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I am a sophomore in high school and saw pole vaulting last year and decided to try it! I am also a cheerleader and volleyball player. I've been training for about 3 days now and i dont have as much upper arm strength as I thought I did. (I used a 110 lb. pole & 150 lb. I weigh about 135 and 5'7.)&& That is preventing me from pulling up on the pole and fall. Another problem i have is that only my right leg follows through and not my left! I have 2 excellent pole vaulters right now helping me my body i guess isn't cooperating! I come home and try to do push ups but my abs & legs are in so much pain i can barely walk! ANY HELP WOULD BE APPERECIATEDD!

I have tried pole vaulting not so often. So perhaps you better wait for someone else to reply. But as far as I understand your problem you just dont have the strength in your arms to pull yourself up.
If you use a 150 lb pole I hope in bends at least a bit. Perhaps if you wait long enough you are catapulted up in the air by the pole and you dont need the have the whole strength in your upper arms.
Nevertheless its a good idea practising the push ups.

Keep doing as much core strength training as possible. Push through a little pain and eventually your body will adapt.

Also, do not ever pull. You push through the tip by keeping your top arm straight throughout your jump.

If you are in your 3rd day of vaulting, an experienced coach will have you doing more running with a pole and pole walks than any jumping! The faster and more controlled, powerful your run can be, the easier you will get in the pit. Thats basically lesson #1 when you start vaulting. Make sure you have someone teach you the correct way to run and plant the pole, and until your run is very consistent i wouldnt worry too much about even bending a pole. thats pretty dangerous early in pole vaulting until you can control a run and pop up pretty well. Welcome to vaulting, its a ton of fun, stick with it and have fun! later

ok! thanks to everybody! i think i got what i needed* anybody have any ideas with weights for upper body strength? besides curl ups && bench presses? thanksss**

Do lots and lots of 2 step (not lefts) pole climbs!! LOTS!

YA U DEFINATLY NEED TO RUN FAST WHEN U VAULT SO TRY TO FIND A VERY STEP HILL AND GET UT POLE AND RUN ALL THE WAY, BUT WHEN U VAULT U SHOULD TRY TO USE SMALLER POLE SO LIKE THE 11O IS GOOD 4 NOE NOT THE 150. SO KEEP ON RUNING AND WORKING OUT, GO TO THE GYM DO SOME WIGHTS, IF U KEEP ON DOING HUN UR IMPROVE. AND IF UR HAVING A PROBLEM GETTING TO THE POLE (SWING) TRY TO MOVE THOSE ARMS FORWARD (FROM ADOVE UR HEAD TO UR HIP) TRUSTT ME IT HELP....LOL

SO HOPE THIS HELPS IF NOT MESSAGE ME FOR MORE TIPS....

Not a smart idea to do hill runs with a pole! Yes you do need speed, but being safe is more important, and that is a dumb idea...

Work on short approach, straight pole drills that force you to reach as high as you can at take-off and help you to get a sense of jumping off the ground! That will be the biggest help for a beginner, along with doing pole runs just to get used to carrying a pole in your hands and becoming consistent in your run!!

Zachmo

I definitely understand what some of you on this site mean when you say inexperience can lead to bad or unhelpful advice when you try to post to help someone with their form on this site! Listen to the people who present their coaching tips in the most organized and easily understood way... they are generally the ones who know what they are doing.

The type of pole should be the last thing she should be worried about. I personally do not believe in trainers especially for beginners. She or a beginner needs to learn to vault by stiff poleing. Working on run, plant and takeoff position and timing before ever trying to bend the pole ,which I believe is the purpose for a trainer. Start from 2 steps away from box holding at standing grip and work out. If you want some more info on how this is performed PM me.

No offense RBvaulter, but do you take the short bus to school by any chance? Advice like that gets people nowhere fast and possibly hurt.