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I'm a sophmore and my PR is 10.6 i weigh 135 lbs but i'm on a 14 ft 150. My run and my plant is perfect i am having a huge issue with breaking my arm down and geting inverted. In meets i swing up to about a sitting position, a little higher tho. When there is no bar up my legs dont come up that much and i dont get that high. My warm-up drills like rockbacks and stuff are perfect, i get my legs all the way back a much as possible and i do it very quickly. My straight pole drills are perfect as i said. When i bend, as i mentioned before my plant is perfect and i jump up and have a high plant and all that stuff. But after that i just cant seem to swing up and get inverted. This only happens when i bend the pole. I have pretty good strength and i do ab work and up body work all the time so i know thats not the issue. Some one please help me and give me some ideas on what to do.

If you can't swing up, your plant is not perfect. It sounds like you are blocking with your bottom arm.

There are quite a few posts on this topic. Make sure you are pushing up with your top hand and not pushing it forward/down after takeoff. It does sound like your bottom arm is locked out or at least not allowing your shoulders to drop as you swing.

Do some gymnastic drills on either a high bar or rings. Try to swing your hips to the bar. If you bring your feet to the bar, you will never get your hips up high enough to get inverted. Ab workouts will help, but much of the technique comes from hanging while you swing and keeping your hands above you.

I guarantee NONE of those things you mentioned is perfect, maybe good, possibly excellent, but still nowhere near to the way any 6.00 vaulter would be able to do them...

But anyway, it sounds like that pole is just way too big for you... unless you're just trying to stiff pole, and if that's the case that's a perfect pole. What's your mid at for your grip? I'd take a guess you're holding at least a foot and a half down on the pole, putting you at about 6.5ish meters per second at take-off, with a take-off mark of around 9'8'', am I correct?

I am increasingly seeing an obsession of kids I vault with about breaking in their bottom arm. I see it as a pointless thing to try to focus on during a vault, even during a drill. They're just like, "Oh, all I need to do is break in, and then I can get inverted..." Right, like THAT'S what's keeping them from getting inverted... If you swing correctly, you'll be in position to become completely inverted. 99% of the time, the swing is the problem with inversion, unless it had something to do with a phase even before that...

You said that you were confident in your run and plant, but what about your swing? If your run and plant ARE perfect (again I guarantee that they are not, but whatever, let's just say hypothetically if they were perfect,) then the next thing is the swing. I know what you're going through, because I have the same issue. I no heighted today, coming in at 10'6'', because, among a few other major issues like fatigue from being an idiot yesterday and practicing today for an hour or so, (we had a meet at practice to count for the pitless school our next meet is at on Monday, so...) I consistently drop my drive knee and do a crunch/sit-up through the chord of the pole instead of driving it high and hitting the chord long. You need a highbar, just like I do. I would KILL for just an hour or so on a highbar. If you get one, I'm positive that within a few days of practice on it, you'll be going at LEAST 12 feet, if not more. Good luck, I hope I didn't sound too ticked off, sorry if I did...

the majority of high schools should have more poles so you can have an ideal weight rated pole and still have the same length, if need be, you can ask your pole vault coach about the right specifications for your ideal pole and buy it yourself if the school doesn't have the right pole. Good Luck.

I have a buddy on my team that has this same problem. Okay, What is happening, is you are swinging and everything, you get upside down, but you do not straighten out your body. It is essential to get your body perfectly straight (and it takes some time to get it down, look at the swinging bubka drill in the media portion of polevaultpower.com) Once you are completely 100% upside down on the pole, you push off with your bottom hand, and then your top hand (relative to the ground because your top hand is opposite from when you are standing). As you push off, you simultaneously turn your body. Its an intense feeling and its going to freak you out the first time, but stay focused and try to get straight regardless of how crazy it feels.The fly-away is the hardest thing to learn as a beginner because it takes a lot of handstands and bucking broncos (and a knowledgeable coach) to achieve the strength, and the guts to push off when you are completely upside down. When you do it correctly, the action of pole vaulting will become fluid and a lot of the resistances you are feeling from not jumping high enough in the initial jump, or the pole fighting back will go away. What fixed my friend's problem was a video camera, 5 hour practices, and yelling coach.

Run, Jump, FLY!!!!!

If your plant was perfect you wouldnt have a problem getting "inverted". Your blocking out with your left arm thats why you cant get past a sitting position on your swing you need to fix your plant before you worry about getting inverted.

I agree. Its ok to be happy with an aspect of your jump but NEVER be satisfied. The best vaulters in the world right now, and ever, do plant drills to improve every day. The run and plant is basically the determining factor in how your abilities. It would be like saying your 100m run is "perfect". It can be a good time, but not perfect.