hand slipping

[jorlando]

over the summer ive been going to a few pole vault camps and lately my upper hand slide about 6 inches what are some good exercises to help strengthen my wrists and fore arms?

[VaultPurple]

Hand slipping has nothing to do with strength (for the most part). It happens to most new vaulters and usualy just has to do with a combination of your grip height, take off point, and pole stiffness.

ie. If you are gripping 10', dont bend the pole, and take off 3 feet under, there is a good chance your hand grip will slip down. Usualy only happens to people that are straight poling.

If you bend the pole and it slips it is usualy off the pole and you go flying.

[vault3rb0y]

Tape and Chalk.

[tsorenson]

To actually answer your training question, regardless of unknown aspects of your vault that may be causing your hand to slip, and assuming you already know about tape/chalk/sticky spray:

-Gymnastics (highbar, rings, rope) drills practicing your swing to inversion will effectively strengthen your hands while reinforcing technique and muscle memory. When I was a younger I made a makeshift highbar by fastening a metal pipe in between the trusses in my garage. Swing ups and straight leg raises are better than pullups, but any time you spend hanging on a bar/rings/rope will help your grip strength.

-Rock climbing/bouldering. Not sure if there are other climber/vaulters out there, but my vaulting buddy and I spend most of our spare time not vaulting, and all of the off-season, climbing rocks. Bouldering especially trains core muscles(front and back), hand strength, power-endurance, explosive movements, not to mention the mental aspects of commitment, height, danger, and memorizing complex series of difficult movements (and learning how to fall!). As a masters vaulter, the best thing about bouldering is that it allows my sore knees/shins/back to recover between vaulting sessions while still building strength...not to mention it is the most fun thing I have ever found next to pole vaulting! Another benefit of climbing vs. weight training is that it only builds lean muscle, you don't bulk up like you would if you spent too much time in the weight room...
I am not sure what part of New York you live in, but there is excellent bouldering all over the Empire State and Pennsylvania: at Niagara Glen (in Canada near the falls),at Nine Corner Lake, McKensie Pond, Poke-o-Moonshine (all in the Adirondacks) and the awesome Shawangunks near New Paltz. There's probably a lot more places...check out this link for some info that might help you find it near your home:
http://www.rockclimbing.com/cgi-bin/rou ... 2FNew+York
Climbing indoors in a gym is great for strength building as well, but lacks the beauty, complexity, and commitment of climbing on real rock. Roped climbing is also good but is usually not quite as explosive and concentrated as bouldering, better for endurance training.

There are tons of other grip strength exercises you could do, but these are the two I would fully recommend. In my opinion, the best types of training are those that are fun enough to ensure long-term commitment! Give it a try and let me know how it works out for you.

[KirkB]

... Gymnastics (highbar, rings, rope) drills practicing your swing to inversion will effectively strengthen your hands while reinforcing technique and muscle memory. When I was a younger I made a makeshift highbar by fastening a metal pipe in between the trusses in my garage. Swing ups and straight leg raises are better than pullups, but any time you spend hanging on a bar/rings/rope will help your grip strength.

After bar/rings/rope for a few years, it's almost impossible to lose your grip ... even without much chalk or stick'em ... and it's instinctive to squeeze your top hand tight as you plant/jump/hit-the-box. The only time I lost my grip is when the reversed tape tore ... when it wasn't taped on very good. Your hands become super-strong with gym apparatus drills.

And what exactly is bouldering as opposed to rock climbing? Is that like climbing the boulders of a steeply inclined creek bed in the dry season? If so, we have a few creeks like that in BC, and it is fun to scramble over these ... altho I never thought of traversing them as specifically good for PV ... just fun.

Kirk

[tsorenson]

Bouldering is climbing without a rope, usually on steep and challenging rocks 20' or less. You use pads of closed cell-foam and spotters as protection if you fall, but usually the mindset is: "exit upward" rather than fall to the ground (My kids sometimes pole vault in the backyard using these "bouldering pads" as a pit). The beauty of bouldering is the lack of equipment necessary (climbing shoes and a chalkbag) and the ability to create "problems" on small rocks (a problem is a specific route up a boulder)...although some problems are extremely high, hard, and dangerous and require intense training and focus to complete. Bouldering used to be just practice for climbing big routes in the mountains but it has become a sport in its own right, gaining rapidly in popularity, because it allows climbers of different abilities to climb together, unlike roped climbing.

There is some world-class bouldering in BC, mainly at Squamish north of Vancouver where large blocks sit scattered in the forest at the base of the 1000 ft. Squamish Chief (a big granite wall like Yosemite). Another great place in BC less known is in Hope, where lots of granite boulders also reside. As you mentioned, dry (or wet) creeks often have great bouldering, sometimes where you can climb high over deep water and either fall or jump off into the H20. Take a walk up through the woods next time you drive by the big cliff at Squamish and you'll find people from all over the world camping and climbing there. Here is a cool video of bouldering at Gold Bar, WA. I think it plays best in quicktime.
http://modump.com/videos/features/goldbar.php

After ending my collegiate vaulting early, I didn't find anything that gave me the same feeling of adrenaline and excitement as pole vaulting until I got into climbing, especially bouldering. Commiting to jumping for a hold at the top of a 20' boulder, sticking it, and topping out feels almost as good as clearing a high bar! Staying strong from bouldering has made my return to pole vaulting much easier after a 12 year break...I am actually looking forward to the end of vaulting season so I can do more climbing! I hate to say it, but I am a better climber than a vaulter these days...hoping to change that!

All you crazy vaulter adrenaline-junkies should give it a try and see how you like it...check out rockclimbing.com for some info on areas near you
Cheers,
TS

[tsorenson]

Kirk,
I had some trouble opening the other video link, so here's a good one of the bouldering at Squamish.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBvy0eX5-28

The "problems" these people are climbing are extremely hard, even though it looks easy (just like watching a great vaulter). Hope you enjoy...let me know if you are down this way and I would be happy to take you bouldering.

Tom

[KirkB]

Yikes! I never realized that bouldering was so intense!

One of the places I was thinking of was Shannon Falls, just south of the Chief (Squamish). Really, it's just like hopping from boulder to boulder ... not much hand climbing at all. lol.

I've seen lots of climbers go straight up the Chief ... with ropes, of course. Me ... I take the trail up the south slope. lol.

I can see now how vaulters can benefit from bouldering ... and vice versa.

Kirk

[jorlando]

thanks guys