Hi Everyone :)
Here's a little bit about myself. I live in Pakistan, Islamabad. I'm eighteen years old and am a member of the Islamabad team. I've been swimming seriously for about year now, though I have been in and out of the pool from a young age. I am aiming to make the national team.
So recently I've been experimenting with my freestyle. I have started using a straight arm recovery in short distance events and at the end of a long race. People in Pakistan aren't familiar with this style so I am a little bit in the dark as to what type of catch to use. Should I just drive my hand straight down and back or should I use a deep or a short catch?
Any information about the straight arm freestyle would be very appreciated :)
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Former Member
When sprinting you want to immediately catch, no pause up front.
Watch underwater videos of the fastest sprinters in the world and copy them
I don't think they think much about their catch, they just do it.
A straight arm pull underwater seems to happen naturally when I swim straight arm free.
However I'm concerned about the fact that I may be pushing water downwards unnecessarily rather than backwards. Theoretically speaking, wouldn't a straight arm recovery with its high stroke rate coupled with a deep catch or high elbow catch rather than a straight pull be the fastest and most efficient.
Reply
Former Member
When sprinting you want to immediately catch, no pause up front.
Watch underwater videos of the fastest sprinters in the world and copy them
I don't think they think much about their catch, they just do it.
A straight arm pull underwater seems to happen naturally when I swim straight arm free.
However I'm concerned about the fact that I may be pushing water downwards unnecessarily rather than backwards. Theoretically speaking, wouldn't a straight arm recovery with its high stroke rate coupled with a deep catch or high elbow catch rather than a straight pull be the fastest and most efficient.
