PoleVaultPower.com

I was blowing through my biggest pole this weekend. I spoke with some other vaulters about what I should do, and my idea was to drop my grip 4 inches (making the pole stiffer). But then a coach told me I was blowing through because I was passively swinging and rowing.

FYI...The pole doesn't bend much when I jump, and I always feel like I run out of room in the air (I never am able to drop my shoulders and pull my feet through the top of the imaginary hoop at the end of my pole).

So he suggested that i actually raise my grip 4 inches, allowing me more time to put my body in a better position....and it worked! Since I wasn't used to this I flagged out or came out of the jump early because I wasn't used to the new positioning.

I'd appreciate any feedback pertaining to the relationship between pole bend, pole length, time in the air, and swinging/rowing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmShdRZ-1KY

Its ineresting how in the video it looks like your right knee kicks out and it straightens out while you invert...It looks like a good jump though. Any chance to get a bigger pole?

ok this is simple. ill post a list:
raise grip: the pole bends more and you jump shallower
lower grip: pole bends less and you jump deeper
go up a pole: pole bends less and you go shallower
go down a pole: pole bends more and you jump deeper
using these you should be able to fix most pole problems. it gets kinda confusing sometimes wen your not sure wat grip with wat pole and such but this is generally it.