PoleVaultPower.com

ok whenever i vault ive looked at myself on film and as soon as i take off my arm is not all the way out like its supposed 2 be its really collapsed but then it comes out as the vault goes on. people have told me this can really hurt the swing and i wanna know how i can fix this. maybe my hand spread is 2 narrow? have any ideas?

Well your hands should be about shoulder width apart. You may not be able to get your left arm all the way up for a couple of reasons. Your takeoff may be under. Or you might be planting too late. Could be a combination of the two. Hope this helps.

Every time my coach tells me that my arm isn't straight, I think about hitting myself in the face with my forearm when I jump. I know it sounds stupid, but it seems to work for me.

How high are you gripping on how long of a pole? If it's not that high, like under 13' at the top of your top hand, then your bottom arm need not be totally straight. How straight should it be? Well, plant the pole in the box like you're checking your step with both hands on the pole overhead - whatever position your bottom arm is in is where it should remain throughout your takeoff and drive phase. Upon inverting it should then break in close to your body.

We have a term for vaulters with too much bottom arm called "lock and block," meaning that locked bottom arm blocks you from being able to swing all the way upside down. Just focus on making a solid punch of the bottom arm up at the plant, not locking it out straight, or you will never fully invert.

it was 13' on a 13'6 pole and 13'4 on a 14' pole. obviously it wont be all the way out but its not as far out as it is when i stand under my top hand and check my step. today i took a small pole though and ran from a random place my step was right on and my arm was out like a rock. i think maybe my step is about 4-6 inches under could this be killing take off ive had under problems all year but i havent really been striding out or anything and my run is pretty consistent

One of the biggest problems in pole vaulting is over-emphasizing the bottom arm or even worse...locking it out. First reaching out with your bottom arm too much going into the plant can cause your step to be under. Your feet go to under your hands. If your hands go out front, your feet will do the same. If you reach out to put your plant up, you need to get your body back under your top hand before you hit your plant.

The other biggest problem with locking out or pressing too much with your bottom arm is it stops your shoulders from moving forward. That causes your hips to get out in front of you too soon. This causes your lower back to absorb all the force of the plant. This causes lower back pain and injury. Many vaulters that do this kick out with their bottom foot. This just emphasizes the pressure put into the lower back resulting in worse lower back injury.

Another problem of pressing too hard with the bottom arm is it causes an uneven bend in the pole. Look at your pole when this happens. If there is more bend near your top hand, you're pressing too hard. On the other hand...I've seen vaulters hold on or hang by their bottom arm. This keeps the top of the pole from bending. You can see the pole bend low in this case with the top of the pole staying straight.

Vitally Petrov said that his research and experience showed that trying to the top of the pole to horizontal too quickly causes the vaulter to stall out over the bar.

There is one way to check to see if a vaulter is pressing too much or not pressing enough with the bottom arm. The vaulter should come to full extension of the body with the trail foot pointed (or tapping) the box. The body should be at a 45-degree angle to the runway at this point. This is the transition between driving forward and trying to get inverted or rising.

See "How to Get Past Vertical" http://www.advantageathletics.com/polevault/molnar.html
The vault on that page is 14' 10".
Look at Kira Costa's new Indoor Girl's High School Record http://www.advantageathletics.com/polevault/costa.html
Look at Shayla Ballentine's High School outdoor record http://www.advantageathletics.com/polev ... ntine.html
Look at beginner pole vaulter Albert Abbene's bottom arm http://www.advantageathletics.com/polevault/abbene.html
He's a 10th grader vaulting on a 14' pole 30 lbs over his weight.

Still not convinced see http://members.aol.com/actstunt/bubka.html

Bottom line...Stop focusing on your bottom arm.