PoleVaultPower.com

Hi!
First time poster here. I'm 24 and been jumping for 2 years now. My pb is 4m03. I realize that is not astonishing but hey i just love to jump.. Since my pb it all went downhill because of a few bad jumps. I kinda lost my confidence and just kept jumping without really improving my technique. Once i got past that problem and started jumping in competition i realised how much worse i was jumping. I have a really good coach but love to hear any extra info i can get. So maybe I can be a coach myself someday. (studying master in kinesiology in Belgium)

So moving on to the jumps now. These videos are from competition this weekend. Starting out at 3m40 with the bars at 40cm and using a 4m60 68kg pole.From 4m i went to a 70kg with little higher grip. Grip at about 4m20. I run on 10 steps with a little pre-run. Altough it was the first time ever using longer poles (i always jumped 4m30 70-73-75 kg) it really, really looked awfull when i saw myself on camera. I would love to hear your comments and suggestions of where i could best start to improve. I realise that I have to find the first mistake wich influences the rest of the jump.

Most important things i see...
- run-up needs better posture and more power
- instead of working my right hand up true the runway, i drop my left one
- pole is too low to my body
- I AM PLANTING LATE ON LAST STEPS!!!
- relatively good knee at lift-off but it drops almost immediatly
- need to roll back a lot more
- ...

But where do i start with all this?
The videos are poor quality but i hope You guys can see something on it.

http://www.youtube.com/polevaultstipke

ps: Sorry for possible mistakes in my english. We speak Dutch over here..

THNX

PoleVaultStipke wrote:ps: Sorry for possible mistakes in my english. We speak Dutch over here..

Your English is better than most of the Americans on here!

Thanks rainbowgirl..

At least my english is ok.. Now the jump..

Looks like a late plant, which is why you got ripped off the ground. a late plant will make your step a little under. try to move the pole sooner which will bring out your step and will also prepare you for a taller and overall better plant

Wow, that's pretty much exactly like me, except you go higher... The reason why you can't rockback effectively is that you drop your drive knee. I've got the same problem, as well as not letting my bottom arm go inside. Do any swing drills you can, including some pole runs with an extremely early plant/pre-jump. That should get you headed in the right direction.

It's a tough angle we're working with here. In the future try to have the video camera positioned so that we can see a side view of your take-off. When the camera is even with the box we can EASILY see if you plant is on time, body posture at take-off, if your hands or up or bent, etc...

Cool Jumps! I am also interested in majoring in kinesiology so we have something in common, although i am only 18! Now to your jumps...


The things you mentioned could all use some work, but as for what to do first i would definitely suggest run mechanics.
You take off the ground relatively well considering a very low knee lift and explosion your first first steps. Do plenty of quick, explosive sprint drills such as high knees, power skips, bounders, fast legs, etc. Check out videos of bubka and isi to see how bouncy and explosive they are in the back of the runway. It will set you up for an even stronger take off.

You leave the ground very well! You do not appear to take off under, and your trail leg stretches far behind you before you swing. However it looks as though you only swing beneath your body, and are passive during the upper portion of the jump. As im sure you know with kinesiology, you want to have no passive phase in your jumping. Doing bubkas and core work will encourage you to keep your energy moving until you fly away on top of the pole.

A lot of vaulters want to push their hands forward as they swing, but this is going to limit how far you can invert on the pole. I notice in a few of your jumps that your hands may be blocking your swing a bit. Either your hands are in the way, or you are just fully inverting before you come off the pole. Either way, keep your hands above your head at all times during your swing, and keep your hips moving the entire time, until you come off the top of the pole.

I hope that helps a bit. As a kinesiology major im sure you can understand the physics of the ideal pole vault, but it is sometimes very confusing on the best way to get there!! Dont worry about some of the minor details just yet. Just remember that your speed and take off determine your limits in the air, and that once in the air you want a continual transfer of energy. Focus on run mechanics and take off, and a lot of the vault will come together on its own. Take care.

I just wanted to thank you guys for the advice.

I have been working hard on my run and plant and it seems to effect the entire jump. We just returned from a trainingcamp in Bath(England) with coach Tim snowdon. This was really educational and I felt a few new things in my jump. He told me to run and plant big and strong and to keep working on my left arm to keep the tension in the pole. Also to open up the pole by letting my chest move forward. This would turn the pole to create a highbar. (does this explanation make any sence? I remembered it in dutch so the translation might sound a bit weird.. ) On sunday we travelled to cardiff for a competition where I just missed 4m. But still I was pleased because there were a few jumps wich looked and felt a lot better. I will be posting the videos soon.

Really thnx for your advice guys, I really appreciate it!

Hi guys,

I made a compilation of my last meet. The quality really sucks again so i cheered it up with some music. I realize it's hard to see anything on bad quality video. I'm probably gonna sell my cam and buy a new one. Any suggestions on what might be an good device for filming vault?

Anyway here is the link...

http://www.treemo.com/users/PoleVaultSt ... em/340552/

Don't spare me, I am here to learn..

Ciao

I think that narrowing your grip would be a good idea. It'll help you to get both hands up more at plant. Also, it looked to me like your rowing just a little bit... anybody else see this? Anyway, if you've been on a highbar, keep it up. If you haven't, then get on one! You'll have so much more power! (And try swinging with your current grip on a highbar, then try swinging with a shoulderish width grip. You should feel the difference!) Good luck, and congratulations on winning your section!