The Pole Plant

[gkr]

When i vault i do this thing where my top hand goes behind my head and my bottom hand comes up right next to my face. This causes me to almost lay on the pole and i don't transfer any of my runway speed to the pole in order to get it to really bend and send me up.


My coach is a really good coach- ex olympian and we have been doing these drills that i run from a really short step and push my lower arm to keep from hugging it. I can do it on a 11 120 and an 11'6 130 and sometimes on a 11'6 140- i need to be able to do it on an 11'6 150 and 12' 150.

Any suggestions on things i can think about or ways to make it easier for me?

i have the strenghth it is more or less just a matter of habit that i need to break.

Thanks!

[Skyfly]

Video of a vault where the issue is occurring would be helpful. Is your top arm completely extended upward at the time the pole makes contact with the box? If not, correct your plant timing and see if that helps.

[gkr]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEzusPk ... e=youtu.be

here is a video- it is really hard to see but you may be able to see something

[gkr]

I have a picture that really shows the issue, but i can't figure out how to post it!

i will try to have it up soon

[vquestpvc]

Suggestion: stop trying to bend the pole. Pushing with the bottom arm to bend the pole is a technique that a really good athlete with speed and strength can do (like an ex Olympian), but this technique is not for everyone. For most, pushing with the bottom arm only makes it difficult to invert; blocking the body from swing to inversion. The bend of the pole should actually come from the top hand. Proof? With your coach, place the tip of your pole at the intersection of a wall and floor. Facing the wall with bottom hand at the point on the pole you would normally have it, have the coach pull the pole toward the wall at the mid point of pole. Now, with top hand only, do the same thing. Which bends the pole more? In a video from Beginner to Bubka, a 15 year girl vaulting 12' basically has her nose touching the pole at take off. But, because she hangs on the pole through the top hand, the pole separates from her body creating the "horizontal bar" she swings over. Actually, this is the technique that Bubka used. Prediction: Lavillenie will never vault as many big heights as Bubka simply because of his style.

[grandevaulter]

If your coach is really good and is an ex Olympian. Why are you fishing for suggestions on the internet? My suggestion to you is to ask him.