PoleVaultPower.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo1iEKQ5HZ0

This is a link to the video of my misses at conference, 2-23-07... the vaults on the video are my misses...

My goal for outdoor is 14' 6". I am looking for help on what I need to do/change to get there...

I am 5'9" and weight 155lbs. I am on a 8 left approach.

standard placement = 55cm

PR = 13' 6"

I was under, I was taking off from about 10' or so consistently...

1) The first vault is in warm-ups, bar @ 14'. I am on a 14' 155lb gripping 13'9".

2) The second vault, bar @ 12' 6". I am on a 14' 160lb carbon mystic gripping 13'9".

3) Last three vaults bar @ 13'. I am on a 14' 160lb carbon mystic gripping 13'9".

Any help with what I am doing wrong, right, or anything at all...

Thanks in advance!!!

Bobby

I just want to say thanks to Hunter Hall who was the only person to respond the last time I poster this a couple of weeks ago... Thanks!!!

i only watched the first couple jumps but the video wasnt great but wat i saw it looks pretty good the thing i would work on the most would be hitting the weight room and get on poles a lot bigger than your body weight so that when u hit the positions ur already hitting u will get launched....also i would workout with the sprinters when possible to try and get faster

I am also 5'9 gripping at 14'... and the first thing i would say is that you are WAY under. If you are taking off at 10', you are a good foot and a half in from where you should be. Thats really gonna stop you from getting on bigger poles. Its also the reason you dont seem to be finishing your take off.... by that i mean you dont jump much off the ground (understandably when you take off 1 1/2 foot under ) and there is not much of a drive phase before you swing. All these things are best corrected on a short run. Good luck!

thanks for the help guys

does anyone else have any ideas...

thanks again

In my opinion, I feel that you could stay on the pole just a tad bit longer, to ensure that you are getting back all the way to your full potential. It seems like you get off the pole rather quickly, and seems you could stay on it a tiny bit longer. Good Luck!

have you tried getting on a stiffer pole, it looked like the pole wasn't giving you what you needed, i am 5'9 i weigh 150 and i jump on an essx 176lb, work on speed and strength to get on a bigger pole

Your right hand is too low when you carry it. I have had vaulters who done this in the past. Its ok if you do so, but you must have your back hand in your back pocket so to speak in plenty of time so you can reach tall at take off. By having it low that long into you run its too late to reach up high like you want to. Work on having your hand fix at a higher point next to your body. Have your elbow pointing directly behind you. If you don't like having your hand fixed high up for your whole run, then at least have it high up"in your back pocket" "elbow pointing directly behind you" for the last 40 feet of your run. This will get you to be able to reach up higher when you need to the most. Practice that. I like how you pole is high when you run, but when you lower your pole, you keep it low to long, therefore its hard to reach up at take off. The last jump was alright, Meaning, You didn't have your pole low too long. Which is good.

Another thing, I would bring you step back a little. A few feet maybe. But the main thing is, you want to have strong strides coming in to the vault so you can create a bigger split" btw your drive knee and your trail leg" Short stride coming in don't help to much. Your doing well, these few things will help a lot. Your smart on not raising your grip too much. It doesn't matter to much on the grip you can still jump really high with a 13'9 grip. 15ft could be feasible. Work on the things I mentioned and see how deep you can go into the pit in practice. Practice with them all the way back, remember you can always bring the standards up in the meets, according to how you are jumping that day.
Later,
Randall Lynn

I totally agree with rlynn on keeping your bottom/left hand close into your chest during your whole approach.

If you lower that left hand towards your hips you may find yourself not running tall/planting tall. You do a good job during most of the approach but when the pole tip comes to eye level your left hand drops. When that hand drops during your last few steps that makes your strides get longer. In my experience if your plant moves slow your last steps will also.

Check out Maxim Tarasov or Bubka on www.stabhoch.com. Look at how their pole pivots around their left hand by moving their right hand. The pole ends up being parallel to the ground just under shoulder level. Their strides are extremely fast. Do you think if they moved their left hand from their hips to full extension above their shoulders in their last two lefts they would be able to have those fast short steps at the end of their run?

Try this out on the track without a sliding box. Just get the feel. Then try it on a short approach and move your steps back eventually to full approach when you feel comfortable and get it right.

I used to take off at 11'6" capping a 5.10m 13.3 flex carbon often. This fixed my step and I now hold at 5-5.05m and take off at 13'

Let me know f you have any more questions.