joebro391 wrote:powerplant42 wrote:I'd say that just about any real excercise on a high bar will help a vaulter out.
YUP!! ...
This is true. But you only have so much gym time, so the more focussed your gym drills are on POLE VAULTING TECHNIQUE, the better the carry-over value.
OK, 6P, here's my critique of your latest gym vids ...
Very nice Arabian!
I'd actually be interested in seeing your whole Tumbling routine! Do you also do Double-Mini and Tramp?
Can you see the benefit of tumbling to PV? What tumbling movements match what PV movements?
Your rope takeoff/swing drill isn't bad, but here's 2 suggestions ...
(1) try not to use your biceps. i.e. don't pull up at all. Instead, keep your top arm straight. SQUEEZE your hand tightly onto the rope, and PUSH up with it, as if you're pushing your pole up into a high plant angle. Then swing about your top hand. With your bottom hand, just grab about the same distance between your hands on the rope as on the pole. There will be a natural tendency to take some of your weight onto your bottom hand, but I wouldn't worry about that. Just focus on what you're doing with the top hand/arm. That's the only important part of this drill.
(2) Since your rope dangles onto the floor, set it up so that it's as far forwards as possible. It dangles on the floor to the right side now. Instead, dangle it forwards - ahead of you. This should make the angle of the hanging part of the rope closer to the angle of a pole on takeoff. But try to explain to me why I might be suggesting this - if you can.
Your rope climbs are good. I'll just add a couple of suggestions ...
(1) When you get near the top, extend your feet up to touch the ceiling. (What part of the vault do you suppose that simulates?)
(2) On the way down, hold your legs in an "L" position. You might as well give your abs a bit of a workout on your way down. If you don't like the isometric nature of the "L", then you can scissor-kick on your way down. Not the way an elegant gymnast would do the trick, but better for a vaulter, I think. But this is minor - no big deal either way.
Your Bubkas on the highbar are still too slow.
Are your Bubkas on the rings supposed to be like Amy's? They're not. Can you tell me what's different?
Actually, I'm not too worried about your extension. That will come later (and becuz of your gym training, it's already not too bad, so doesn't need much work right now). Instead, I'd rather see you focus on the speed of your swing - both on the rings and on the highbar.
So I'm going to focus on that now too ...
On the highbar Whip/Swing Drill, you're SWINGING way too much. You don't swing like that on the rings, do you! Nor does Amy, right? So if you can learn to Whip like Amy on the rings, then transfer that skill to the highbar, you'll "feel the Whip" better. Don't worry about the extension part of this drill at all. It's not important.
In the past, I think I may have called this drill the Hinge/Whip Drill. I know I've varied the names a bit, so sorry for any confusion. But let's go with "Hinge/Whip Drill" for now, since those are the 2 things I'd like you to focus on, and that's the order that I'd like you to try to do it. And DON'T SWING! Just Hinge DOWN, Whip at the bottom (directly below the highbar or rings), and then curl yourself up into a ball. Remember - a Hinge is a rotation about the hips. i.e. your hips are the fulcrum of the Hinge.
Yes, this little ball that I'm talking about will look and feel an awful lot like a rockback/tuck, and you can call it that if you must. But it's not intended that by doing this drill you're going to imprint a rockback/tuck technique into your vault. Don't worry, just consider this "ball" as a way of finishing each cycle.
Once you curl into the ball, pause a split second for the right time to start your next cycle. Then drop your legs down into a full extension in the "C" position (like Amy), and start your next downwards Hinge/Whip. Remember that the only important parts of this drill are the Hinge and the Whip. The rest is just to prepare for the next cycle.
If you do this right, you're going to be able to do quite a few repetitions without stopping (and without swinging about your hands). And with each of these repetitions, you're going to be able to concentrate on speeding up your Hinge. Once your Hinge becomes super-quick, you're going to feel that Whip at the bottom, under the bar. It will be so fast that the bar will bend from the force you apply to it!
I'm sure that the way I'm describing this drill is quite different than what PP is saying about it, but just trust me on this one. It was my bread-and-butter drill. NO SWING! i.e. No swing about the hands. Don't use your hands as a fulcrum. Once PP gets his *&%$@# highbar built and publishes his highbar vids (our bet), I'll be coaching him on this too!
Oh BTW, due to the camera angle, I can't see your right hand on the bar, but it sure seems like you've reversed it. No? The thumbs of both hands should point towards each other - just like when you do giants. If you reversed your right hand, tell me why. Then tell me why I'm recommending a "normal" grip - if you can.
Your hip circles are fine for a beginner, but since you have an IMPRESSIVE gymnastics background, I don't consider you a beginner. So it's time you start trying to do them without touching the bar. Once you can do that, then I'll be asking you to GRADUALLY do a hip-circle-to-handstand, with the exact same setup and rotation around the bar as you're doing on this vid, except that you're EVENTUALLY going to be shooting it to a handstand (instead of just rotating around the bar).
To give you a bit of a hint on this, you need to rotate around the bar with STRAIGHT ARMS. I'll just give you a few hints each week, as I watch your progression. But you do understand the end-goal of these, right? Tell me what part of the vault they simulate. Don't worry if it take a couple months to perfect these. You have time before the outdoor season!
OK, that's it for now. Please ask me for any clarifications if I've confused you with any of this advice.
Kirk
