The PREJUMP : key to success or giant hoax

[Mecham]

I think i have been trying to free take off, or even pre jump before i even met you Alan. It just made sense to me. It hurts me when i take off under, and doesnt when i free take off. Why not do what doesnt hurt. Its better for the vault too right?

[ADTF Academy]

Thank you for that post Altius. I hope everyone noticed what he said. Your first STEP must be correct before you can even worry about a Free Takeoff/Prejump.

I concure with Altius on the estimation that over 90% of the American jumpers plant under even if they think they are doing the supposed free takeoff. Heck Altius and I sat together at Reno this past year and observed vaulter after vaulter plant under and land near the front of the pits.

Thousands of coaches not enough students. It becomes a Catch 22

[Spencer Chang, MD]

I was going to stay away from this too, but Alan is right. There is a simple analogy to explain why a pre-jump is better.

If you were a gymnast, and were to take a running start onto a high bar or uneven parallel bar, jumping off a springboard, where would you take off?

Answer: Further out from a plumb line draw down from the high bar (that is a pre-jump).

Let's say that you were to take-off directly under the high bar, what is the highest bar that one could physically grab at that position coming in from a running start?

Answer: The gymnast's reach from the ground. This is essentially a free-take-off. But you can see that the vertical rise is eliminated, and translates into rotation once the gymnast grabs the bar.

Now finally, what happens when the gymnast takes off so that the step is in front of the plumb line (like taking off under) coming in from a running start? And what is the highest bar that the gymnast could physically grab?

Answer: There is no vertical rise, and the highest bar would be lower than the gymnast's reach from the ground (like taking off under).

In all of these scenarios, which gymnast would get the best swing?

Answer: The one who takes off behind the plumb line.

The main difference between this take-off for a gymnast jumping onto a high bar, and a pole vaulter at take-off is that the pole moves. Therefore, a free-take off is acceptable, but a pre-jump is better.

Pole vaulting under is like a long jumper getting clothe lined at take-off.

With these things in mind, the vaulter must achieve as big a plant angle as possible at take-off. This means full extension and not pushing the left arm towards the box so that the pole tip contacts the back of the box too soon. The left arm or bottom arm should be thought of as a fullcrum. With proper postioning and timing it is possible to do a free-take off or even a prejump from a plumbline drawn from the top handhold to the tip of the left toe. Also, remember that as one takes-off in a pre-jump, that you must try to increase the pole angle as your are in the air. If you try to take-off doing a pre-jump but force the pole forward (effectively decreasing the plant angle), the pole tip will contact the back of the box sooner and make your vault much more difficult. Think about sucking the tip of the pole back towards you as you plant.

To achieve a pre-jump, the last step has to be shorter and quicker, and the step should be under the hip at take-off. By the way, this will help you jump off the ground better as you'll incorporate a better trick step or penultimate step at take off.

The vaulter should aim the pole tip into the middle of the box, and not the back of the box. Everybody steers the last part of the approach. Steer to get your plant into the middle of the box, and not the back of the box. A lot of vaulters reach and stride out to hit the back of the box.

Remember, the vaulter is a gymnast on a pole. The pre-jump allows the vaulter the best position not only to jump the pole to vertical but also get a better swing and (whip as Alan would call it), and start it sooner. This is the reason why Bubka was able to be completely inverted with a quarter turn with the pole still bent and Isinbayeva is so much better than her competition right now. This is how to get ahead of the recoiling pole with invertion so that the vaulter pops off the top of the pole.

What do you think Alan?

[Bubba PV]

Great comments. BTW - Good seeing you in Hawaii Spencer and the DVD is awesome. Knowing Spencer, Alan and Agapit, I can say that I actively have practiced the two concepts (free take off & pre jump) for years. In the very early stages of a session we do a number of take offs against a heavy slide box with a pre jump from the highest possible point as the only goal. Borya Celentano could do a full run pole run capping a 5.20 pole into a 30 lb. slide box with a huge pre jump - 1'-2' out. This isn't realistic as a goal but it sure changes your point of reference if you normally take off under. So if a free take off is a failed pre jump, I’ll take that any time if I’ve practiced as described above.

Even from our 2, 4 and 6 step take offs we over exaggerate these actions so that it doesn't feel so foreign when you're doing a real vault. If I'm 2" out I feel like I got ripped, but as I move up poles and grips, that mark seems to inch forward. I feel I have a lot better control over the consistency of my take off because of the focus on this action in drills and vaulting. I find that I never need anyone to get my step as I can tell by my rise off the ground when the pole hits where I am. For those who STILL can't grasp and become proficient, even at the lowest level of skill introduction, we always have this http://www.bubbapv.com/Images/pete.gif Just kidding of course.

My point is that it is simple to introduce and practice this concept at a very low and safe level until the plant and take off action and depth perception can safely be changed. Spencer's idea of jumping up and forward to a high bar is exactly the description I use as well. Take care and thanks for listening! Bubba

[bjvando]

everyone should model thier lives after that many laying down in that photograph.... Peter Kovacs is a legend!!! he's a hungarian national champion a few years back...



whats up bubba.?!

