Drills for form and habits

[pvcolt]

I've been seriously devoting myself to jumping 15' before the end of my senior year. I've been working out a lot and gained about 10 lbs of muscle. I figure that I've got the physical part mostly under control. However, I still need some serious work on my form. I'm 160 lbs, right handed 6' tall, and generally end up jumping on a 13' 7" 165. I've jumped 12' 6" with that pole, however I figure I could jump 14' with it if I could get my form figured out. Here are my specific problems with the vault.

-Inconsistent run. As the bar goes higher, I get excited and run at greater intensities. I need to run with high intensity always.
-I look at the bar
-because I look at the bar I never fully complete my knee drive
-because I never complete the knee drive and look at the bar, I never drop my shoulders
-because I don't drop my shoulders, I flag out
-because I flag out, I have an inefficient turn and I push the pole away with my left hand

Me looking at the bar is costing me about 1' 6". Any drills to remedy both the habit and the faulty form?

[KirkB]

Colt - you've figured out SOME of your flaws on your own, and the idea that each flaw is due to a previous flaw ... but you don't have them ALL figured out yet ... becuz you haven't gone far enough BACK in the PV actions yet (other than mentioning your inconsistent run).

Between your "inconsistent run" and "looking at the bar" there's quite a few other steps that you've missed. I'd say ...

- becuz you take off "under" (just guessing), you get jerked off the ground (just guessing)
- becuz you get jerked off the ground, your body angle isn't straight up and down (or a little bit forward leaning)
- becuz you get jerked off the ground, you don't JUMP off the ground (just guessing). This is similar to your reference to a lack of lead knee drive. You need good knee drive to jump vigorously.
- becuz you get jerked off the ground, you CAN'T jump off the ground as well
- becuz you don't JUMP off the ground, you don't have a very smooth takeoff
- becuz you get jerked off the ground, you don't get a chance to pre-stretch into a good "C" position
- becuz you don't get a good pre-stretch, you lose a lot of energy at takeoff
- becuz you don't get a good pre-stretch, your downswing won't be optimal - your trail leg won't be stretched long and STAY long thru the chord
- becuz you don't get a good downswing, you won't feel that WHIP when you pass the chord (this ... to me ... is KEY)
- becuz you don't feel that WHIP, you won't be rotating upside down from the momentum of your downswing and whip
- becuz you aren't rotating upside down from your momentum, then EVERYTHING after that slows down
- becuz you feel EVERYTHING slowing down, you begin to look at the bar (you won't have time to look at the bar if everything is going quickly and "properly" in your WHIP, upswing, and inversion
- becuz you look at the bar, you slow yourself down even more
- becuz you begin to slow down, you flag out instinctively to maintain your pole speed (towards the pit)

I could go on ... but once you flag out and look at the bar, then you've lost the vault ... NOTHING after that is going to work very well!

I think you should also understand WHY you body flags out. Your instinct is to both reach the pit and clear the bar. To do both, you need enough momentum to keep going UP ... as well as enough momentum to reach the pit safely. If you don't have enough momentum to do both, then your instincts tell you to reach over the bar (and into the pit). This is a much safer alternative than striving to invert and shoot straight up ... only to stall out. That would be extremely dangerous! So you need to figure out how to maintain enough momentum for both ... to shoot UP (don't flag out) ... and to shoot OVER the bar.

One way is to simply lower your grip. Another is to simply use a lighter pole, which will give you a shorter chord (which will carry you into the pit more). But a lighter pole doesn't let you shoot HIGHER ... only LONGER.

Another way is to eliminate all energy losses in your technique ... such as the energy loss of a poor plant ... and the energy lost when you don't jump UP as well as FORWARD ... and the energy lost when you get jerked off the ground when the pole hits the back of the box ... and the energy lost when you don't get a good pre-stretch ... and the energy lost when you don't have an efficient downswing ... and the energy lost when you don't WHIP past the chord. I could go on ... but you get the idea.

You probably also have some flaws in your plant (too late? not reaching high enough?), but I would just be guessing at that too. If you don't have a good plant, that will also cause problems in subsequent vault parts.

Now ... these are WAY too many flaws to fix all at once, so I have 2 recommendations ...
1. Fix the earlier flaws first
2. Fix the biggest flaws first (the weakest link in your chain of PV actions)

A mix of #1 and #2 is probably best.

Kirk

[pvcolt]

Thanks Kirk. Even though that's ugly to think about, you are pretty much spot on. I generally do end up taking off under and because of that occasionally do get ripped because I don't get my plant high enough. All of my vaults are different though so I will get my plant up sometimes. This could be considered good, however I figure I should do everything correct always. So I guess its back to short run stiff poling for a while haha

[noobar]

hahahaha......good job kirk,you didnt tired from printing and writing?????again it was good job

[pvcolt]

Just a little update. My run is now substantially better. I'm keeping my knee tight to my body which has helped with high knees, I've dorsi-flexed my feet which allows me to kick harder and faster, and I have a good aggressive first step. Before, I actually had my feet plantarflexed and had no idea
I tested my speed in about a 40 foot space before and after. Before:15.6 mph sporadically. After 18 mph consistantly. Now I've been working on quickening my last two steps and jumping with a great knee drive right before the pole begins to absorb energy. Progress is slow, but its progress. (Also building a highbar in my front yard! 14' here I come.)

