Advanced Techniques- Penetration

1. Penetration comes from proper plant, knee drive, hip press forward (thus creating an inverted "C" shape from your top hand through your back down to your trail leg), rowing at the shoulders, and leg swing.
2. The takeoff step should be a driving powerful quick step which starts the redirection of the vaulters horizontal speed into vertical speed. This takeoff is very similar to the takeoff step of the long jump, and is sometimes helpful to think of it like that.
3. The knee drive coupled with the hip press forward create an inverted "C" in the vaulters body and stores energy in two ways.  First, it stores energy into the pole by carrying the speed off takeoff and driving into the pole. Second, it stores energy in the vaulters body - similar to stretching a rubber band - preparing to "snap-back" and swing up into the rock back. This critical element sets the stage for the swing/row combination that helps us to compress big poles (I use a Pacer Carbon 17' 210lb flex of 12.7 - while I am a big vaulter, that is usually considered a BIG pole by anyones standard).
4. Penetration continues with the row/swing combination:
1. Row (violently) with the shoulders, keeping the shoulders as the axis of rotation. This means that both arms are fully extended (locked out) and make a wide sweeping motion from over your head, out in front of you, down to where your bottom (left) arm becomes parallel with your legs (hand roughly at your knees, just to the left of your left knee). Once the left arm becomes parallel to your left knee - keeping the right arm fully extended - the left arm bends at the elbow and the left hand travels up the body along the left leg to the waist. At this point the left hand should be on the left hip - and the right arm is fully extended - the right hand should be at the knees (between the legs). This now positions you very close to the pole which is critical since the more the pole uncoils, the closer you need to be to the pole in order to maximize the transition of energy from the pole back to the vaulter - and focus that energy upward in height. You are now positioned properly to execute the pull & turn.
   The Row is crucial to the ability to compress a large pole and accounts for over 1/3 of the transition of energy from the run into the pole. It is maintains pole-speed through the jump and prevents stalling.
2. Swing the trail leg (violently) in the largest possible sweeping arc to generate momentum to rock back.
3. These two complimentary motions should focus the axis of rotation on the SHOULDERS. Inexperienced vaulters often have the axis of rotation at the waist - which is incorrect. By rotating on the shoulders, the vaulter gets inverted and gets "on top of the bend".
5. The vaulter must continue to rock back and bring their "hips to their hands and hands to their hips". This continues to compress the pole while positioning the vaulter for the pull & turn.
6. To increase penetration, buy Armpower+ and do knee drive drills.

Note: There is overlap here with the rock back phase - and that is OK because the two work together hand in hand. By swinging through into the rock back, forward pole speed must be maintained which increases penetration and bend in the pole. The focus here is simply on the penetration portion through the rock back.