Gymnastic Vault - Exercise 01

Gymnastic Vault - Exercise 01

This is the first gymnastic vaulting exercise where you actually touch the table :) Before you try this, you should practice the arm strike and the runup. The main purpose of this exercise is to get used to the the take off and the landing. You will also learn how to plant your hands on the gymnastic vaulting table. If you feel you are slipping off the tongue, chalk up your hands. Find more instructions for the gymnastic vault at gymnastics main.

Execution

  • Run towards the vaulting table and strike out your arms from behind the back.
  • After the last step, jump onto the reuther-springboard and close your legs. Swing your arms forward and keep your upper body tight.
  • Bounce off from both legs at the same time and extend your arms and legs. Swing up your arms like in the first gymnastic vaulting exercise and don't hollow your back. Jump up towards the horizontal area of the vaulting table.
  • Now put your hands on the straight part of the tongue, with your fingers pointing straight forward. Keep your elbows extended, push down your shoulders and then bend your knees.
  • Put your knee/shins on the table.
  • Next step: Hop onto your feet.
  • Finally stand up, raise your arms up and jump down onto your landing mats.
  • Try to land in a stuck landing. The sooner you get use to gymnastic stuck landings, the better. A stuck landing is when you land on both feet at the same time and don't make an extra step. Look straight forward and keep your arms up. You can bend you knees slightly as you land, but don't sit down too far.

Advice

  • If this seems difficult at the beginning, you can decrease the height of the table a bit or put two springboards over each-other. You can also use a higher pile of mats to protect the landing area.
  • Even though this exercise is just a preparation for straight vaults, it's sometimes seen in kids gymnastic competitions.