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?
I guess the idea is to always try to accelerate new water rather than applying force to water that you've already accelerated.
Shouldn't the goal be pressure instead of accelerating water?
Don't know if it's totally correct, but I try to to keep the arm anchored, fixed with the water in order to accelerate everything else other than the pulling arm. The kick just assists. After all, the arms are just propellars, with the leading edge being the finger tips and the high elbow increasing pressure. Am I accurate?
Shouldn't the goal be pressure instead of accelerating water?
Don't know if it's totally correct, but I try to to keep the arm anchored, fixed with the water in order to accelerate everything else other than the pulling arm. The kick just assists. After all, the arms are just propellars, with the leading edge being the finger tips and the high elbow increasing pressure. Am I accurate?
Mostly correct,paddles would be a more accurate term than propeller as the operative force here seems to be drag not lift.Otherwise ,yes,you anchor your forearm/hand and pull yourself past it.
If you look down at a world class swimmer, you will see that where the hand enters the water is where it finishes & exits !! Until you really watch this it is hard to understand the push of the body past this point !! Very cool :applaud:
At SwimFest, Dr. Gendadijus Sokolova (Dr. G) who works with our top swimmers, was adamant that any lateral movement was wasted. Straight back is the most efficient.
Neat video.
So....why do I see people doing a curved power stroke?
The old paradigm was that lift((sculling) was more important than drag,hence the S pattern stroke.With the ascendance of the drag theory(push back to go forward) the curved path seems to be disappearing.
Shouldn't the goal be pressure instead of accelerating water?
Don't know if it's totally correct, but I try to to keep the arm anchored, fixed with the water in order to accelerate everything else other than the pulling arm. The kick just assists. After all, the arms are just propellars, with the leading edge being the finger tips and the high elbow increasing pressure. Am I accurate?
Well, it's basic physics. The pressure you feel on your hand is the result of the force you apply against the water...which is then accelerated (a = f/m). You are in a fluid, so unless you can apply super-human force and speed water will be accelerated and water will be displaced by your hand/arm moving through it. Nothing is stationary during a stroke...it might feel that way, but all them little water molecules are going places at the same time you are.
Straight it is.
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Neat video.
So....why do I see people doing a curved power stroke?
In one of her articles she seems to also advocate not necessarily doing a high-elbow recovery in order to not put so much strain on your shoulders. Interesting.
While the notion that pulling in the exact opposite direction from the line of progress makes perfect sense, as in paddling a canoe, the biomechanics of the freestyle armpull makes the story a bit more complicated.
Here is some of what I (currently) believe:
The arm should extend on a straight line between the shoulder joint and the point at which you intend to contact the opposing pool wall.
The armpull should begin with a tilt of the wrist and forearm, cocking somewhat at the elbow, to make the lower arm a full paddle as soon as possible in the pulling movement. EVF.
In order to maintain the largest bent-arm paddle, the arm will rotate towards a more horizontal pull, and the hand will traverse toward the body centerline, as it passes under the thorax. The upper arm is now also a part of the paddle.
As the arm passes under the abdomen, it begins to straighten and curves outward again to the body's side.
Handspeed should steadily increase throughout the movement, especially as the arm exits the water, to minimize eddying. The same principle applies in canoeing, where the paddle should accelerate through its pull and exit the water in a fast, slippery, eddy-free lift.
The arm that pulls while a breath is being taken will naturally traverse toward the body centerline more than the other side armpull, because the body rotates (logrolls) more on the breathing side.
One question is why the armpulls for the breaststroke and butterfly shouldn't follow the same general principles, with modifications for the different stroke mechanics. A sideward outsweep at the beginning of the armpull is the conventional wisdom that is particularly questionable. Why wouldn't the beginning of the *** and fly armpulls be highly similar to the freestyle movement? If so, here goes:
In butterfly, the hands begin at least at shoulder width, use the entire arm as soon as possible in the movement, traverse steadily toward the body's centerline during the movement, finishing and exiting quickly to minimize eddying.
In breaststroke, the hands move apart after streamlining, then begin a bent-arm pull that has a slight rotary arc, so that the insweep-to-recovery phase can happen with maximum handspeed, leaving the eddies behind and well below the body.
Who really knows. You never see any of the creatures at the aquarium using anything like a canoe paddle, and they get around just fine.
In one of her articles she seems to also advocate not necessarily doing a high-elbow recovery in order to not put so much strain on your shoulders. Interesting.
Funny... I feel that doing a high elbow recovery puts less strain on my shoulders because of the way that my hand comes out of the water. When my shoulder starts to bother me, I focus on having a high elbow and it almost always helps.