(this is BJ, travis vandrovec's younger, but bigger brother)

[izzystikchik]

Did bubka do a pre jump? I know its really difficult to catch in person, but looking at the photo's that seems to help a bit.
It looks like, or at least to me, that the majority of elite vaulter (that i see again, so don't hate me) preform the free take off/ on the toe. I think Yelena demonstrates this....
my 2 cent

[dj]

good morning

Q and A's.... as presented to mr. bubka in a "round table with sergey bubka"
during the 9th IAAF coca cola world junior championship held in kingston jamaica.. July 20-21.. ? 2001 or 2002 ? who has the year..

also has everyone seen this 7 page question and answer session?????
has it been posted on PVP?

it very pointedly answers most if not all the questions about technique and physics that have come up here and on all the other threads..

sample 1

Q.. what is your point of view on the advantages and importance of the free take off?

A. in pole vaulting the crucial factor is how to transfer energy to the pole, through the complete body of the vaulter; the arms, shoulders, hip, back, and legs. but, if the pole begins to bend while the vaulter is yet on the ground, it is impossible to transfer the energy, all the energy is lost and goes to the box. the point is, how to achieve this? the free takeoff is a very short period of time, we can say no more than hundreds of a second, going from the end of the takeoff and the moment in which the tip of the pole reaches the end of the box. but this very short time makes a big difference that allows the competitor to greatly improve the results.

when we begin to bend the pole, while being on the ground, we can see an arched position of the body, on the other hand, if we perform a free takeoff we can feel the pushing action of the whole body, and we can transfer the speed of the run up and take off.

additionally, we can increase the angle between the pole and the ground in the moment of taking off. this angle is very important technical factor, because the bigger this angle, the better the result.

but this angle must be achieved with a complete extension of the body, and mainly, keeping that short difference between the full extension of the body and the tip of the pole reaching the end of the box.

it is a crucial factor, but at the same time, it is not easy to achieve. during my career, i was able to do it some times.

that difference in time, is a safe difference, it is not dangerous, and in order to achieve it, you must be in very good form, not only physical but technical and mental as well. when you can do it, you can increase the angle of the pole in relation with the ground. for this reason the way you run with the pole becomes important.

the lowering of the pole in the last strides and the action you perform with the arms in order to perform a good takeoff are crucial.

the action of the arms must be to the front and up, if you lower your left hand, you loose control on the pole.

last autumn, i began to work with a pole vaulter who asked me to help him. i gave him the material related to free takeoff, this material was produced by petrov. in the first days of training, the vaulter was very busy, training and writing down the workouts we were doing, so he had no time to read the material about free takeoff. in the third day of training, he had the chance to read it. the first concept that you develop about it, is that it could be dangerous, or extremely difficult to do, but when at the same time you are practicing it, you realize that the vaulter becomes the boss of the action, on the opposite, if you don't master this action, you depend on the pole. my colleague told me that if he had only read the material, without practicing the action, he would have thought that it was impossible to achieve.

there are 4 more pages of questions and answers and the article should be read in it's entirety to get a full picture of what he is saying...

i didn't want to put the whole article here but wanted bubka's message concerning physics and "how" ........... to be more clear..

on my copy i highlighted several points that help me understand and create a mental picture..they are.. directly from the article..

"how to transfer energy to the pole"

"pushing action of the whole body"

"complete extension of the body"

"but this angle (pole angle)must be achieved with a complete extension of the body, and mainly, keeping that short difference between the full extension of the body and the tip of the pole reaching the end of the box."

"the way you run with the pole becomes very important"

"the lowering of the pole in the last strides and the action you perform with the arms in order to perform a good takeoff are crucial."

"the action of the arms must be to the front and up, if you lower your left hand, you loose control on the pole."

(this is why i dj..do 2 things to help the vaulter keep control of the pole and to have the pole "insink" with the run rythm...i teach the left wrist higher than the elbow on the pole carry/plant ...........and i teach the vaulter to start the approach with the left foot forward and the right grip on the right hip.. so it is in the proper rythm with the run action all the way to the plant)

by reading this and forming a mental picture you can design or use drills to practice these actions..

other points were made later in the article that i felt important..that will answer several questions i see coming up over and over...........

"it is also important to make many repetitions of drills...."

"the last three strides are very important, they must be very compact in order to be able to increase speed."

"both arms must be very active."

"it is not neccessary to extend the right arm upwards when you are still on the right foot, in that case you will perform the takeoff closer to the box than recommended."

"the pole bends as a result of the speed and mass of the jumper"

"concentrate more on moving the pole towards the plane of the bar"

Q. where is your point of focus?
A. "to the front, many jumpers look at the box, the box doesn;t move, it is always there. i think it has to do withmental pressure or being scared."

