Big Bottom Arm

[C-townvault]

Over the summer, I heard that Stacy Dragila was working on fixing her bottom arm. She wants to use more of a "Big bottom arm" but what she probably wants is a bottom arm that is appling pressure at the bottom of her vault. Also this is the philosophy i was taught at JJ's camp.

I think with Stacy it has been more of an issue of not taking off 5 feet under

Isn't this a common problem with not applying pressure at the bottom of the vault?

[STEVIESDAD]

I VERY SELDOMLY HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY, HOWEVER,
ON THIS ISSUE I BELIEVE THAT IF YOUR TIMING, RUNWAY SPEED EARLY PLANT AND JUMP OFF THE GROUND ARE IN HARMONY WITH EACH OTHER.....YOU WILL INFACT HAVE GREAT ARM EXTENTION, YOU WILL NOT LET ANY ENEGRY OUT OF THE POLE AND IT COULD BE THE BEST JUMP OF THE DAY.

SO HAVE FUN RUN FAST PLANT EARLY AND FOR PETE'S SAKE JUMP OFF THE GROUND!!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM STEVIE'S AND SETH'S DAD

[DFW-ELITEpv]

I have coached for 27 yrs and you are correct (in my opinion)
'steviesdad' when you do say something ,you said it correct.

[mcminkz05]

so in other words, dont pay much attention to the bottom arm, just focus on the rest of the vault ?

[Erica]

I just got home from a long weekend at the USATF Annual meeting and I'm catching up on all my pvpower reading. It seems to me as I read though the postings of the last several days on this subject that there is a great misunderstanding of the bottom arm. Having a big bottom arm does not have to mean blocking out. Many people see it as the same thing. If you look at video of the great vaulters who don't collape the left arm at all, they are definately not "blocking out." They are pushing UP! They jump off the ground with as high a takeoff angle as they can and keep their arms away from them, pushing the bottom hand in the direction they are trying to jump. They do not push the pole in front of them, which causes a vaulter to block out and not let the chest drive up into the vault. In my vaulting and my coaching of other vaulters, looking at the bottom hand and driving through it at takeoff while keeping the bottom arm straight will keep the vaulter from blocking out.

[Erica]

Jeff Hartwig is a great vaulter to watch if you want to see someone with a "big bottom arm." Notice also that he never pulls his bottom arm out of the pole, he swings hard enough that when it gets to the point in the vault where his arm needs to bend in order for him to turn up, it just happens. If you swing hard enough, you can't leave your left arm in the pole too long.

[Bruce Caldwell]

Jeff Hartwig is a great vaulter to watch if you want to see someone with a "big bottom arm." Notice also that he never pulls his bottom arm out of the pole, he swings hard enough that when it gets to the point in the vault where his arm needs to bend in order for him to turn up, it just happens. If you swing hard enough, you can't leave your left arm in the pole too long.

yes the Bell Athletic boys do have.... a wide hand spread, I see them not bending the pole with the bottom arm. The bottom arm as you say does move away to allow a swing through. LON, Will, and Daniel are on here often lets hear from them on this subject?

[vaultin chris]

...my coach was convonced i "needed" to start bending the pole allot, so he taught me to lock out my arm like mid-way through the season, ...

This drives me crazy. Compared to the amount of power you are transferring from your run, do you think one arm (your weaker arm) can make the difference between bending and not bending the pole? Locking out your left arm does NOT bend the pole. The only thing that bends the pole is the energy transferred from your run at takeoff.

Another way to think about it is like this...say for some reason you want to land in the runway (i dunno, you're from Alabama or something). How do you accomplish that? Lock out your bottom arm! It keeps the pole from rolling over and you from swinging through...

WOW another good post worth reading GOOD points !!!You are correct as if you collapse the bottom arm and not get good pole bending it is becasue you are not fully extending the energy from the top grip. Focusing on the break the arm technigue is rarely effective unless you are on a pole that is lighter so you can manage such a thing.
You have to extend the top grip as high as you can get it to transfer the energy into the pole and the vault as well as down the axis of the vaulter swing pendulum. Locking the arm will bend the pole but we are not bending poles here We are transfering energy into the pole and the vault for the greatest potential energy return on top!!!!

Ok im confused are u sayin that ur front arm doesnt really have to push on the pole, it mostly comes from the back arm applyin pressure on the top of the pole?

[KYLE ELLIS]

This is one of those subjects that is tough to talk about on a forum because evry one cant say all they want to say without it being entirely to long! Plus when one person says such it might be mistaken by someone else as another thing, plus it's hard to make oposers believers on the net. I think what has been said can be agreed that you shouldn't concentrate on "locking the left arm" you should instead concentrate on a good takeoff, chest drive, good angle etc. and this will put your bottom arm in the right position. And to close off you must break the bottom arm down. am i right?

[lonestar]

Another question in relation to the initial one:

Does the angle of the bottom arm in the elbow relate at all to the grip height and length of pole the vaulter is using?

For example: When a person gripping 16'0 plants the pole in the box to check their step, in order for both hands to even be on the pole, they are straight overhead because of the angle formed between the pole and the ground.

Now take a person gripping 10'0 doing the same thing, only the angle of the pole to the ground is much higher, so for their bottom arm to be on the pole, it is bent, otherwise they would have to push the bottom arm straight out in front of them in order for both arms to be straight.

I personally think there's a threshold for grip where if the bottom arm is straight it goes from being pressed out to being pressed up in relation to the angle formed by the pole and the ground.

Thoughts?

[zack]

I personally think there's a threshold for grip where if the bottom arm is straight it goes from being pressed out to being pressed up in relation to the angle formed by the pole and the ground.

Thoughts?

Totally agree with you there lonestar. I'm a little over 6'3 and I find that to be true when I'm jumping from short runs gripping 13-14'. I don't think I can truly press it up until I'm gripping 14'9-15'. You could probably figure out the exact angle/grip height based on your height but I don't do math unless theres a gun to my head.

[vaultfan]

I think that Earl Bell provides excellent information in his USATF DEVELOPMENTAL INSTRUCTION TAPE, 2000, entitled “POLE VAULT, Technique Development.â€Â