CANT GET SHOULDERS BACK!!!!!

[mcminkz05]

ok, this is the most frustrating thing ever!!!! iv tried everythign to get my shoulders to drop so i can finish my rockback, but its not working!!!! i get my legs up, but my shoulders stay above my hips through the whole vault, so then i dont get anywhere near inverted, my hips drop, the whole top of my vault is killed, im jumpign way under my grip, etc... if anyone has anythign, ANYTHING, that might help, please tell me!!! iv been stuck jumpign 11-12' cuz of this, when i should be jumping much much higher condidering my grip height, takeoff, whatever.. i have a video of some jumps, pm me if you think you can help and ill send them to you, its easy to see what im talkign about in the video. im gettign pretty desperate to fix this!

[DaMoonVaulter#1]

I was having the same problems earlyer in the year. First make sure your swiging your legs in enough but beyond that, the key to getting your shoulders and hips back is to quit looking at the bar and get your head back.

[mcminkz05]

well, how do i do that???? after lookin at some of my jumps, i see that i do stare at the bar the entire vault, and keep my head up, but i cant seem to find a way to keep myself from doing it!

[Vaulter1080]

our freshman has the same problem. In his case one of the biggest problems is that instead of rowing, he pulls his right hand to his chest almost as soon as he's off the ground killing the rest of his swing. Have someone watch ur swing and see if ur right arm stays long during the first 2/3 of the vault, or if ur pulling in.

[superchau88]

send it to jan johnson on his website

[DaMoonVaulter#1]

The best thing I think I did to help myself was doing bubkas. Get a high bar, grab it like you would a pole and invert your body. Go to advantage athletics for some pictures because any written description I give wont make any sence. Basically, its sort of weird if you've never done it but, during the bending/rockback phase of your jump you can't be looking at the bar, thats when you have to start getting back. Just trust that you have enough foward momentum to get you into the pit (you do) and get upside down.

[blazerunner121]

well u def. don't want to pull ur shoulders back cause thats just a no-no. my coach would kill me if i did that. try sweeping ur legs more and keeping the back and legs as parallel and vertical as u can to ur pole. u kind of just let ur butt and back hang around with out inverting into a J shape position.

[PV Knox]

I'm working on the same thing. I've analyzed my video and saw that I'm not swinging my trail leg and it is not staying straight until it is perpindicular to the box. I'm gonna try straightening my trail leg and swing it harder to get more momentum in my swing.

[indestructo]

I agree with DaMoon... I always did the same thing you are doing in high school. I got to college, spent an hour in the gymnastics room doing all sorts of things including bubka's.....everyday. Thats probably why I never once had that problem in college. Bubka's give you a good feel of how to shift your body to the point where your hips are higher then your head. It may take a week to get your first one, but it'll help you big time in this department.

[fong520]

sorry i looked at the article thign on bubkas yet i still dont fully understand. canssomeone explain agian heh.. sorry

[indestructo]

Do bubka's on a high bar if you can....

To reference Mcminkz's difficulties, and advantage athletics picture sequences on Bubka's.

I think Mcminkz is getting to around picture 6 or picture 1 for advanced vaulters where the ankles are at the bar... he is stalling here because he hasn't yet figured out how to get the hips over the shoulders.

The key at this point is to shift your body weight under the bar by raising your hips all the while trying to keep your legs in close to the bar and driving your shoulders down and back. Finishing off (and we take this drill one step further) by pulling up with the arms and driving your feet high and rolling over the bar.

I hope that explanation does any help in explaining a bubka. These are incredibly difficult drills to explain in words. The best way to understand any pole vault drill is to see it and to play with it until you get it right, and most importantly to have a coach present to make sure you are actually doing the drill properly and not creating bad habits.

[Beam]

"My shoulder's aren't dropping back" "I can't rock back" and "My shoulder don't go underneith my hips" are all completely wrong things to be thinking for what you are trying to do. Yes, I said it; I finally had to come out and say that you are all wrong in the imagination. You should never think any of these things. (Sarcasm). . . you should pull to bend the pole too, right? No. This is the truth about it. . .go do gymnastics and try pulling while you swing! It won't work. You have to learn to relax your body while pole vaulting and guide it through the physics of the vault. I'm no biomechanist, and know little of physics. But it's common sense here that I am talking about. The ultimate goal of the vault is to go "UP," why on earth would you imagine going "Back" or "Down"? It doesn't make sense at all. Yes, you must get upsidedown, but you need to learn to swing "up" through the turn of your jump, not "rock back into your turn." Your hips rise above your shoulders, it's not your shoulders that "drop" underneith. Flip your thinking into positive movements instead of negetive. Then go to a high bar and try to get your feet, hips, and torso to swing up above your shoulders and you will be on your way to understanding Bubkas. It's not about muscle, it's about technique and positive thinking. If you are having the problems that you describe as can't get my shoulders to do something, then you are probably trying too hard, and are muscling the swing. I've said my peace. If anyone wants a deeper talk of the issues at hand, read "Seize the Day" by Saul Bellow before talking to me. I've got too many projects that I'm working on...