In her book Speed Demon Fiona Holt recommends you stroke on the side which is angled down to the bottom of the pool after the turn. So if you place your feet in the two o' clock position on the wall, you will turn with your right hip angled down and, therefore, your break-out stroke should be with your right arm. If you turn at the 10 o' clock position, you should stroke with your left arm first. The reasoning behind this is that the lower hip facilitates a longer reach and thus puts you in a more powerful position. She also goes on to say:
"If you're not already doing this the implications are huge because transforms you from a swimmer that typically breathes on the first stroke after surfacing into one that breathes on the third stroke after surfacing."
I turn to the right but up until now have always pulled with my left hand first. This is because when I am in the streamline position my left hand is under my right hand. Also, I remember reading somewhere (and of course I can't remember where now) that the break-out stroke should be with the left hand.
So which hand do you stroke with after the turn?
Former Member
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.
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.
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:
