The bottom Arm-A strength thing?

This is a forum to discuss pole vault technique as it relates to intermediate level pole vaulting.
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vault3rb0y
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Unread postby vault3rb0y » Sun Dec 10, 2006 4:34 pm

When cooleo says swing so that your right hand hits the inside of your right hip, he means after your hand has hit your shins. If you swing with no hip flex, right to a straight-body formation, you have eliminated any chance of adding the power of a swing to your jump.

Secondly, cooleo says to swing your right hand to the inside of your right hip (or in my case left hand- left hip). That SHOULD keep your feet aligned vertically, not tipping to the left or right. I have had a problem with my feet inverting, but then dropping to the right when i begin to pull. This was because my top hand (left) was on the outside of my left hip, and when i pulled, my left hand went up the left side of my body. Therefore I wasnt balanced with the pole, and it was making my legs shoot right. So now i have started swinging so that my top hand ends up between my legs, and then actually pulls across my body and ends up on the right side. This has given me perfect leg position, shooting either straight up or slightly left (remember im a leftie). Its important to remember than in order to keep your feet shooting straight up, your hands must move up your body and a little opposite the side of your top hand, in order to stay balanced with the pole. When you do this, it will also cause your shoulders and upper body to turn before your hips, which you also should be looking for when turning toward to bar. Just a thought since i get the feeling you are getting to that same part in the jump as i am, sooch. Good luck.
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Unread postby sooch90 » Sun Dec 10, 2006 5:29 pm

Hey thanks cooleo and vaulterboy! Now I have a better understanding of what I need to work on when I jump. I'll let you guys know how things go. thanks again!

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Unread postby vault3rb0y » Sun Dec 10, 2006 6:06 pm

Anytime man, thats what the site is for. Get some sweet vids too, i love em!! haha
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Unread postby Cooleo111 » Sun Dec 10, 2006 7:11 pm

When cooleo says swing so that your right hand hits the inside of your right hip, he means after your hand has hit your shins. If you swing with no hip flex, right to a straight-body formation, you have eliminated any chance of adding the power of a swing to your jump.


Nice catch...forgot to mention that lol. Thanks. :P

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Unread postby vault3rb0y » Sun Dec 10, 2006 7:30 pm

He probably knew what you meant, i just wanted to make sure. I do it all the time, thats why we are jumpers and not proffesional coaches!! lol
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Unread postby sooch90 » Sun Dec 10, 2006 7:33 pm

haha yeah I was pretty sure that what he meant, but thanks for clarifying.

One more little question, when you bring your top hand to your shin then hip, is that when the pull turns?

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Unread postby vault3rb0y » Sun Dec 10, 2006 9:02 pm

You want to delay the turn as much as possible. When you bring your hand from your shins to your opposite hip, all that you should really be doing is straightening out your body. When your hand is at your shins, you are bent at the hips. You then straighten out your hips so that your body is in a straight line. If you do this, your hand will be at your hip.

Right now i have to make hand go to my opposite hip in order to stay inverted, but at that position you should still have your back directly facing the bar. Then using your top hand, keep pressure down into the box as much as you can. Use your bottom hand guide your top hand, dont be pushing with your bottom hand very much, leave that to the top hand. As the pole recoils and you keep that strong pressure on the pole with your top hand, your hand should move up your body (opposite the side your top hand is, remember) past your hips. This is called the push stage, because you are literally pushing your body up the pole. When your top hand starts moving toward your head, in order to keep that downward pressure into the box, you are forced to turn your shoulders. Remember: up to this point you should still have your back facing the bar. As your shoulders turn, try to keep your butt still facing the bar and your hips square with the standards. This is because generally if you turn your hips too early, you wont continue going upward and you will level off before your peak hieght. So only once you HAVE TO turn your shoulders in order to keep downward pressure into the box, dont worry about the turn. I actually do drills on a soft pole where i never turn and land on my back (only do on a very soft pole on a very short, comfortable run). The point is to prove that if you dont turn, you keep upward momentum a lot longer than if you turn. I hope that makes sense!
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Unread postby sooch90 » Mon Dec 11, 2006 7:02 pm

sooch90 wrote:haha yeah I was pretty sure that what he meant, but thanks for clarifying.

One more little question, when you bring your top hand to your shin then hip, is that when the pull turns?


ah oops, i meant "is that when the pole turns?"

Like after the plant, I notice alot of people's poles turn. Like it would turn so the elbow of the bottom hand can fit inbetween the pole and the body.

http://www.stabhoch.com/pages/20060212_Pyrek_476.html

It's kinda hard to tell from this angle, but if you watch as the top hand touches her shins, the pole turns.

So is that how the pole turns? Because you bring the right hand to the right shin or viceversa?

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Unread postby vault3rb0y » Mon Dec 11, 2006 7:21 pm

The pole will turn because as your shins are coming near your top hand, your bottom hand should be putting pressure aimed at either the right standard for leftie jumpers or the left standard for rightie jumpers. You dont need to worry about where the bend in the pole goes during your jump, though, if your hand position is correct (and the bend is facing the right way at take off) it will do what it needs to do. Some people have their bottom hand aimed up at the standard nearly right after their plant. Thats not necessarily bad, and at the same time some people dont turn the pole until they are pushing at the top. When the pole turns, depends on the hand position necessary to keep pressure on the pole, and to have no passive phases during the vault.
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Unread postby vault3rb0y » Mon Dec 11, 2006 7:24 pm

Notice in that video you sent me that it appears she "turns" the pole, just so that she can keep pushing off the top with as much force as she can. If the bend stayed completely in front of her, her top hand would have to turn too much, and she would not be able to keep downward pressure as much on the pole. The only reason she turns the pole is to continue the pull-push phase of the jump.
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Unread postby Cooleo111 » Mon Dec 11, 2006 10:22 pm

The pole "turning" is a result of the pole rotation....when the bend hits the back of the box, it has nowhere to go but to the side, and if you are rotating the pole properly (thats penetration, not rotating in a circle), the bend should move out to the side.

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Unread postby sooch90 » Tue Dec 12, 2006 7:10 pm

Cooleo111 wrote:The pole "turning" is a result of the pole rotation....when the bend hits the back of the box, it has nowhere to go but to the side, and if you are rotating the pole properly (thats penetration, not rotating in a circle), the bend should move out to the side.


oh really? I had no idea before haha. I was trying to bend in my bottom arm to get it to turn and also so I could collapse my bottom arm.


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