PoleVaultPower.com

Im a right handed vaulter, and for awhile i couldnt figure out why my left forearm was gettin hurt when i vaulted and leaving a big bruise soon after-words. I finally figured it out when i saw a still shot of me vaulting and it seems my left arm crashes right into my pole soon after take off.
Can anyone put some insight on this? plz give tips if need i can try to post a link to some pics....

Buy a wrist band and wear it on your arm so you don't get bruises there.

if your closing off well you will develop a bruise on your left forearm, if it is to painful wear a sweatband or something maybe you should post the pic on the forum?

i used to have it so bad that it would literally rip my skin off. I'd get scabs that would rip off everytime i vaulted. And if i wore a wrist band it'd only make it worse b/c the scab would rip off underneath, then my blood would dry and form another scab, but this one in the wrist band. So when i'd take off the wrist band it'd rip the new scab off again too. That was painful.

Having this happen isn't all bad. Like Roy said, it means you're closing off well. But it also means you're behind the pole. If you row better and can get your hips up in a better position at the end of your rockback instead of being in the bucket, you will not get this anymore. It develops when you're back on the pole, but behind it and trying to extend up and out of the bucket. However if you have never gotten back on the pole before, and you're now starting to and getting the bruise then its a good thing cause you're making progress. Just one more step in getting you're hips higher and you'll be bruise free.

RoySloppy wrote:if your closing off well you will develop a bruise on your left forearm, if it is to painful wear a sweatband or something maybe you should post the pic on the forum?

If you are closing off well your bottom arm wont come close to the pole. If you swing to your top hand the bottom will stay clear of the pole in most cases. There are exceptions some of wich can be traced to a poor plant position. Take a look at most of the elite vaulters............hardly any of the best crash their bottom arm into the pole.

Rodion Gautalion. Wore a wrist pad and Jumped 6 meters. Must have been closing off a little?

WOW so thats why i have had a bruse on my wrist for the last few weeks. I didnt even know that my left wrist was hitting my pole. I knew it was from track but i didnt know exactly how i got it.