Season is nearly over for me and so it's time to start planning next season.
One of my goals is to improve my dives and my starts in general.
I've been doing some reading about this lately, but I would still appreciate tips and explanation on how to dive.
Moreover, I read Wayne's article on Grab start Vs. Track Start (with ref. to the PowerStart website) . I noticed that swimmers still use the track start and experimented with both styles. I found out I enter the water smoother when I track start but I travel longer when I do the Grab Start.
Next week I'll be working with a coach on this but I'd like to learn more before I do, so I can understand the technique better before I meet the coach and focus on the fine points with him, instead of wasting my time on basics.
Here's a link to Wayne's article:
breaststroke.info/IstheGrabStartDeadrev2.htm
Here's another YouTube link I found:
‪The Finer Points of a Good Swimming Start‬ - YouTube
PowerStart website:
http://www.quickgetaway.com/
So Russel Mark is claiming one should KEEP LOW whereas Wayne and that PowerStart website would like to see swimmers jump UP.
Physicswise, the best way to jump high and far would be to leave the blocks at a 45 degree angle - which is why I tend to adopt the second approach I mentioned.
Here's what I'm talking about:
‪Freestyle Start‬ - YouTube
(watch the second swimmer)
And this is Joe Jackson talking about her dives:
‪Gatorade Swimming Masterclass: Dive Starts with Joanne Jackson World Record Swimmer‬ - YouTube
Notice that unlike what R.Mark said, she isn't pulling the blocks with her hands. Her hands leave the blocks as her legs start to move.
To cut a long story short, my questions are (what is nowadays considered better and why?):
Hand - grabbing or just touching the blocks?
Do they stay behind the CM or are they being thrown forward?
(behind= ‪Phelps-track-start-arms-late‬ - YouTube
(Thrown forward= ‪Freestyle Start‬ - YouTube)
Head - looking DOWN or AT THE FLAGS?
Legs - I tend to enter the water straight but then my legs sort of fold and slow me down. Like the third swimmer in this clip:
‪Freestyle Start‬ - YouTube
Any tips as for how to correct this?
And last but not least, where else can I find information on dives? (couldn't find anything in the forum surprisingly)
The most important part of the start is the entry.Your must enter your body all through the same "hole".Any dive that you can't do that 100 % is not a good dive.If you have strong legs I definitely think you want to jump a little up(air is not nearly as dense as water.)
I believe you said you are a High School/USA-S swimmer.If so I think you definitely want to do the track start.It is more stable and my observation is that USA-S officials are not as forgiving of twitches on the block as Masters officials are(which is the only area I know where they are more strict.)Also you will probably be the only one using a grab start and the officials will probably be watching you more closely.It doesn't matter how fast your start is if it ends up a DQ.If you test and find your grab start is definitely faster than your track start, talk to the officials before you swim so you and they are on the same page.
Hi Alen, could you please explain in more details, what's the problem with grab start and which are the cases when you can get DQ while doing it?
Personally I prefer doing track start but sometimes when the block is slippery I do grab start because once I was very close to injury when did a track start in such case. My foot standing behind slipped of the block and it hit the block :-(
The most important part of the start is the entry.Your must enter your body all through the same "hole".Any dive that you can't do that 100 % is not a good dive.If you have strong legs I definitely think you want to jump a little up(air is not nearly as dense as water.)
I believe you said you are a High School/USA-S swimmer.If so I think you definitely want to do the track start.It is more stable and my observation is that USA-S officials are not as forgiving of twitches on the block as Masters officials are(which is the only area I know where they are more strict.)Also you will probably be the only one using a grab start and the officials will probably be watching you more closely.It doesn't matter how fast your start is if it ends up a DQ.If you test and find your grab start is definitely faster than your track start, talk to the officials before you swim so you and they are on the same page.
Hi Alen, could you please explain in more details, what's the problem with grab start and which are the cases when you can get DQ while doing it?
Personally I prefer doing track start but sometimes when the block is slippery I do grab start because once I was very close to injury when did a track start in such case. My foot standing behind slipped of the block and it hit the block :-(
