PoleVaultPower.com

You read on this board a lot, you should know that most people are only going to have negative things to say about this drill. It looks as if your training yourself to hold yourself behind the pole with your left arm... Been there done that, no good. What would Bubka do?

i actually was working on the free takeoff part of the drill

Well you nailed that part, just everything after that scares me.

haha, stiff pole Garret, Same grip. See if you get in! Release the left arm and put the energy in your top hand moving the pole to vertical. You have gotten alot better in the last 2 years.

Rick Baggett
WSTC

"i actually was working on the free takeoff part of the drill"

No point in having a free take off if you waste all of the energy bending the pole old son. Bring you grip in 9" and make sure your left elbow is outside the line of the pole at take off -the left hand must be able to move back over the head in this all all other drills. Go back to the book and dvd and look at the images there!!! Good luck -sorry I missed you this summer.

so let me get this straight, i do the same drill, but you just want me to keep my bottom arm collapsed?

Keeping your bottom arm collapsed would lead your hips to get sucked under?! Why would you want that?
What the point of having a free take off if your hips get sucked under

starkey480 wrote:so let me get this straight, i do the same drill, but you just want me to keep my bottom arm collapsed?

Collapsed no! Locked out no! Extending through the shoulder, yes!
These are the three things your bottom arm can do at takeoff from worst to best. The bottom elbow must be driving up with the hand in line with the center of your body. If you do this it is impossible to block out because your bottom arm won't be locked out to begin with (even though from the side it may appear this way.

The goal position is for your left hand to be above your head, chest, and hips in a vertical line. You can't do that collapsing or blocking.

Mcsteezypv wrote:Keeping your bottom arm collapsed would lead your hips to get sucked under?! Why would you want that?
What the point of having a free take off if your hips get sucked under

Same thing goes for blocking, the only way to truly stay behind the pole is by extending and releasing the tension in the shoulders. When the hands stop moving backwards your body will start to swing.

Here's my favorite photo again. "Chicken wing" that elbow out and allow the hands to pass over the head. Press both hands to the sky at the plant. If you keep the elbow WAY out to the left at the plant, it's very hard to "block" with it, plus it's what you want to do.

" Keeping your bottom arm collapsed would lead your hips to get sucked under?! Why would you want that?
What the point of having a free take off if your hips get sucked under."

Do we have yet another clever vault expert here in maccheesey? Hope not - I dont have a lot of energy left to reeducate him!

That advice was for someone who should know better - he has the book and dvd and can immediately see the relevance of what I am telling him. Did I advise him to collapse the bottom arm? NO!!

If YOU dont understand the sense of what I am telling him - then stay out of the kitchen or you are likely to get burned!

Thanks superpipe!