia of his bodymass (from the run-up and take-off), the driving force of his leg (thereby aiding the swing and the following inversion) are abs, pecs and hip-flexors (primarily).

I'm puzzled by your remark, that Bubka isn't swinging his foot......

He isn't swinging his foot it is being swung. The hip is swinging it. The abdominals especially the stabilisers and the hip flexors are doing this from the torso.

Specifially, I don't see it as the same as the high bar. Generally, yes i do though. In gymnastics you want to swing as long as possible to gain as much momentum as you can. In vault you want to shorten the swing to accelerate it and in this sense it ceases to be a swing at all it is more like the initiation of a kip.

There is a high bar drill. The bar needs to be about shoulder height. You stand next to the bar gripping it in normal high bar grip with arms slightyl bent. Then you initiate the movement with a slight jump upwards and backwards as you pike and invert under the bar. With the momentum gained a good vaulter can get to handstand i guess. Maybe an ex gymnastic vaulter like Burgess. I heard Andrew Stewart could get to a handstand from a still hanging position on a bar. I could get to about my clavicles in the grounded one.

This exercise shows some of the other things important in the aerial parts of the vault in addition to what the leg is doing.

can you critique this agapit pls?

[leftist vaulter]

There's a guy that vaults for Servite. I call him Superman. When he plants, he turns completely sideways, and drags his legs completely straight. I was done vaulting well before he started, but from across the track he looked about 16/17 foot vaults.

[AeroVault]

Pecs are the weakest link.
I must tell you that we did not measure the relative strength of the muscle groups that participate in the movement due to lack of funds and equipment available for pole vault research, however we have conducted an extensive empirical research that led us to believe that out of all muscle groups participating in the movement the pecs are the weakest link.

I believe I understand what the pecs are doing. Unlike the fly or dumbell press where your pecs pull your arms around the axis of your body, in the vault, your pecs pull along the axis.

Still, I think of the pecs as a strong muscle group and am curious what led you to believe they are the weakest link. Is it necessary for a vaulter be able to bring their hips to the horizontal bar from a dead hang with only their pecs? Without engaging the abs or hip flexors, the athlete's legs would be cantilevered considerably and would take a great deal of strength. That, which I've only seen in dedicated gymnasts (and then only rarely).

[powerplant42]

What sort of excercise might strengthen this movement?