Rhythm Run Help

[altius]

I suspect you need to have a good look at the quality and timing of the plant.

Also be patient - major changes in the run up and take off take time - the old patterns are grooved in - they do not move aside easily.

[dj]

hey

i hate to do this but this is a section of a pretrov article that i have never found fault with and might answer some of our questions... i have also seen a bubka interview where he made these same points...

i highlighted some points that help me reconfirm why i do some of the things i do on the run...

[quote]TECHNIQUE TRAINING IN POLE VAULT
Vitaly Petrov (Italy, Ukraine)

During the whole run, including the pole drop, the left hand is held high enough and on the same level (chest level).

The left hand provides the direction and the bearing point around which the drop and the plant take place. If this is the case, then during the run it must remain motionless, positioned higher than the left elbow at all times.
Any motions of the hand (forward, backward, down or sideways) will break the single vaulter/pole system.

The right hand which plays the major part in the drop and plant, through the support of the left hand, during the run moves more than the left one. In the various parts of the run its work, position and strength of the grip are different.

Acceleration as an element of the pole vault has its own components which are interrelated and which determine the vaulter’s activity during acceleration. Any changes or disturbances in any of the components will retard the speed and efficiency of the acceleration. The length of the top vaulters’ run-up is on the average about 42-46 m, with 18-20 strides. This length of the run-up provides for the implementation of an athlete’s running abilities and allows for a smooth acceleration.

The 1st part of the approach takes place on a distance usually covered in 4 to 6 strides; it is here that the athlete lays the foundation of the approach:

1. set up of a single system: vaulter/ pole
2. evolving pattern of the first strides
3. run-up rhythm (acceleration), length and rate of the strides.

Maximum speed, its rationality towards the end of the run-up are established and depend on the correctly performed first strides.
It is necessary to stress here that the position of the pole and the vaulter/pole system influence the length and pace in the beginning of the acceleration.

Low pole carry in the beginning forces the vaulter to make the first strides more rapid which will result in a fast acceleration, rigidity of the movements and tying-up of the muscles.

Excessively high pole carry in the beginning will make the first strides longer and result in the up-and-down swing of the system’s center of gravity, thus also affecting the smoothness of the approach. In the beginning of the first part the vaulter keeps the pole at 65-75 degrees to the horizon, and by the end, with smooth acceleration he will bring it to 50-60 degrees.

It is preferable to launch into acceleration the single solid vaulter/pole system while controlling it through the left hand. Various changes in the rate of the movements, pole position, irregular running often occur as a result of the vaulter’s attempts to start run with various jumps, imitating the start in long jump and triple jump). All of this gives rise to so many irregularities and errors that sometimes it is hard to understand the reason for the movements.

There are other ways of starting the run – 4 to 6 measured walking steps taken to the starting mark, with the pole held in the same position as for the acceleration run, which is uniform in its acceleration similar to high jumpers who start the run-up with strides. Thus their transition from walking to running is inconspicuous and natural.

Concentration before the vault, a desire to vault and confidence that this very vault will be the best are often the decisive factors for successful performance.

If the top of the pole is held a little to the left (from the run-up line), the left hand will be positioned in a more comfortable and elevated position, and the whole vaulter/pole system will become more compact (without shifting forward or to the right).

During the whole run, including the pole drop, the left hand is held high enough and on the same level (chest level).

The left hand provides the direction and the bearing point around which the drop and the plant take place. If this is the case, then during the run it must remain motionless, positioned higher than the left elbow at all times.
Any motions of the hand (forward, backward, down or sideways) will break the single vaulter/pole system.

The right hand which plays the major part in the drop and plant, through the support of the left hand, during the run moves more than the left one. In the various parts of the run its work, position and strength of the grip are different.

The second part of the run takes place on a stretch covered in 8 to 10 strides. The main task here is to achieve 90-95 per cent of the maximum speed. The pole is carried here at about 45/60 degrees angle. In the end of the 2nd part the athlete reaches the maximum stride length.