Q..when to lower the pole?
"6 to 10 strides.. it has to do with vitaly's concept of how to be ready for the most important phase of the jump." (the plant)

"the body must be inverted in the moment of maximum bend in the pole, with both legs vertical and upwards."

"knowledge, tools, skills and experience" is the way we improve all task..

don't leave out any steps and you will succeed..

later

dj

[Bubba PV]

AMEN DJ!! I just read that article again last week. THANKS!!

Bubba

[dj]

Addition

to me this makes the technique much more clear...

two additional points...

bubka states:

"the body must be inverted in the moment of maximum bend in the pole, with both legs vertical and upwards."

this is the position and point i have been discussing in the isbenyeva thread.. where i compared am 1, am 2, russ 1 and russ 2.. jillian was am 1 and did not reach that position at maximum bend... daniel did not reach that position on his jonesboro 5.90 jump, almost...

i think that is because of the pole stiffness or design.. and feel that position is a very critical point biomechanically to effective pole vaulting...

tim mack would not have had the same result on the 5.90 trials jump if he was on a stiffer pole... the forces and design/flex were correct and matched well for "that' jump.

the other point..from the bubka article... bubka wrote..

when you do the penultimate touch down, on the right foot for a vaulter who takes off with the left leg, the right hand must be at eye level,

if the vaulter can put all his speed to the pole, the bending of the pole will happen in a very natural way and this, together with a good height of grip will ensure good results.

2 points.... penultimate .. could or could not mean JUMP.. i still prefer transfer of momentum... because he follows that with "if the vaulter can put all his speed to the pole.. " the mental picture i get, to transfer onto the pole properly and use max speed, is more horizontal, maybe like a triple jump take-off??

later

dj

[agapit]

I agree with and support the Freetakeoff/Prejump takeoff model talked about by Petrov and Alan. If you look at the actually wording I will agree that the Prejump might produce a slightly higher takeoff angle than the Freetakeoff, which in return will produce a slightly higher angle at takeoff than Peter's wording, but not by much.

If you are able to takeoff and have a time after the toe leaves the ground and pole hits the back wall of the box you are griping too low. The goal is to avoid loses of energy and maximize the takeoff angle (not angle between the pole and the ground but the center of gravity vertical component). The pole angle will increase as a result of the larger free takeoff angle, but in any case time between tow takeoff and pole contacting the wall is not an advantage.

In real life it is impossible to perform free takeoff consistently, so at times you will observe pole resistance sligtly before foot leaves the ground and at times slightly after, but to train a time gap between take off and the pole resistance is not an advantage in my opinion.

However, a vaulter that practices free takeoff will have the time between tow off and pole resistance more often on the lower grips. Approaching maximum grips (for elites 5.15m+) the time will be statisticaly undetectable.

[agapit]

Practicing the prejump in particular on the straight pole is an excellent imitation exercise. It is important for a concept shift from the athlete’s perception of the takeoff as an action from the ground (support) onto pole (support) to a new concept from the ground (support) to the air (no support) onto the pole (support).

When the concept shift is achieved, the free takeoff or prejump (on the lower grips) will be evident.

I would like to mention again that on the maximum grips it would be impossible to distinguish the air phase. The detection of the air phase points out to the potential of the grip increase.

Maximizing the prejump, other than for training purposes, without limit will lead to massive energy losses similar to the loses in the long or high jump where speed is traded for the takeoff angle. My argument is that beyond the free takeoff increasing takeoff angle may lead to the lover levels of energy in the system due to the greater speed loses during the takeoff.

I think that preserving the speed is more beneficial because the pole will raise the center of gravity more efficiently with less energy loses than our takeoff leg. Hence, the pole vault optimal takeoff angle could be lower than the long jump angle (by the same athlete) preserving the total energy in the system. We see it supported by the data.

However, the other defining factor for the free takeoff angle is an increase of passive phases during the off the ground part of the vault. So the optimal takeoff angle is limited by increased of passive phases in case of lower takeoff angle and loses of total energy in case of the higher takeoff angle.

So to say that one must increase the takeoff angle without limit or takeoff flat (often described as triple jump takeoff) is a mistake in my humble opinion.

Without sophisticated equipment, the optimal free takeoff angle should be determined by minimizing perceived passive phases during the vault while preserving the speed (kinetic energy). Once the ground-air-pole concept (free takeoff) has been established the way a coach should influence the takeoff angle is through the physical training of the athlete.

I have never seen a technically incorrect free takeoff. I have seen many low angled free takeoffs as well as a few high angled free takeoffs and both led to the lower results.

The optimal takeoff angle is a moving target based on the conditions, grip height speed etc. etc.

Please, remember that the search for definition of the optimal takeoff angle in the pole vault has been going for over half a century. This is just one view based on my scarcely funded analytical and practical research.

[MightyMouse]

Good stuff
thanks!

I had heard some rumor about all funding for vault reasearch pulled by USATF? Does anyone know anything about that?