Finishing the invert

[Tigervault]

On the off season I did as many stubbie drills as I could to relearn the vault sequence per Petrov, and it has helped a ton already. I am finally settling into the free take-off also. My leg swing is a lot more powerful than it used to be, but I am still struggling to finish the invert phase of the vault.

I get my feet to the top of the pole quickly and my hips closed off to the pole but I am having trouble allowing my upper body to flatten out with my legs to completely invert. Are there any drills to help with this problem? I've been trying short runs on stiff poles but it's not seeming to help at all.

I don't have any video yet, hopefully I'll have some by the end of the week.

Thanks
Alex

[OUvaulterUSAF]

On the off season I did as many stubbie drills as I could to relearn the vault sequence per Petrov, and it has helped a ton already. I am finally settling into the free take-off also. My leg swing is a lot more powerful than it used to be, but I am still struggling to finish the invert phase of the vault.

I get my feet to the top of the pole quickly and my hips closed off to the pole but I am having trouble allowing my upper body to flatten out with my legs to completely invert. Are there any drills to help with this problem? I've been trying short runs on stiff poles but it's not seeming to help at all.

I don't have any video yet, hopefully I'll have some by the end of the week.

Thanks
Alex

I too struggle with the hip drive/shoulder drop phase.
"That phase is the most difficult one to master" --Alan Launder at 2007 PV summit
I personally think it's timing and gaining confidence to get into that position. There are drills in the BTB book--bubkas, swing/whips on high bar. I think people who are really good at executing that phase traditionally have a gymnastic background.

[EIUvltr]

There are a lot of reasons people have trouble with this aspect of the vault, and I think it is the subject of the majority of the posts under the Technique forum if you use the search feature. Due to all of these possible problems, we would be unable to give you an accurate prognosis and treatment without a video analysis. OUvaulterUSAF is right tho, that part of the vault is a b**** to learn if it doesn't come naturally, you aren't alone.

[Cooleo111]

I personally think it's timing and gaining confidence to get into that position. There are drills in the BTB book--bubkas, swing/whips on high bar. I think people who are really good at executing that phase traditionally have a gymnastic background

I completely agree! On my better inverts I'm on a pole that I'm really confident with and I feel very comfortable with the way I'm jumping. However, I tend to flag out more when I'm trying different things in my jumps or I'm on a stiffer pole that I'm a little hesitant about.

[vault3rb0y]

I think it comes from mostly just core strength as well as the power of your swing. The swing will get you to a certain point, and the faster the swing the easier it will be to move past this point, but to straighten out and start pulling, you need the core strength in your abs to keep your hips moving. Bubkas and swinging bubkas will probably help the most, combined with a consistent ab workout.

[OUvaulterUSAF]

Again, the top of the vault is the most difficult phase to master.

Just when I think I have it down, I go to my stiffer pole or raise my grip and the timing completely changes and the frustration builds.

I don't think there is a magic drill out there that can replicate exactly the motion of dropping your shoulders and driving your hips. All those drills out there give you somewhat of a feeling but they don't recreate the total vault experience.

So why is it so difficult to master? Simply, it's at the end of the vault. First and foremost, you have to master and execute all the other phases in the vault sequence. AND you have to put that all together. Any slip up along the way will have ramifications at the top, e.g. poor run, take-off under, non-dynamic swing, hesitation etc.

I think it boils down to confidence.

I believe it's all mental b/c any vaulter that can jump above their hand grip has the ability, athletism and strength to extend off the top. There is no one or two drills that can teach confidence other than jumping and incrementally working your way up to bigger poles.

Vaulters with a gymnastics background seem to succeed better than those that do not. I believe the reason behind that is because they have confidence executing that position at the top from their years of previous gymnastics experience.

I recently jumped during practice with a 'Bubka' shoulder drop/hip drive. First time in my life I felt the feeling that vaulters who can execute that skill described. I was pretty elated. The conditions were perfect. I had a great run, I was coming from 6 lefts on a pole 5 lbs above my weight and I held about 6" from the top. What does that tell you the reader, I was on my ‘money’ pole where I have all the confidence in the world to jump well on. Ok, so one of the keys is confidence and jumping on that pole from that grip and runway distance gave me that.

