My lazy right arm

Fist drill helped me fix a dropped elbow.

I have a lazy right arm. I drop my elbow during recovery and I can't seem to fix it. What can I do or think when I swim to make it better. I also breathe to one side..the left..could this be the problem? Any tips? Video yourself Watch it Decide if a correction is necessary or not Correcting technique is tough You don't need to know what you're doing wrong. You must know what the new habit will replace your bad habit. What it looks like and how it feels. You must concentrate on and do the correction/replacement habit until it sticks and becomes a habit. While you're forming the new habit, Anytime you stop concentrating on the replacement habit or stop doing the replacement habit, you're very likely to revert back to your old habit. Only attempt to correct technique that makes you faster or less likely to get injured. Some corrections are merely cosmetic. Good Luck Ande

So, I can have the nastiest/most horrible recovery on earth while slapping my hands on the water at the end of the recovery but when my hand enters the water the pull is excellent until it starts the recovery phase again. I can do this consistently 40 times per 50 meters and never ever have rotator cuff tendonitis, bursitis, or any anomaly with the shoulder whatsoever. Everybody's different. :) You might do everything picture perfect and wind up with terrible shoulder problems. You age, and things you could get away with 30 years ago might not work so well today. I took up masters swimming when I was 50. I hadn't swum in any sort of competition since I was 18 or 19, and then not at a very high level. I was fine for about five years. Then I began having trouble, just with my right shoulder (the side I breathe on - that is, the shoulder I shouldn't have trouble with). I've been more off than on w.r.t. swimming the past couple years. Then my wife began having shoulder problems as well and eventually needed surgery (done about a month ago). She's not a swimmer though. We concluded it must have been our crazy 90-pound lab and her propensity to go charging off after squirrels and rabbits while attached to us via a retractable leash. I'm sure my left arm's recovery is not as perfect as my right arm's. Still, I've never had a problem there. Skip

So I guess your point is that a poor recovery can lead to shoulder injuries? If so, please provide evidence. You may be right, but I suspect most shoulder injuries are caused by impingement during the actual pull and not the recovery. No, not necessarily. I really think Janet might be the poster child for why the recovery is overrated. I can't imagine a coach telling swimmers to try to copy her stroke for all the reasons you mentioned, but the fact remains that it DOES work for her and she HAS avoided injury. The most plausible explanation to me is that her stroke is efficient and does not stress her shoulders. My point is how the recovery is used at the end of it. I mean when/how the hand enters the water to start the underwater pull process. Your right about the pull through process but that process starts when the hand enters the water. The crossover hand entry at the end of the recovery is what I am talking about. It doesn't matter how the recovery works, the start of the pull through has to start correctly or you will get a shoulder impingement or some other injury. The conclusion is that its both the recovery (the end of it) and underwater pull through that results in injury if done wrong. So, if Janet Evans has her hands enter properly at the end of her windmill recovery then there is no issue. But that is her personal choice but if others mimic it then they need video analysis in order to ensure the hand entry is initiating the pull through correctly.

So I guess your point is that a poor recovery can lead to shoulder injuries? If so, please provide evidence. You may be right, but I suspect most shoulder injuries are caused by impingement during the actual pull and not the recovery. Janet Evans takes about 40 strokes per 50 meters while Sun Yang takes about 25-27 strokes per 50 meters. While both are efficient, don't you think the swimmer with the less strokes per 50 meters would at least be more shoulder friendly than the swimmer that takes more strokes per 50 meters? No, not necessarily. I really think Janet might be the poster child for why the recovery is overrated. I can't imagine a coach telling swimmers to try to copy her stroke for all the reasons you mentioned, but the fact remains that it DOES work for her and she HAS avoided injury. The most plausible explanation to me is that her stroke is efficient and does not stress her shoulders.

Simple. You aren't propelling yourself during the recovery. I don't recall Janet having lots of shoulder problems, but if she did, why do you assume the problems were caused by her recovery? edit: here's an interview with Janet where she specifically says she's never had shoulder injuries: www.insidesocal.com/.../q-and-a-with-ja.html To wit: So, I can have the nastiest/most horrible recovery on earth while slapping my hands on the water at the end of the recovery but when my hand enters the water the pull is excellent until it starts the recovery phase again. I can do this consistently 40 times per 50 meters and never ever have rotator cuff tendonitis, bursitis, or any anomaly with the shoulder whatsoever. I find this hard to believe after swimming millions upon millions of yards/meters over many years as Janet (not the recovery description above but the straight arm recovery) has or whoever swims competitively in USAS, Masters, College, High School, etc. Janet did have Scoliosis as a teenager and had surgery for that problem. But it never affected her making national cuts, setting age group records, or winning gold medals. I don't know if Scoliosis helped stay away from injury or if it was her straight arm recovery or both. Janet Evans takes about 40 strokes per 50 meters while Sun Yang takes about 25-27 strokes per 50 meters. While both are efficient, don't you think the swimmer with the less strokes per 50 meters would at least be more shoulder friendly than the swimmer that takes more strokes per 50 meters? Do you have stats on shoulder injury for swimmers that do straight arm recovery compared to swimmers that use high elbow recovery? According to the below survey, there is about a 47 to 73 percent incidence rate among competitive swimmers will have a shoulder injury in their careers (citation below). So Janet Evans must have been part of that 27% that never had or never will have a shoulder injury. McMaster WC, Troup J: A survey of interfering shoulder pain in United States competitive swimmers. Am J Sports Med 1993;21(1):67-70

My point is how the recovery is used at the end of it. I mean when/how the hand enters the water to start the underwater pull process. Your right about the pull through process but that process starts when the hand enters the water. The crossover hand entry at the end of the recovery is what I am talking about. It doesn't matter how the recovery works, the start of the pull through has to start correctly or you will get a shoulder impingement or some other injury. I agree. How and where your hand enters is definitely important.

I'd try bi-lateral breathing to improve on your stroke symmetry, and one arm freestyle drills with a kickboard to get all your concentration on that right arm, and don't get fatigued whilst doing this stay fresh with plenty of recovery between sets so you don't get sloppy. Good luck.