Last night I was up late watching some recaps from 2012 summer games. I noticed in the 50m fr they talked about the "straight" arms of swimmer so and so... in a dead sprint like that do most all out sprinters just swing their arms straight instead of having any real elbow bend?
Actually it shouldn't be if you're pulling correctly. The load of the pull should really fall on your lats after you catch.
The shoulder is the rotation point and must react the moment produced by the arm's pulling action through the water. The straighter your arm is, the longer the lever arm will be, thus increasing the moment. I think you're right that most of that force is going to be reacted by the lats, but I've got to think the small stabilizing muscles of the shoulder are stressed much more with a straight arm pull.
Actually it shouldn't be if you're pulling correctly. The load of the pull should really fall on your lats after you catch.
The shoulder is the rotation point and must react the moment produced by the arm's pulling action through the water. The straighter your arm is, the longer the lever arm will be, thus increasing the moment. I think you're right that most of that force is going to be reacted by the lats, but I've got to think the small stabilizing muscles of the shoulder are stressed much more with a straight arm pull.