Acceleration here is sustained by the slight movement of the shoulders, synchronizing the work of the upper part of the body with the work of the legs, without, however, moving the pole in any direction. If in the beginning of the run the main effort is made at the push from behind, in the middle part, as the speed increases, the athlete is stretching and switches over to the active “drawing throughâ€Â

[Tim McMichael]

If the top of the pole is held a little to the left (from the run-up line), the left hand will be positioned in a more comfortable and elevated position, and the whole vaulter/pole system will become more compact (without shifting forward or to the right).

I have found that if the pole is carried so far to the left that the center crosses the body, it can block one eye from seeing the box for a couple of strides as it is lowered. This results in a brief loss of depth perception. This can be disorienting and cause a loss of awareness of relationship between the vaulter and the box. I believe that the pole should be slightly angled to the left, but only so that the very tip of the pole crosses the vaulter’s line of vision as the pole is lowered. I have found that an intense focus on the box and the tip of the pole in the athlete’s peripheral vision are the primary visual cues that allow an athlete to know where they are on the runway in relation to the box.

This is one of those little things that can be crucial. I have been able to cure the insidious “I can’t plantâ€Â

[fchipr]

And kids I coach just can't understand how run/sprint technique and more specifically run/sprint technique with pole is so critical to the vault take off..and when they do finally get it (after a season plus of fixing run technique details, then we fix and concentrate on pole carry, pole drop timing and magnitude and how the arms and chest carry ya on from that last step.

Tim, I think you'll be quite suprised when you see my kid on the runway on his posture, stride, how he strikes the gound and how and when he pulls each step forward, his build up, pole drop and timing and ankleing over that last step to really insure he's leading with his chest and is nice and tall and straight up. Sure helps. He now has nice posture consistantly when he hits the box and he holds it at take off nice, until its time for his nice trail leg tap and roateaytion from the hips.

His baseline run is an 8 step (or in your terms a 16)

We were given a tip one time from a buddy of a SoCal 19 footer that said he used to place small amounts of weight inside his poles so that each of his poles had the exact same balance point (ie; the same center of mass- what you call CG), so that variations to his pole carry, drop and plant were eliminated as he progressed to longer and heavier poles at any given meet and thru out the season..
Pretty creative eh?

This is gonna be a GREAT SUMMIT.

Can ya smell it? Boy I can! Not just the great smell of clean Sierra Nevada mountain air, but THAT SMELL, Can ya smell THAT!!!
YEP. that addicting scent.......Its in the air!!! The smell of PRs!!!!

Find my note on your trip to my old college stompin grounds!

coach Chip
RUN FAST HOLD HIGH AND FLY!!

A PETROV TECHNICAL BELIEVER TOO.

PS Hey Aussie guy, might be able to get ya to LA, afterwards. gotta see whaT VEHICLE WERE DRIVING FIRST, and it'll be sunday evening. No guarentees yet. You still need a lift? If not me, BJ's guys from CSUF might be able to help. theres alot of SoCal HS and college folks that make this great winter road trip

GOOD STUFF both of ya. Keep in up

[Tim McMichael]

I think it is a VERY good idea to have each pole weighted the same as your biggest one. Consistency is everything.

Here is another thing that drives me crazy. I have no idea how it got to be standard to refer to steps in terms of left foot strikes only. If you count lefts, you will lean slightly on that leg as you run. Part of my doctrine is that you should count all steps or none of them.

[lonestar]

I think it is a VERY good idea to have each pole weighted the same as your biggest one. Consistency is everything.

Here is another thing that drives me crazy. I have no idea how it got to be standard to refer to steps in terms of left foot strikes only. If you count lefts, you will lean slightly on that leg as you run. Part of my doctrine is that you should count all steps or none of them.

THANK YOU! Someone finally said it - Agapit and I have discussed this and agree on counting all the steps, like the majority of the rest of the world. I have athletes tell me they can't count that fast - if so, they're coming out of the back too fast in my opinion

[Robert schmitt]

I probably started from those nuckle heads that need to run thier step back every time they jump to see where they need to start. So they have to have someone count "lefts" to see where they need to start from.

[altius]

Thanks fchipr - Appreciate the thought. It looks as though I will have the privilege of riding out to the coast with none other that the great Sean Brown of Neovault. Hoping I can get his autograph.

Catch y'all in Reno.