We haven't had a swim focus post for a couple of weeks but it is time for a new one! Everyone has done a great job with the skills we have been working on, its really cool to see everyone's progress. So far we've departmentalized the stroke working on various aspects of the body position. The next phase is putting these things together which can be difficult. We now have to work on connecting the catch to the rotation to the recovery all while kicking. The key is mastering the front quadrant of your stroke and we will be placing a heavy emphasis on this in the coming weeks, the rest will come easier and once thats done you'll be kicking some serious butt in the pool. I know the post is long but it is definitely worth reading because it goes over the most efficient and fastest way to swim. Also check out the videos, I've tried to pick out ones that highlight front quadrant work as well as the whole thing put together.
Over the years the philosophy regarding the proper stroke mechanics has changed a great deal. In the 50's and 60's a wide sweeping "S" motion was advocated for the stroke; now-a-days the active "S" motion has fallen out of favor. Proper body position and a good body roll will create a naturally occurring "S" shaped pattern through the water that more effectively uses the principles of lift than actively thinking about making that motion. So you don't need to think about making a gigantic "S" while doing your stroke, but it is helpful to know that your hand does make a skinny one when you do things right and while the swimming community no longer accepts the "S" or "key hole" approach for proper freestyle mechanics there are somethings that those motions encourage that are key to today's accepted mechanics. So if you hear someone tell you make an "S" or half a "key hole" they aren't wrong as those ideas are partially right but they most definitely are behind the times, there are faster and more efficient ways to swim.
Modern freestyle technique is broken-up into three phases: the Catch, Rotation, and Recovery. Each of them have drills that focus on traits specific to the characteristics of the phase; however, one commonality amongst the three is a high elbow. A High elbow is the key to swimming correctly, it sets the catch, it ensures you are getting your power and momentum from your rotation, it helps you time your recovery, reach further, enter cleanly, and breathe effectively.
Setting the catch is the most important part of swimming efficiently and is often referred to as the front quadrant of your stroke. It is one of the most foreign ideas to learn, it uses weak muscles and is not congruent with how we are anatomically structured to be powerful (more on that later). Most coaches use the following sequence to describe setting the catch. The hand enters the water with the elbow hyperextended along the body line and rotated to that side. The first motion is the hand pitching down towards the bottom of the pool followed by the forearm pitching down; the elbow is held high in the water and does not move. If you are doing the catch correctly, you have internally rotated your shoulder so that your elbow should not be pointing towards the bottom of the pool, and likewise the krelbow (term a la Seinfeld) should not face the top of the pool (and this will stay true for all three phases, so don't forget it). This motion makes a lever that we will use later in combination with our rotation.
NOT FOUND: fig1.jpg
The rotation phase is the second most important part of the stroke behind the setting the catch. This is the power phase of your stroke but all the advantages are lost if you have a dropped elbow, so having the proper position in the front quadrant is very important. Essentially, what we are doing is using the rotation of our body to move ourselves through the water. If we just use our arms, we are using weak muscles. Our arms were designed to be powerful by dropping our elbow (think about climbing a rope or doing pull ups), and the muscles that we will use to hold our elbow high in swimming tire quickly as a result of our anatomy. So if we have to use our weak muscles to put ourselves the most efficient position we should find some bigger muscles to help us move our body through the water; the core muscles are perfect for this cause. The body roll initiated from the kick engages the core giving us a powerful and efficient means to propel ourselves. The linked youtube videos show the catch being set to the correct position and then the body rotation engaging the lever providing forward momentum. The arm does not move backwards, instead the body is brought to the arm. You should think of this as pulling your hips to your arm when you swim. The rotation of your body will also help with the extension of the arm, you don't stop the power phase at your belly button, if you do you are not bringing your hips fully to your hand and you are cheating yourself out of a great deal of speed. Your arm should follow through the natural motion of bringing your hips to your hand and when you reach the point where your hip is actually there you being the recovery phase.
The recovery phase is just that--recovery for your arm. It begins by the elbow leaving the water when your hip is at your hand. The elbow should be held high on the recovery. One way to think of the proper position is trying to push your elbow in front of your forearm. Dropping your elbow on the recovery will lessen the distance you can reach in front of you (making you shorter in the water) and flatten your rotation. Flattening your rotation will make breathing harder because you will have less time to breathe and shortening yourself in the water reduces the amount of water you can hold. It shortens the length of your stroke much like pulling to your belly button only this time affecting the front quadrant. During the duration of the recovery phase, the hand should be held in a relaxed position and it is easier to do when the elbow is held in a high position. You should reach in front of you along your body line with a hyperextended shoulder to maximize your stroke length.
Slow-Mo of Thorpe
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KV_5-rkTq2E&feature=related
- This is a good view of his high elbow catch. You can easily see the lever he creates after his hand enters and fingers and forearm pitch down towards the bottom of the pool. He then uses the rotation of his trunk and the anchored forearm to move his body through the water.
Multiple Angles of Phelps
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax77_hHq9Dc&feature=related
- You can see all the aspects of the stroke in this video from several different angles. Phelps, like Thorpe, sets his lever and pulls his hips to his hands. He maintains a high elbow in all three phases. Also of note is kick. He uses it to initiate the rotation, and while a triathlete does not need to kick as hard as a sprinter the universal truth of the kick holding the body in-line and driving the rotation remains the same. There is a slight bend in the knee on the down-kick and the leg is snapped back into a straight position (he even hyperextends his knee) on the up-kick. His feet are pointed but relaxed and turned slightly inwards (this is very noticeable during his fly kick) and fluid through the kicking motion.
Phelps v. non-World Class Swimmer
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2n6FRHh9UE&feature=related
- This is a comparison video. Phelps does everything correctly, Chris Tompson well not so much. Pay particular attention to when you see them at the same time, Phelps on the top, Tompson on the bottom. Notice how Phelps rotates, he is much more deliberate in his rotation as compared to Tompson. Also, their arms during the catch, rotation and recovery phases are fundamentally different. Phelps sets a much better structured lever, and he pulls his hips all the way to his hand and only then does he begin his recovery. Tompson sets a weak catch and because he has poor rotation, he cannot get his hip to his hand and begins the recovery with a great deal of water that he could use to propel himself given more rotation. He also has a lower elbow than Phelps. It is especially evident in the recovery phase. Phelps' elbow is high enough where he can totally relax his hand at the wrist thus pitching his hand down the entire time of the recovery. Tompson drops his elbow, his forearm and hand as a result move to a position more horizontal to the surface of the water. He also does not relax his hand at any point in the recovery.
Master's Swimmer
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJpFVvho0o4&feature=related
- This is a master's swimmer who did not know how to swim well and by following the guidelines of proper swimming has gotten much faster and has an exemplary stroke. He uses a two beat kick which is okay once you have mastered the 6 and 4 beat kick.
Joined: 2008-01-22