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About how many steps in to the vault before one should start dropping the pole. I know that if you drop to soon, you will try to muscle the pole. and this leads to being under.

Any suggestions?

3 steps (lefts/rights) out should be when you really begin to drop your pole. The pole should be allowed to drop a little way during the first part of your run, but not very much.

Shouldn't it be the last 3 steps? Say you take 7 lefts, then on the 5th left, start to drop the pole?

The lowering of the pole usually starts, when you start running. The plant starts 2-3 steps out (and I think you are referring to the planting action). Very few athletes carry the pole at the same angle the entire run (up until the plant).

A continuous lowering of the pole is almost essential to increasing your speed. It helps taking of some of the strain from carrying the pole.

I guess I am talking about the part of the run where the pole is dramatically lowered.

If you gradually lower the pole, wouldn't you have the use your arms to muscle the falling pole.

If you drop the pole closer to the end of the run, THEN the pole would naturally drop into the box and no muscling would occur.

If you watch any of Bubka's vaults CAREFULLY you will see that as soon as he begins to run he begins to drop his pole. Yes it's a slow drop, and is probably much less important for you and the pole(s) you use, but when you begin to use much bigger poles, it really makes a difference...

If you have any crappy poles lying around wherever that you can destroy, then try this out: Get some cement or something like that and apply 10-15 pounds near the tip of the pole... Do some runs recreating the first part of your run with this pole. You should begin to feel how the free pole drop helps you out.

bushy_12 wrote:If you gradually lower the pole, wouldn't you have the use your arms to muscle the falling pole.

Imagine balancing a pole vertically. Now, let it start falling slowly forward, and start running to counteract the fall. In order to slow the fall down, you have to accelerate, which during a normal pole run takes a lot of the strain away from carrying the pole.

IOW, start with a relatively high angle, and start dropping at an even rate while increasing your speed from the first step. It's not a free fall, so some power must be applied, but with increased run speed comes less strain from carrying.

As Powerplant says: Watch Bubka....

Time your pole drop so that you feel no resistance on your bottom hand when it is dropping. The more weight you feel, the less fast you will be able to run. It is going to be different for people with different pole lengths and weights, and people that run different speeds. The whole point is to time is so that you feel no weight pulling you forward.

I believe that when it came to pole drop, i was taght from the very beginning to almost let the pole be in a controlled free fall from the top to the box, with your last three steps being the planting section.?

You don't Drop the Pole....... You chase it! Try balancing a broom on your hand, as it drops try to chase it to keep it balanced.. That explains it.

Rick Baggett
WSTC LLC