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We've been training all through the winter and have been useing bungey/elestic to vault over. I've been doing ''unofficial' PBs (I think you say PRs in the USA) and was gaining in confidence.

However,as we are getting ready for competitions we've started vaulting iver a competition bar and it totally freaks me out!!! My technicque goes, I start hugging the pole and trying to muscle my way over instead of working the pole and so it all ends up in a mess.

I once landed on my back on a bar and broke it and got a bruised back in the process and so I think i've developed a phobia about bars

Any help / suggestions would be appreciated.

Chers
Rob in the UK

Sometimes, when my kids get scared of the bar I just start using barbed wire to practice with. All of the sudden that bar doesn't seem as intimidating!

think... first of all if you do things right, you wont have to worry about the bar, because you will get over it!

When competition comes around, you should be much more concerned with how you are getting over the bar than what the bar will do to you. If you knock it off, 9/10 you dont land on it. Execute your vault correctly and remember that a bruise isnt as bad as a NH.

Ha ha I've also seen a bar lit on fire that should help with the intimidation factor.

The simple solution is: PRACTICE WITH A BAR.

i have the same problem and we have tried lots of stuff the best thing is to transition into it by placing a bar a little bit under the buingee and going for the bungee and then you just think about how you vault with the bungee not the bar and then once you can do it only practice with the bar or at least do some jumps with the bar every practice!