Not tight up top.

[vaulter894]

Hey everybody, I been having problems lately on getting tight to the pole up top, I have been keeping my bottom arm out for way to long and I can never get all the way back. It is hurting my vault and I know it. So my question is what drills to do to get tight up top? I flag out a lot and I just can't think of any drills to do.

[jhesch]

i have a similar problem. its not so much that i lock out my bottom arm, but i tend to row with both arms instead of letting bottom arm relax which doesnt allow me to get tight with pole, im always kind of away from it and also flag out. what has been helping me out is working on getting used to the feeling of putting pressure on the pole with only my top arm so when i vault its the only one i row with and let my bottom arm break in. what i do is get a somewhat soft pole, go from usually a 5 left or so (and sometimes use a box), vault, get a big plant with both arms up and a big split in my legs, and right when the pole begins to recoil, i completely let go of my left arm, try to hold my split, and put as much pressure with as much force as i can up and forward with my top arm and trying to stay ' behind' the pole until i can feel the timing for a swing. doing these one arms with bend has really helped me with the pole timing and helped me row much more with top arm and get tighter with pole. underwater vaulting also is really helpful with a lot of stuff. today i did some underwater vaulting, focusing on my top arm, letting my bottom arm break in, and flyin over my top hand. underwater vaulting is definitely my all time fav. drill!

[mcminkz05]

well im having the exact same problem as you guys, so if you fin any ways to help fix it let me know.. now you said let go with the bottom hand, do you mean to completely let go of the pole and just be holding on with your top hand? if so, i dunno if youv ever tried doing drills where you just run up and do the full vau;lt with just one hand, but is it basically the same concept?

[jhesch]

its your choice whether or not you want to let go with bottom hand. i completely let go of top hand and keep pressure with top hand, but dont swing up. although it doesnt sound like it, it helps me close off because i get used to the feeling of constant pressure with top arm with no help from bottom. if you use both arms, make sure to break in bottom arm. cant say ive tried vaulting completely with one arm, though i have done plants and swings with one arm.....also, def. get in a pool and try some underwater vaulting, i think its very beneficial.

[fong520]

how do u do underwater vaulting?. ive heard of it b4 but never knew wat it was.. care to explain?

[mcminkz05]

ok, i thoguh you ment, lik let go with your bottom arm while you were rockign back upsidedwon lol. my coach does have us do drills liek that though, where we just use top arm, and do a full pop-up like that.. i shoud probably try doign tons and tons of those then. for pool vaulting does it have to be a deep pool? i have a piece of pvc to use as a pole, and a pool, but my pool is only like 6' deep. doesnt seem like thatd work as well

[jhesch]

im sure there are several ways of doin it, but heres what i do:

get big pole (15 or so) and put in deep end (12 feet or so) in corner of pool, have someone hold it in place, sink to bottom of pool, grab pole as though you were stiff poling without inverting, then vault! get in good position, drive knee, trail leg, broken in bottom arm, etc. row, swing, invert, etc. pull, turn, pike w/ fly away etc. if you need help w/ specifics on technique in water let me know. i love underwater vaulting because its so easy to get good form, go as slow as you want, and doing it often really helps build 'muscle memory.'

another variation i did today was get approx. 3 feet of a broken pole, attach two lifeguards to one end w/ maybe 5 feet of slack, sink all the way until you cant gripping only w/ top arm. from there do exact motion as previously described. if you row hard and get upside down fast, it is really hard to turn and push but i would say very effective in simulating pressure needed on pole when upside down. when you pull upside down, tubes provide resistance (lots) when you turn and push, tubes try to float, pulling you up, just like pole recoil. very fun, hard, and good drill! (least i think so since i pretty much invented that one)

[fong520]

couldnt u like stop breathing adn suffocate (sp?) ??.

[mcminkz05]

so are you treyign to vault like sideways underwater? i always had the impression that you were tryign to like vault Up tp the surface or whatever, but that doesnt sound like what you described?

[jhesch]

well i guess if you couldnt hold your breath for more than like 10 sec. youd have to go up for air, but drowning> highly unlikely, cant say i have that problem cause of swim team and bein a lifeguard for past 2 years....



when you vault, its just like reg. vaulting, towards surface of pool. in deep water if you go to bottom, itsusually pretty hard to go all the way to the top though....

[mcminkz05]

then how would you use a 15' pole in 12' of water, and be able to finish your vault???

[jhesch]

you have someone hold the pole at the top who's out of the water so it wont move when you vault. when you do the drill you sink to the bottom and grab near the bottom of the pole.