I was swimming laps yesterday and I overheard the swim coach tell the high school swim team that they should be swimming flat with no rotation of the hips. He told them that at no point they should not be kicking on their sides and that swimming flat decreases drag.
I've had one other person tell me the same thing when I first started swimming and I ended up with severe shoulder (rotator cuff) pain. It wasn't until I learned how to rotate from side to side that the pain resolved.
Not necessarily. Many sprinters tend to keep a flatter position on the water in order to generate a higher stroke rate.
Bernard 50m free underwater 0.25 speed - YouTube
Alexander Popov Freestyle Stroke Technique - YouTube
Interesting you say that. That would make sense to me, as I have a difficult time getting a high stroke rate when rotating a lot. But a recent article I read on Thorpe's new style being coached by Touretski for 50 and 100M sprints was saying that Touretski wanted Thorpe to rotate more. I guess there is more power (or less drag?).
Speaking of Thorpe, a less than stellar comeback today, but he didn't really swim a freestyle race to the best of my knowledge, just an IM. He will do the fly interestingly enough also.
Not necessarily. Many sprinters tend to keep a flatter position on the water in order to generate a higher stroke rate.
Bernard 50m free underwater 0.25 speed - YouTube
Alexander Popov Freestyle Stroke Technique - YouTube
Interesting you say that. That would make sense to me, as I have a difficult time getting a high stroke rate when rotating a lot. But a recent article I read on Thorpe's new style being coached by Touretski for 50 and 100M sprints was saying that Touretski wanted Thorpe to rotate more. I guess there is more power (or less drag?).
Speaking of Thorpe, a less than stellar comeback today, but he didn't really swim a freestyle race to the best of my knowledge, just an IM. He will do the fly interestingly enough also.