Another key to mastering that skill is consistency. What does that mean? Eliminating all the variables in the pole vault and focusing on keeping the jump consistent and repeatable. I was able to run the same and take-off the same in that particular practice. Now I could execute the shoulder drop/hip drive on each jump that practice BUT my swing wasn’t always rotating up to the 12 O’clock position. I could extend up the pole just fine but sometimes it would be at the 11 O’clock position. So in this particular instance the biggest variable in some of my jumps was the swing b/c it was different each time. For others it might be a poor plant or take-off. Overall, I could extend off the top that day perfectly. Fast forward to the next practice, I thought let’s take this to a stiffer pole where I could actually jump pretty high. That was a humbling experience b/c everything changed. The pole was stiffer and the timing was different. It’s like I started from the beginning all over again. My confidence dropped which affected my consistency and repeatability. So mastery is a path of small setbacks and successes.

You’re wondering how did you manage that first ‘Bubka’ jump? I hate to say this in a public forum and I’ll probably get brow beaten by everyone on here. With the confidence, consistency and repeatability I had any one practice I still couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t extending completely. I would put all my focus on dropping my shoulders when I was suppose to but for some reason didn’t achieve the expected result. On all previous video of me, I did notice that I tucked my chin no matter what which kept me from dropping my shoulders back. I was told since age 13 to never throw your head back. (Really we should preach to NEVER LET GO OF THE POLE no matter if it breaks in your hand and we do preach that). I completely agree b/c it’s a safety issue. But where the head goes the body follows. Now let me draw from “From Beginner to Bubkaâ€Â

[AVC Coach]

I wouldn't want to ever encourage anyone to throw their head back during any phase of the vault.

I believe that getting your head in line with your spine means that your head shouldn't tilt back at all.

Inversion is just an explaination of the desired position and getting completely inverted might not be the appropriate goal for everyone and it might not help at all for some vaulters.

I think the important concern is that your hips are moving up well for the level of vaulting you have achieved. The whole "dropping your shoulders" concept is misleading. If your hips are moving fast enough, your back will straighten and your shoulders will simply follow. Your hand position in relation to your center of mass when you swing will have a huge effect on where your hips end up. If your hands are way out in front, I can see where it would be almost impossible to swing your hips over your head. Also, the direction your toes are pointing will effect the length of time you can keep your hips moving up before they drop.

Keep in mind that these are just some of my opinions and I am in no way claiming to be an authority on the pole vault.

[vaulter870]

i am bumping this topic back up cause i dont feel the need to start another one about the same issue and cause becca will yell at me anyways my question is how do you fix the issue of coming up the pole very closely and inverting well and coming away from the pole right but then instead of piking over the bar i seam to flop down onto it! very confusing to me and i have thought about it and i was wondering if maybe changing somthing as simple as trying tp push my heels to the celing(sky). i am hoping that it is something as simple as that cause i could really use that extra 2 feet or so that i am losing by just flopping down on the bar!

[vaulter870]

bumping this up again cause people didnt respond last time

[AVC Coach]

Give us some more info about your jump:
Video, ht., wt, pole size, grip.

[vaulter870]

i cant get the video off of my camera but i am about 5'10'' 172 jumping on a 15'170 holding 14' (cause i am waiting for my new pole to come in) running from 4 lefts. taking off at 11'8'' +/- 3 inches. only problem that i have is getting really close to the pole as it is unbending and then if i do stay close i fall out of the jump and flag instead of continuing to go up the pole and peak over the bar. i am thinking that it is something like not pulling my toes twards my face and getting back farther and staying closer to the pole. is there anything to work on that?

[OUvaulterUSAF]

If I hesitate at all on my invert or I don't swing fast enough to cover the pole before it begins to uncoil then I come up short at the top of the jump. THat usually results in flagging towards the bar or my body dropping like a rock. I'll get into the positions I need just not at the right times to take advantage of the unbending pole.

Solution, I work on timing in practice and then I go to the next pole and work on timing with that. It's difficult to do on a day where you're not jumping well.