PoleVaultPower.com

i have read over peoples post and wonderingwhy would you with strength over length??

What that means basically is go for better technique and a higher jump over your grip then trying to use longer poles before you have the technique.

stregnth over legnth only holds true in the pole vault and unfortunantly not with women!!HAHA!!
(becca will probably gripe at me for that comment!)

but yes holding too high can result in all kinds of carnage
1.you could come up short and miss the pit or land in the box
2.the pole could break
3.the pole might open up at the top and swallow you and then spit you out on the runway
and so on and so on.......

never try to out jump your ability or you willl never be able to jump out

POWER always outweighs Length
Holding too high hinders proper pendulum action needed to receive the full energy generated by the technique and the plant stored in the pole.
(There is hint here you need to note; I am saying the pole bends and stores energy from the technique and the momentum of the run/plant.) A more powerful pole (stiffer) will support a vaulter with more energy in the upward thrust if they are jumping at or above their handhold. Other words this is a stronger pole capable of lifting a larger person so the thrust to vertical is more powerful for someone 10-15 lbs lighter than the rating. The advantage of this pole’s return of energy is greater than a thinner wall pole that is longer and rated at your weight.

to throw out another question..... what if a person is quite tall and the only way that they can have an effective swing, without the pole unbending, before they are able to swing to vert and have the pull throw them? Wouldnt, in this case, holding higher and having more pole to work with, in fact, be better???? just curious.....?

bjvando wrote:to throw out another question..... what if a person is quite tall and the only way that they can have an effective swing, without the pole unbending, before they are able to swing to vert and have the pull throw them? Wouldnt, in this case, holding higher and having more pole to work with, in fact, be better???? just curious.....?

Hello BJ
Well you make a good case and if they are tall there are some advantages to grip higher. However if you are not running with the momentum to facilitate good transfer to the pole your height will not be an advantage.

Now if you are a strong runner and you are bending the pole with a proper swing before the pole returns to vertical you would benefit to an increase in grip and then would move to a stiffer pole in that length. Once again when you move to the next length it is important to be on a pole at or greater than your weight.

Too many times vaulters move to the longer poles before learning proper technique, and in doing so get stuck with the same problem as they progress; they cannot bend a pole at their weight.
Solution: in this case is to move down to a pole shorter but stronger.

Example: grip 13’4â€Â