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After reviewing my tapes of practice, i have ALOT of trouble getting my whole body veritcle.......i get inverted to the "rock back" position but my body never gets verticle.

Is there anything i can do to improve upon this? Any drills, excercises, etc.????

Hey there, I used to have the same exact problem that you do. I never quite got rocked all the back and verticle, but all you need to do is keep practiceing hard and it will come, plus a lot of 3 step rock back and extension drills wouldnt hurt. Also think about driving and knee and swinging a straight trail leg, that is one of the keys in getting back.

Go down to bad swing, thread, click on and go to Bubbas site. Later.....Mike

"Then the magic! From the position ‘covering the pole’, Bubka punched the hips upwards as the his back drives back and down towards the pad. Figures 3a and b. This action puts even more energy into the pole so that it remains flexed for milliseconds longer and, most importantly, positions the athlete tight with the pole so they can be projected in a vertical upwards spiral along its axis as it straightens."

This is the 3rd stage of the '4 stage rocket model' or the complete chain or whatever names it goes by. Let's say I have completed the first two 'stages' and I have a powerful swing covering the pole and I get into this position, does anyone have any tips/drills on improving the hip drive and dropping my shoulders back? I've tried a lot of things and I've only succesfully did this at one meet. It's still something I'm working on, any help would be appreciated.

To ryansanta - Roman Botcharnikov's notion was of 'a continuous chain of energy"

For the answer to your question re drills to improve the third phase go to BTB page 156.

Thought for the day, "Sok kicsi sokra megy" . Hungarian proverb.

A lot of rock back drills wouldnt hurt?????? O yes they will!!!!!!
Rockback drills - unless done by athletes so good they dont need to do them anyway - say a Markov - invariably teach bad habits which in turn make it difficult for the athlete to get veritcal on the pole in the real vault.


"Sok kiksi sokra megy"

I'll ad that the things you focus on that occur after the take-off are all DEPENDANT on the things that happen before the takeoff!!!!!!! If you are not getting vertical it may have more to do with what you are doing on the runway, plant and take-off than what you are doing in the air.. In fact COUNT ON IT!!

Can we all agree to spell vertical - VERTICAL??