Stensol wrote:[list]* "Swinging" from the take-off until complete inversion is a natural motion resulting from a great take-off. That is, vaulters don't need to consciously start swinging directly after take-off; it just happens.
* A faster swing provides the pole with greater energy than a slower swing.
* You can train yourself to swing faster by using "a pull-like arm motion and secondly use abs, chest, shoulders and hip flexors, but it all starts with arms. So you can call it what you want, but to speed your inversion up, you need to use your arm muscles. To direct the swing in the desired direction arms will act in the pull-like action."
The answer to this question is the famous phrase that I mentioned before about being elastic. Look at those pictures you pointed out on my website. Notice how stretched their top arms are. How stretched their stomachs are. How stretched their quads are. They are what I am refering to as being elastic and setting up a powerful stretch reflex action to occur.
Now to answer your first post, I have never worked with those three vaulters, I have never talked to them, I have never talked to their coaches directly. However, from those I have talked to that have talked to their coaches and what I beleive is going on here we go.
First lets look at their bottom arms!
Bubka demonstrates what I look for and coach perfectly. I call it the chicken wing. Elbow out allowing for him to get into the Pocket as many call it. THis position gives him an open window to take all the momentum generated at takeoff to initate pole rotation. Since his bottom arm is not locked out his body is allowed to load completely with energy in the form of numerous stretch reflexs hence being elastic.
What I teach and talk about is from this moment the bottom arm pull is a pulling sensation in the direction above the heads to assist and add to the unleasing of the stretch reflexs. Will you provide a lot of energy probably not but every newton counts. This motion also adds in keeping your upper body in line with the poles imaginary pole cord if the pole is bent. Staying with this pole cord will allow the pole to rotate with less energy than if you stay away from it.
Next a look at the top arm!!!
When someone says perform a pulling action in the traditional sense of the word pull. They however do mean perform a pulling action just not in the traditional sense. As an example when most people hear perform a pulling action they traditional think a basic bicep curl motion with the top arm. It must remain straight. This is not what we mean by perform a pulling action with the top arm.
However look at the famous BUBKA motion (dang I don't have that picture up on my site anymore. I will put it back up.) Hence the shoulder drop (downward pressure with the shoulder down and under you) and hip thrust. Think about this for a moment what does it cause your hands to do. It perform a pulling motion on the top of the pole in the direction your shoulders are pressing. Are you actually pulling with the hands ie. performing a bicep curl. NO, but you are pulling with your hands because your shoulders are violently pulling/pressing down and under you to aid in raising the hips. This is basically an upside down romamian deadlift. A straight leg deadlift where by you are to remain as stiff and rigid as possible and press the shoulder fire the gletus and straighten out. On a pole it is slightly different in that you must emphasis on keep the quads tight or your feet will fall off the back side (another story another post)
Also this Bubka motion adds energy into the pole, maybe not a great deal of energy but every newton helps in keep the pole in a coiled state slightly longer hence giving you more time to reach inversion without wasting energy. Thus more energy is available for you to use during your flyaway. There should be NO pauses and no passive moments from the moment your foot leaves the ground till the moment you let go of the pole.
Stensol wrote:I guess when I've been reading the word "pull", I've been visualizing pulling the pole with both arms directly into the body, which didn't seem at all correct. If I hang on a pull-up bar and then pull my body up only a couple of centimeters and then hold it, then my upper body feels very active.
Maybe this is what agapit is referring to as a "pull-like action" and what Tim is referring to when he writes about "being active throughout the entire jump."
Ok now rethink this statement. Imagine the pull action with the top arm is not a bicep curl but a pressing action of the shoulders once the hips are above your shoulders (hence a bubka on a high bar). The bottom arm pulling action is more of a motion to keep your chest as active as possible continuously moving through the vault so that you can utilize the elastic components available to your muscles. On the other hand If upward pressure is provided the chest/shoulders are pushed backwards and a negitive motion occurs lesser stretch reflex occurs and a slower overall swing. The bottom arm is more of the traditional sense of the word bicep curl if you must but in a direction above the head which is key so that you stay elastic.
This should start to clear up the picture more I hope. It is all about loading the pole with energy. Loading your body with energy and then allowing your body to use that energy efficently and natually to swing inversion. The speed of this swing will depend on your overall stretch and the efficiency of your body to load and unload. The pulling action is utilized to add in provided more energy so the pole does not uncoil to quickly. Vaulters using this method usually have a smaller higher bend in the pole during takeoff. Their swing must be active, agressive, fast and precise if they want to beat the pole to inversion.
I hope this helps clear things up more as to what coaches are meaning with the new term "PULL"
