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ok i seem to lock my bottom arm when i vault. i used to lock it out all the way out, but now i start to bring it in but i stil lock my bottom arm half bent. what drills can i do on the on/off the runway

Locking the arm kills the swing pressing upward is the key to better vaulting

While you are waiting on someone to post some suggestions, you may want to do some research yourself on www.pvei.com (USA Pole Vault Education Initiative) or www.advantageathletics.com (Advantage Athletics). Both sites are very good at providing troubleshooting advice for pole vaulters. There are some other sites with training advice, but these two quickly came to mind while I read your post.

One of the hardest habits to break. The reason is a basic principal of motor learning. It is very difficult to think about NOT doing something. The easiest method I have found is instead of thinking about NOT blocking the bottom arm, think about pushing the bottom arm UP as high as you can. Keep both hands as far away from you as you can by pushing them up. This will allow you to sublux the shoulder and swing without interference.

Barto.

i have the same problem!! i am currently trying to break this horrible habit. the best way is to get a coach who knows who he is talking about (anthony curran is helping me) and have him just work with you on and on and on. anthony has tried many different drills with me including this one weird a** drill i tried the other day. it helped a bit. when you plant, you wanna loosen up your bottom arm and slide it up to your top arm so you have a really narrow grip when you're planting. this sounds really funky and trust me, it is. the first time i did it i tried to loosen my bottom arm but instead i totally let go and i bent the pole one handed and went flying everywhere. try it with a smaller pole. i am 5'6" and 115 lbs and i was using a 12' 130 for this drill.

superchau88 wrote:i have the same problem!! i am currently trying to break this horrible habit. the best way is to get a coach who knows who he is talking about (anthony curran is helping me) and have him just work with you on and on and on. anthony has tried many different drills with me including this one weird a** drill i tried the other day. it helped a bit. when you plant, you wanna loosen up your bottom arm and slide it up to your top arm so you have a really narrow grip when you're planting. this sounds really funky and trust me, it is. the first time i did it i tried to loosen my bottom arm but instead i totally let go and i bent the pole one handed and went flying everywhere. try it with a smaller pole. i am 5'6" and 115 lbs and i was using a 12' 130 for this drill.

Keep working with Anthony Curren on this . He knows how to improve your plant. Keep it high and experiement on the take-off angles to improve your swing.

good luck