sooch90 wrote:how do upright rows and upside down pull ups mimic the pull part of the vault? Maybe I've been vaulting wrong or something, but isn't the "pull through" part simply dropping the shoulders and punching up the hips? The arms stay straight throughout this part doesn't it? It's only after the inversion, and as you begin to come off the pole does your arm bend to allow your body to move through. However, this doesn't require you to forcibly pull with your arms (like doing a Bubka) right?
When you say "dropping the shoulders", I know what you mean, but you know that you actually don't DROP the shoulders. If your top arm is already fully stretched, you can't "drop" the shoulders any lower than they are already. So what you mean is that you FEEL like your shoulders are dropping ... since the pole is bending as you're swinging.
Now by "punching up the hips", I think I know what you mean, but again ... "punching" is probably not the best word to describe it ... especially if you're following the Petrov Model. SWINGING up the hips would be more accurate.
To answer your questions about "upright rows" and "upside down pullups", these actions refer to what the ARMS are doing.
The ROW is like rowing a canoe. It's pulling your top arm in that action ... along with your bottom arm in a similar but shortened action. Note that in the canoe row, your top arm doesn't bend much ... until the powerful part of the stroke (with the paddle in the water) is complete. This is how you finish your swing, if you lack the momentum to completely invert your body by your swing speed alone. It's not true Petrov, but for most "mere mortals" who don't have a perfect swing, it's how you must finish your swing to get fully inverted ... in line with the pole. It's a muscular action, so is not as efficient as a swinging action. The better you get at swinging, the less you'll have to row.
The "pull through" which you train for with "upside down pull ups" is mostly the action of straightening your back. You're right about not bending your arms until you're fully inverted ... and your back is completely straight and in line with the pole (vertical). What you may be missing is realising how much POWER you have in your back muscles. Your core is MUCH stronger than your biceps. So you want to propel your body upwards using your BACK as much as you can, and then just finish the "extension” by using your biceps. And yes ... it’s like doing a Bubka. Personally, I think it feels quite a bit like the "clean" part of a clean-and-jerk, or the "extension" part of a shoot-to-a-handstand on the highbar.
Kirk
