Form and bending help

[illinifan912]

Hello, I am having problems bending a 11ft 130lbs skypole. I also have a tendency of bringing my swinging left leg up too quickly and "sitting" over the bar. Does anyone have any advice to getting some bend on my pole and to stop my habit of sitting over the bar?

[learning to fly]

you shouldn't be trying to bend the pole. if you're run is fast and you have a technically correct takeoff, the pole will bend. you should be trying to jump the pole up at takeoff, not jumping on it and bending it. to avoid sitting over the bar, having a good drive knee might help, and think about rowing and swinging your hips up over your head

[illinifan912]

ok i will try it this week. see my problem is that i don't have a pole vault coach so we learned from the seniors and were on our own now.

[nitro]

if you could have someone video tape your jump then post it on here there would be many people to offer advice

[powerplant42]

ROW = NO!!!

[learning to fly]

why do you think rowing is bad?

[AR01]

why do you think rowing is bad?

check out this thread
http://www.polevaultpower.com/forum/vie ... hp?t=12861

[learning to fly]

ya i just read it. I think that rowing is a very difficult thing to decide on, everyone has a sort of different idea of what rowing is and how it is done so that it will benifit the vault

[powerplant42]

I guess it depends on your definition of 'rowing'...

[AeroVault]

Where are you gripping on the pole? Sometimes the problem can be just holding so low that the pole stiffness becomes too much to overcome with a fast run and good plant. Ideally your top hand should be within 6 inches of the label (up to 12 inches is generally okay). If not, you may need to find a shorter pole to match your grip height. If grip is fine, learning_to_fly had it right... check out the posts on takeoff and runway speed to put yourself in the right position to bend the pole.

As for the "sitting" over the bar, it sounds like you are trying to lift your feet while bringing your hands forward, which stops the swing before you get upside down (effectively causes the pole to recoil early). A fast swing is a good thing, just try to keep yourself as long as possible from top hand to your toe. Bubka drills are best to work on that phase of the vault. A few hundred crunches wouldn't hurt either

[illinifan912]

I hold my right hand 4 inches to the label and my left hand is 12 inches from the label.

[rainbowgirl28]

Are you a boy or a girl? Do you know how old the pole is?