Which arm do you stroke with after the turn?

RE: Which arm do you stroke with after the turn?

Heather Messerly — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 07:17:41 GMT

After reading these posts I started paying more attention to my turns. Something I really had not done before. I have discovered I do not have the greatest turns. I flip the exact same way every time. I pull my left arm down, then while my right arm is stroking I take a breath. I therefore breath on the second stroke every time. Why? Apparently I both like and crave oxygen. I do not have a great streamline after a flip and really want to flutter kick out of the turn, rather than fly kick. This discussion has really lead me to take a look at my turns and I now know what I need to work on. So, thank you for that.:bow:

RE: Which arm do you stroke with after the turn?

Former Member — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 17:04:06 GMT

OK I just have to comment. I think we have some conflicting information and some muddled ideals here... Flipping crooked - who cares. Does anyone remember Tom Dolan? And he swam distance, so he had 65 crooked flip turns in the 1650. He was real fast. Flip turns are about speed. Yes there are techniques that can make it easier to achieve speed, but swimming has never been "one size fits all". If you get in and out of the wall quickly, in a good streamline, and are heading directly towards the other end, you're doing fine. Planting the feet at off-height can get you rotating more quickly as you leave the wall. Which hand to pull - always bottom if you are tilted to one side. It finishes streamline and is most efficient use of energy to create power. The top arm is near more turbulent water, the bottom arm is in more "solid" water, creating a more effective pulling surface. If you do multiple dolphins and are completely lateral, the either arm should be fine, although you aren't going to dolphin kick out every turn in a 500, so learning to pull with the bottom arm and carrying that through makes the most sense. Breathing off the turn - depends on the event. In distance it's not uncommon for the highest level swimmers to breathe during the breakout stoke off every turn. Oxygen is most important in distance, some coaches believe even as short as a 200 oxygen intake importance outweighs any loss of form by breathing on stroke 1. In the 100 or the 50, you should probably be getting a full stroke cycle in before your first breath.

RE: Which arm do you stroke with after the turn?

Former Member — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 15:26:24 GMT

It's completely wrong but I always stroke with my right arm first and in practice I breath on my first stroke. I know it's completely wrong, when I was a swim coach I woulda have corrected anyone I saw doing it but I still do it. In races I still stroke with the right arm but don't breath on the first stroke.

RE: Which arm do you stroke with after the turn?

orca1946 — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 10:50:10 GMT

I also flip to my left side & after a few dolphins , pull with my left arm to flatten out and then my right arm & take a breath.

RE: Which arm do you stroke with after the turn?

Former Member — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 09:19:43 GMT

Goswim has a relevant video on this: www.goswim.tv/.../freestyle---first-breath.html. They agree with Fiona Holt.

RE: Which arm do you stroke with after the turn?

Allen Stark — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 12:50:11 GMT

The upper hand is more natural for me,but I have trained myself to start with the lower(mostly.)

RE: Which arm do you stroke with after the turn?

Cokie — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 09:32:21 GMT

Great question. We were just debating this in a Starts and Turn Clinic yesterday. If you come out on your side, using the bottom arm for the breakout stroke helps complete the corkscrew off the wall. In this method, you want to make sure the hand of the bottom arm is the lower hand in your streamline. But, there is also this philosophy. With the advent of many dolphin kicks off the wall, many swimmers are already flattened out when it is time for their breakout stroke. In that situation, the bottom hand should again be the driving force. I am right side dominant. When I flip, I do flip straight over and then plant my feet at 45 degrees, angled to push off on my right hip. That 45 degree angle allows me to push off the wal slightly riding that right hip. I make sure my right hand is positioned under my left hand and try to execute a strong breakout stroke. That means no breath on that first stroke! The biggest mistake I see as a coach is that many swimmers flip crooked. Instead of flipping straight over, they flip angled to one side and often that causes a skewed foot plant, sometimes past 90 degrees! The second common mistake is that they flail their arms as they are flipping, which causes resistance. Improve those two areas, and you are on the way to perfecting your flip turn.

RE: Which arm do you stroke with after the turn?

habu987 — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 09:09:48 GMT

I always come off the wall on my left side, so I pull with my left arm first. That lets me fully utilize the torque of that twist in the water, and gives a noticeably stronger initial pull than if I pull with my right arm, the one that's closer to the surface. I personally don't think it matters which hand is on top. I can't see how it would affect your pull, since it doesn't alter your arm and body position. While my left hand is always on top, and I pull with my left arm as I come off the wall on my left side, it hasn't made any difference that I can feel when I've consciously pushed off with my right hand on top, but still pushing off on my left side and initiating the pull with my left arm.

RE: Which arm do you stroke with after the turn?

rtodd — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 08:19:38 GMT

The thing to avoid is breathing on that very first pull. Pulling with the bottom arm usually helps avoid this tendency when you are real tired and need air, not so much the sprints.

RE: Which arm do you stroke with after the turn?

rxleakem — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 07:33:21 GMT

During freestyle flips, I push off on my back, use the SDK to start rotating clockwise, but I my right hand is on top of the stack. I pull with the right hand to finish the flip onto my chest, and try not to breathe on that first stroke. Not a problem during a 50!

RE: Which arm do you stroke with after the turn?

jaadams1 — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 06:42:33 GMT

Why would this be the case? It seems to me this is wholly dependent on what side one breathes to. My personal philosophy is to pull with my left arm first since I breathe to the right. This definitely prevents breathing on the first arm pull. I will admit when I get tired I sometimes pull with my right arm first to get a breath right at the breakout. This is me as well. I rotate toward my left off the flipturn, so my left arm/hand is closer to the bottom coming off the streamline. Our coach is always preaching "No one stroke breathers!" When I'm in distance free events I catch myself doing this 1 stroke breath though, but I am in more need of oxygen as well. For maintaining speed off the turn, you should pull with the "bottom" arm and not breathe.

RE: Which arm do you stroke with after the turn?

knelson — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 01:47:51 GMT

The big benefit of pulling with the bottom arm is it almost always prevents breathing on that very first pull Why would this be the case? It seems to me this is wholly dependent on what side one breathes to. My personal philosophy is to pull with my left arm first since I breathe to the right. This definitely prevents breathing on the first arm pull. I will admit when I get tired I sometimes pull with my right arm first to get a breath right at the breakout.

RE: Which arm do you stroke with after the turn?

rtodd — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 01:07:20 GMT

I agree with what has been said. The big benefit of pulling with the bottom arm is it almost always prevents breathing on that very first pull and helps complete rotation and gets you into swimming position before breathing.