[powerplant42]

I've been seriously devoting myself to jumping 15' before the end of my senior year. ... (Also building a highbar in my front yard! 14' here I come.)

From the guy who learned the really, really hard way: be patient, speak softly, and STAY HEALTHY.

[bel142]

Where and when did the notion of not looking at the bar come into play? Really a tucked head/chin is a safety thing...

Some one lay it down for me about why we don't want to look at the bar. From what I can see in that photo you are in the right position, but you're not to the pole... which leads me to the idea of that being a strength of technique issue.

Some one lay it down for me, see if we can debate this...

[dougb]

OK

Why should a vaulter not look at the bar?

1 The bar is there to tell everyone how high you vaulted, not how high you should vault. Really good vaulters will clear a low height by a mile because they execute the same vault regardless of were the bar is.

2. To really get tight to the pole as it is straightening it is necessary to have your head aligned with your body. Look at the cover of BTB . This means that you can’t be looking at the bar.

3. A tucked head/chin is not a safety thing; it is a confidence thing. If you are confident in your vault , you can shut your eyes.

4. In order to be confident in your vault you have to do everything that Kirk already mentioned.

Doug Balcomb

[bel142]

Okay...

In response respectfully no...
Good vaulters clear low bars my a mile not because they are looking at the bar, they clear the bar by a mile because they are good vaulters... and the bar is low... The vaulter in the photo is not closed off to the pole completely nor dropped onto the shoulders yet...

Because the head rests on the vertebra, the first two vertebra allows for a pivot, the are called the atlas and the axis. The actual vertebrae of the Axis looks like a thumb pointing up, this is what the head can rotated on and not greatly effect the spine. The vaulter has the ability to pull the body in line and still cock the head down to keep the bar in view. Take another look at the BTB cover, his head is tucked down, if it weren't and what you said were true, we would see a neutral hold in his head.

You are right have eyes open absolutely is a confidence thing, the problem is that pole vault is not a closed motor skill. It has variability, no two vaults will ever be the same. We train to maintain consistency and eliminate variability but in terms of motor learning and execution no two vaults will ever be the same. Furthermore the ability of the vestibular system in the ears allows for understanding of where the body is and how it is moving but does not give us complete information... Noted by vaulters who throw their head back and peek in front of the bar and over the box... The ability to balance and understand where the body is it is greatly influenced by sight... If the vaulter close their eyes, most likely their vestibular system is not going to tell them when they are exactly straight up and down, nor where they are relative to the box, and when they are over the bar...

thoughts?

bel...

[AVC Coach]

I would like to see a full video of pvcolt's jump. It's hard to tell where in the vault this picture is taken.

I think Kirk nailed it on his explanation. Bel, I noticed you used the phrase " dropped onto the shoulders". I hear that a lot and I think it sends the wrong message. Dropping your shoulders changes your center of mass and axis of rotation. I like my vaulters to visualize following a path led by the feet (feet, hips, shoulders, head). The shoulders don't drop, they just simply follow the hips. I think most vaulters catch a glimpse of the bar at some point in the vault. I know I did. Having the ability to stare at the bar throughout the entire jump tells me the hands are in the wrong spot, mostly the bottom arm pulling or jamming out and away.

As for the shutting of the eyes - one of my teammates in college was scared of heights and would close his eyes at take-off and not open them again until he landed in the pit. He jumped 17'02" that way. You develop kinesthetic awareness over time through repetition.

Just my thoughts.

[pvcolt]

From the guy who learned the really, really hard way: be patient, speak softly, and STAY HEALTHY.

Thanks haha. I was out all last season with a pulled quad. I now stretch more than anyone else on my team. And I probably should speak softer



In this picture bubka has indeed tucked his chin to his chest, but he's also rigid along the pole and has his shoulders dropped, which I definitely am not doing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pCzbWZOJ5Q
Here's a video of me a few weeks ago. I didn't realize this until I uploaded it, but my steps are LOUD. Along with a gamut of other problems...but live and learn.

[dougb]

"Here's a video of me a few weeks ago. I didn't realize this until I uploaded it, but my steps are LOUD. Along with a gamut of other problems...but live and learn."

Steps are loud is a good thing!

From looking at that one vault ( small sample ) you are not getting your left hand into your chest. Again look at B2B cover. Where is bubkas left hand?
Watch every vault on Stabhoc.com and watch what the various vaulters do with their left hand to draw their head and shoulders under their hips and feet.

Getting vertical is not only a matter of swinging but of letting your upper body to rotate under your upper hand. This means your left hand has to collapse into your chest.

Doug Balcomb