In looking at the animation on www.swimsmooth.com I see that the hand follows a straight path front to back. This is probably better seen when looking up at the swimmer from under water. If you put a ruler to the path it is pretty much a straight line.
Now, I've seen and I've read posts that talk about a non-linear path. I guess the idea is to always try to accelerate new water rather than applying force to water that you've already accelerated.
So...why do they show a straight path.
And, if curved is better, what is the best path?
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Former Member
I guess the bio-mechanics is of paramount importance here. While a straight pull might be best if you had a machine driving a paddle with motors the case could be very different when you consider muscles driving multiple joints with multiple degrees of freedom as our arms.
The best way I can visualize this in order to think about it is to think about what you do to get out of the pool. Does anyone extend their arms straight out (directly in front of you) and try to push out of the pool that way? No. You get your chest as close to the wall as you can and push up with your arms close to your body. Part of this is simple mechanics. If you tried option #1 you couldn't possibly apply enough force to lift yourself. Even if you could (gymnast?) you wouldn't get out of the pool. Option #2 makes better use of the various levels available in our arm to get us out of the pool without herculean effort.
So, the question might be: What is the best path to follow during the pull stroke to maximize both the hydrodynamic efficiency for propulsion AND the bio-mechanical ability to generate maximum force and speed?
Surely someone has had to have studied this. Any papers out there?
I guess the bio-mechanics is of paramount importance here. While a straight pull might be best if you had a machine driving a paddle with motors the case could be very different when you consider muscles driving multiple joints with multiple degrees of freedom as our arms.
The best way I can visualize this in order to think about it is to think about what you do to get out of the pool. Does anyone extend their arms straight out (directly in front of you) and try to push out of the pool that way? No. You get your chest as close to the wall as you can and push up with your arms close to your body. Part of this is simple mechanics. If you tried option #1 you couldn't possibly apply enough force to lift yourself. Even if you could (gymnast?) you wouldn't get out of the pool. Option #2 makes better use of the various levels available in our arm to get us out of the pool without herculean effort.
So, the question might be: What is the best path to follow during the pull stroke to maximize both the hydrodynamic efficiency for propulsion AND the bio-mechanical ability to generate maximum force and speed?
Surely someone has had to have studied this. Any papers out there?
