PoleVaultPower.com

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with this type of device. Cant find many reviews on websites that sell them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwA_jNhe ... ety_mode=1

http://www.amazon.com/Gill-Athletics-Va ... lt+trainer

I made one from a $10 pulley and some rope and section of pipe. But before I push my kids to use it, I was hoping to get second opinions.

Thanks,

Ray

Some PV devices are gimmicky, but I don't think this one is. I think it has good value in getting inexperienced vaulters comfortable with being upside down on the pole.

I actually like the rings on the Gill model better than the pole stub on your custom model. A cheaper alternative than rings might be TWO pole stubs (one for each hand), or just plain knotted rope. Or maybe 2 loops of rope instead of 2 rings.

The reason I'm not crazy over the pole stub (altho it does have SOME merit) is that I don't see this training device as being something for a vaulter to step thru the motions of EXACTLY how he should invert and fly off the top of the pole - including exact hand grips the right distance apart. I only see it as a general gymnastics device for getting familiar with the strange (for most new vaulters) sensation of being upside down.

With that in mind, I wouldn't do a lot of reps, and I wouldn't recommend that vaulters do it over a lot of years - unlike highbar drills, it's not a bread-and-butter exercise that should be perfected - it's only a body orientation exercise, with perhaps some reasonably good conditioning of SOME the "right" muscles to invert.

An alternative to exercising these muscles is to simply climb a rope upside down - which also gets the vaulter comfortable with that upside-down feeling.

All-in-all, whatever's interesting for the kids to try, and to experiment with, and to exercise and have fun with is all good.

Just my 2 cents.

Kirk