Steve Hooker - 5.61m From 8 Steps Video

[LHSVaulterJJR]

Not to take anything away from steve, but i dont think the sheer power to wieght ration in the weight sessions that i saw was "super human". Its a great core strength and musculatity that he has for more of a tall guy, but nothing gymnastically special. As in perhaps the way of strength needed for say an iron cross. id attribute the height from that approach back to his hieght (takeoff angle), pole grip, and pretty massive swing! But i mean sure if we could all grip 16- 16'6 from an 8 step theres know reason not to have a two foot pushoff if the jumps completed properly. However This is still an utterly ridiculous jump and as v tech vaulter and some others put it, it really makes one wonder why us shorter vaulters even try haha besides the fact thats its extremely fun. still an awesome jump and great technique, still wish i knew where he was gripping so that i didnt have to speculate, and i REALLY wish i was a couple inches taller haha. o well. itll take me 7-9 steps and probably 3-5 more years to hit an 18'6 jump if i have that potential. yet he can pop that out from just a 4 lefts now thats a slap in the face haha...... Actually this jump reminds me alot of jermey scotts big jump from three lefts, just because i remember that he was gripping real big on that jump as well.

[LHSVaulterJJR]

haha p.s. DJ i think i remember you posting a thread up here a while ago saying that "nobody should ever be proud of there short approach PR" haha ... you might want to retract that statement now

[dougb]

In watching Mr Hookers vaults I feel that he completes the jump better than just about anyone else. Yeah, he is a stud, and can grip high but when he pulls and turns he is in the proper position to push with his right arm. He always finishes with a big push even though he is moving away from the pole. If he is getting lifted from a big pole he is still adding those critical inches at the top. He is always straight and in the center. What should we call that? Technique?
Comments?

Doug Balcomb
PV Coach, Colfax HS

[KirkB]

... As in perhaps the way of strength needed for say an iron cross. id attribute the height from that approach back to his hieght (takeoff angle), pole grip, and pretty massive swing! ...

But i mean sure if we could all grip 16- 16'6 from an 8 step theres know reason not to have a two foot pushoff if the jumps completed properly. However ... wish i knew where he was gripping so that i didnt have to speculate, ...

I wouldn't be surprised if he can do an iron cross ... he's quite light ... altho perhaps he's been very careful to develop JUST the muscles needed for PV.

Takeoff angle yes, grip yes, swing yes ... but it's not all swing. He's doing one heckuva "muscle up" (for lack of a better term) at the same time he's swinging. This takes ironcross-like strength!

He still dips his lead leg down, then up again ... as per his long run technique. This significantly reduces the chord that must reach vertical ... so no matter what his takeoff grip is, his effective grip when you consider the chord length is probably relatively shorter than that of us mere mortals.

I was not thinking that he was gripping 16'+ ... altho I'm speculating just as much as you. I figured he's at about 15-3. That would give him about a 43" pushoff ... which is sick for 8 steps ... but so is his jump!

To take 5.50 as a milestone that's hard to make ... from a long run you should need about a 3 foot pushoff ... which would mean you'd need about a 15-6 grip. These are just example metrics from the top of my head.

Bubba, could you ask Stewart what his grip and pole was for that jump?

Kirk

[Bubba PV]

I have requested the video file or link for a frame by frame look and will inquire about the pole and grip. Pretty amazing feat. It's summer there so he could hit a big one soon. Bubba

[Kholev]

I was told that Steve was using 12.9 pole (looks like a 510 pacer carbon) gripping 4.78m (15'7"). Thats a push of 105cm (3'4").

[dj]

Hey

If I need to recant I don’t mind… but.. I don’t know that is necessary.

Don’t remember my post word for word.. but this is my real “opinion” on short run.

Short run jumping is a drill. A portion of a Whole-Part-Whole teaching method. Having a PR for a drill is reasonable.

BUT.. if your ALL TIME PR is from a short run… and you brag about it, I think your time would be better spent learning to run from a long run. A long run being a minimum (male or female, senior in high school and up) of 8 lefts!! 16 to 20 strides..

Every one could/can learn to jump from a long run, if they honestly wanted too, and could jump higher because of it… so no bragging if your ALL TIME PR is from a short run. No crying if you get beat and you were running from a short run….

This short run vault was used in the context it should have been used for… practice.. practice of the rhythm and technique of the event.. and he did that with a short run, he still kept his posture, stride acceleration, high takeoff, fast swing and vertical launch…

The stride frequency can be attributed not only to his speed and athletic ability but to the point he hit 6 steps from the takeoff.

And of course he has an all time PR from a long run considerably higher than this vault.

dj

[LHSVaulterJJR]

haha relax dj ..... and kirk i dont understand. Your saying that dropping that lead knee makes it so that less of the chord of the pole must reach vertical? so in a sensce dropping that lead leg would allow you to get on much bigger poles?

[KirkB]

You're saying that dropping that lead knee makes it so that less of the chord of the pole must reach vertical? so in a sense dropping that lead leg would allow you to get on much bigger poles?

I don't think you have the right definitiion for the chord of the pole.

The chord is the straight-line distance between the butt plug and the top hand ... on a bent pole. This distance is always less than the grip on the straight pole. To make the pit, you must rotate the pole to vertical. You do this with the momentum that you've generated in your run and takeoff ... as well as in your downswing. Having a good pole angle (tall plant) on takeoff helps too ... and Hooker's stature (6-2) and LJ ability is a definite bonus here.

The more you bend the pole, the shorter the chord is, so the easier it is to rotate the pole to vertical. By dropping the lead knee, Hooker is lowering his CoM ... as well as getting a longer pendulum (measured from the top hand to the CoM). This bends the pole even more ... making a shorter chord. This shorter chord is easier to rotate to vertical than a longer chord (on a pole that's not bent as much). It's also easier to rotate the pole to vertical when your CoM is lower.

Caution to all Hooker wannabes ... you are VERY unlikely to be able to drop the trail leg AND THEN SWING IT UP IN TIME to catch the pole. Hooker does this very well ... but it's not as easy as he makes it look. Most mere mortals just can't do this quickly enough ... if at all.

This is the same trap as pressing on the bottom arm. Just as you WILL bend the pole more by lowering your CoM, you WILL bend the pole more by blocking out the bottom arm. But the problem with BOTH these ideas is that most vaulters are unable to stay ahead of the pole ... so the pole is already uncoiling by the time the vaulter is ready to extend.

So ... don't try this at home!

Getting onto bigger poles? I was only talking about getting to the pole to vertical with a high grip. His knee drop helps him get there. Ultimately, this can lead to bigger poles ... but that's not what I was getting at.

Kirk

[IAmTheWalrus]

So does anyone have any additional stats on steve hooker, like his time in any sprints, or through a speed trap, or his long jump PR. I know he's 6'2 185lbs (according to his website), and according to the 6m club chart he jumps on an 11.5 5.20m pole. Anyone have any other stats?

[KirkB]

... he's 6'2 185lbs (according to his website) ...

I'm surprised that he's that heavy. Actually, to be more precise, it's 85kg ... which converts to 187.4 lbs. I would have guessed a lot lower than that ... he LOOKS very skinny.

Maybe his strength-to-weight ratio is even MORE amazing than I first thought ... since he's heavier than I thought.

Kirk

[Barto]

He is more than 6'2