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We aren't allowed to take out our pits until late february, but our coach is letting us use the poles, what are some good drills to do in the meantime (particularly on getting inverted since that's my weak point)? thanks

pole plants x1000000 are great, if you can be consistent on the run up you can be consistent the whole jump- you can also do these up hills or super slow so you have complete control of the pole
Pole plants in sand are good drills as well, take 2-4 lefts with a low grip plant the pole and work on your drive and trail leg as well as your hand position

Hip drills are helpful as well, you get a soft pole take 2-3 lefts plant the pole against a wall or box, and have a coach push against your back to keep you in the air, this can help you fine tune your take off position because now it lasts 5 secs instead of .5-- with practice you can learn to do these without assistance

for getting inverted, I think rope/rings/high bar would be your best bet, you can swing up on these very similarly to the vault, just make sure to have a spotter and someone to help with your technique
SkySystems2 has some very good "jannastic" exercises for the inversion, its well worth the $40 http://www.skyjumpers.com/

also check out http://www.pvei.com for more drills

Try this, According to Bubba this is the best excercise that he's ever found to help him get "upside down". http://www.bubbapv.com/Pages/bardrill.htm. Takes a little construction but Bubba will e-mail you back and tell you how to build it. Later..........Mike

is that like doing a pull over except you keep extending your legs?

I kind of understand the premise, however the question that I have is do you push off and go over the higher bar, or do you just get there and hang. Why don't you e-mail Doug and ask him? He will get back to you, just tell him that Mike Soule said you should e-mail him about it. His e-mail address is polevaulter@msn.com. He'll give you the straight poop on the drill. Then once you get the info, bring it back here. Ok? Later.....Mike

a lot of sliding box helps too. it is pretty much a wodden box sort of in the shape of the box you would vault into...the difference is, you can run from 4, 5, 6 or any amount of steps and plant into the box and it will slide. it is a great way to dissolve the 'fear' of the box you will be vaulting into...if not box, use a towel, curl it like a 'C' and have them run and plant right on the towel. consistency is what matters now.

going into the long jump pits helps too, or A-frames, simulating the driving knee and long trail leg at take off (high hands/arms too)

high knee runs with the pole help too.

patybobady wrote:a lot of sliding box helps too. it is pretty much a wodden box sort of in the shape of the box you would vault into...the difference is, you can run from 4, 5, 6 or any amount of steps and plant into the box and it will slide. it is a great way to dissolve the 'fear' of the box you will be vaulting into...if not box, use a towel, curl it like a 'C' and have them run and plant right on the towel. consistency is what matters now.

going into the long jump pits helps too, or A-frames, simulating the driving knee and long trail leg at take off (high hands/arms too)

high knee runs with the pole help too.

Yeah we use the sliding box alot i would say it helps lol

We do these thkings called inverted pull-ups. It doesn't use a pole, but it uses a pull-up bar. What you do is stick your feet up then pull up.

at our school we have to do ten before we get the pits out, and so far i'm the only one who's been trying.

Distancejumper, do the inverted pushups also. Same premis as the pull up only you're backed against the wall hand stand then do a few pushups. I used to do 15 before I'd jump. It's a good strength builder and "loosener upper" also. Later...........Mike

We also do a backwards roll with your hands next to your face. I hold a bungee about 3' off the ground and the ladies push up and over the bungee from the backwards roll..... It helps improve the speed of the release and extension.

We also do a backwards roll with your hands next to your face. I hold a bungee about 3' off the ground and the ladies push up and over the bungee from the backwards roll..... It helps improve the speed of the release and extension.

Is this kind of like a back extension roll (from gymnastics)?

Not exactly. In the gymnastics move (if I understand it correctly) the back extension roll rolls over the back of the hands not the palms. We transfer the backward roll energy to a purely vertical movement and try to push off of the floor to develop height after release. Most of the ladies can clear a bungee at least three feet above the floor!