Always in step

[asaleh]

Hey Guys, im in need of some big help. About a couple weeks ago, i was told by a chiropractor that my back was in bad shape that i needed to go get an MRI scan. The results said it was all clear and nothing was wrong. Recently i competed in a meet after 2 weeks of recovery and i still had pain in my lower back after the meet. I believe it is a result of being in. Im always about 2 feet in and i think its because i am striding out in my last couple of steps. It weird because im usually early on my plant so I dont know why im doing it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. Heres the video from that meet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBHJMfLi ... e=youtu.be

[KirkB]

Being "in" by 2 feet is ridiculous. Even 1 foot is way to much! The vid would have been much better to see your bad technique if the camera was at right angles to your takeoff point.

However, IMHO, the issue is more psychological than physical. You need to change your entire perception of what constitutes a "good" vault. Right now, your mind and body seem set on a path of further destruction of your health by not fixing this major problem. You will need to get back to basics, learning how to vault properly with a short approach, then slowly working it back to a full run competitive approach. It doesn't sound like you're willing to do this, and I think you will continue injuring your back by your present course of action.

Forget about the bar and forget about winning the competitions. Your #1 priority is your health, and your #2 priority is improving your technique.

Work on getting your takeoff directly below your top hand on takeoff. Once you break yourself of your bad habit of being "in", then your back will become healthier, and you'll clear bigger bars. But this is not an overnight process - it will take months of dedication and of good coaching. I may be wrong, but I don't believe this coaching can come from PVP. I think you need a hands-on brick-and-mortar coach to lead you thru this patiently, one day at a time.

Kirk

[asaleh]

"It doesn't sound like you're willing to do this, and I think you will continue injuring your back by your present course of action."
Really dude! JK. I understand what you are saying. Do u have any ideas on how to stop this issue because I don't really get to jump all too often so the idea with the short approach won't work. I do have access to poles and sliding boxes and speed hurdles for getting my knees up. Thank you.

[altius]

Do 5 x 20/20 s in every training session. Establish a mid mark and try to tighten up each of you last six steps -run tall keep - the hips up. ^ step stiff pole jumps to see how high you can grip and still get onto the pad - this will force you to take off out -as will Romans pole climbing drill. The answer to your problem is simple - do the right things in training; there is no other simple solution because your perception of where you FEEL you should take off is distorted.

[asaleh]

Hello Altius, injust wantsome clarification on what u posted. I already do 4 step steel pole swingups and im always in on those. I do try and grip up and moving my step back yet I always end up a ft or 2 under. Also whats a "roman climbing drill". Thanks.

[KirkB]

I hope I pissed you off with my pessimism enough that you WILL take the right action to fix this.

... do the right things in training; there is no other simple solution because your perception of where you FEEL you should take off is distorted.

Roman is Roman Botcharnikov, aka as Agapit on PVP. Search for "Agapit pole climbing drill".

... [do] stiff pole jumps to see how high you can grip and still get onto the pad - this will force you to take off out ..."

You just need to keep doing this drill until your body starts realizing that an "in" takeoff is suboptimal (and also hurts the lower back). The repetition of this drill is what will transfer to full run vaults on a bending pole. There really aren't any good shortcuts to this process. You have to spend the time to let your body learn this technique (taking off further out) properly.

And altho I think Altius' ideas are excellent, you really need a coach to walk you thru this drill by drill and vault by vault. With immediate feedback that you can only get from a real (brick-and-mortar) coach, you will progress much faster than without one. If you don't have a coach, find a relative or training partner, and learn together what works and what doesn't work.

Kirk

[asaleh]

Hey Kirk, ok just to recap on what you and Altius said this "in" thing is going to take some time right? DO you think i can still compete in my major championship meets? Also, after analyzing my video again from a different view point, i found that my last 2 steps stride out because i do not lift my knees up towards the end of the run. I've heard suggestions that i should move my run back because then i will have room to pick them up. Just wanted to know what you guys think. Thanks.

[CoachEric]

Sorry to jump in - I know I'm creating a "too many chefs" situation, and Altius and Kirk are both right, but your step will always be under if the pole tip falls below eye level prior to initiating your plant. Your pole goes horizontal several steps before your takeoff, which forces you to lean back to counterbalance the weight, decelerate, and overstride.

My prescription would be:
1) Get your mid using DJ's mid mark chart - it will probably be a lot closer than you think it should be, forcing you to tighten up your steps.
2) Practice walking plant drills with the pole tip staying high, dropping past the face only once you hit your left to inititate your plant.
3) Practice pole runs on the track, keeping your pole tip high and tightening up your steps as you accelerate into a takeoff.
4) Transfer this cleaned up plant motion to stright pole drills. The straight pole will force good technique, as Kirk and Altius said.
5) Long term - get stronger. Improve your jumping ability. The ability to make the pole quickly rotate upward off the ground will reduce pressure on your back and help you take off on. Work your flexibility in the hips. Tightness in the hips tends to create a lot of back problems for athletes.

[KirkB]

DO you think i can still compete in my major championship meets?

If you can't, that wouldn't be much fun, would it? But the term "short term pain for long term gain" applies here. What I mean by that is you should not just jump from meet to meet, striving for your PR at each meet, and the heck with kicking yourself of the habit of being under. Depending on when your major meets are, and how quickly you're progresssing towards improving your technique, you may need to sacrifice some early (e.g. early indoor) meets - not necessarily any indoor championship meets. But the pace at which you improve is directly affected by the coaching feedback you get, and how quickly you're able to learn from that feedback. That's why I urge you to find a coach that can work with you every day.

I've seen so many vaulters get into the vicious cycle of training meet-to-meet, thinking that they cannot afford the time to fix their habit of being "in" (and of course wanting to do well at each meet), and inevitably just getting hurt again. Once you're hurt, then you may have to skip some meets anyway, so the logic isn't there to just strive for the short term gains and to heck with safety or good technique.

Set a target for what meet is most important to you, and work towards doing well in that meet. All other meets prior to that one, don't set a target of how HIGH you want to jump. Instead, set a target for improving your technique. This may be an oversimplification, but for example, set a target for getting your takeoff point back a certain measurable amount each week. If you do this, you may be surprised how your technique just "automagically" improves, and your PRs also improve.

Also, after analyzing my video again from a different view point, i found that my last 2 steps stride out because i do not lift my knees up towards the end of the run. I've heard suggestions that i should move my run back because then i will have room to pick them up. Just wanted to know what you guys think.

I'll let CoachEric and Altius answer these particulars. CoachEric has already addressed this a bit, but I suspect your problem is more of just that your body has become accustomed to being "under", and no matter what you do (what your brain tells your body to do), you body is still going to override your brain and get to that "under" position that it likes.

This is why I think it's more psychological than physical. CoachEric and Altius have laid out some good drills to break yourself of this bad habit, but I think it's important to understand that bad habits are hard to break, and it's not as simple as just correcting a minor flaw, such as not lifting knees on last 2 strides, or the mechanical actions of your pole plant.

With all due respect to CoachEric, I think Altius' suggestion to work on getting your stiff pole grip as high as possible is the BASIC drill to work on, and maybe CoachEric's drills should come after you've become accustomed to an "out" takeoff.

Kirk