The high elbow catch (90 degrees elbow bend) is professed to be better than a straight arm (180 degrees) catch, but why is that so?
Is not the arm surface area connecting with the water identical in both cases?
Physics would say they are equal surface area so it should not make a difference.
???
Some sprinters do well with nearly straight army driving hard down on the catch with a rapid turnover. The efficiency is all in favor of the high elbow. With the straight arm the initial forces are down, not back and the ending forces are up and not back. High elbow with EVF gives the longest time for the large surface of fingertips to elbow to be pushing backwards.(Actually. Done right it is not so much pulling your arm back as it it pulling your body foward.)
Some sprinters do well with nearly straight army driving hard down on the catch with a rapid turnover. The efficiency is all in favor of the high elbow. With the straight arm the initial forces are down, not back and the ending forces are up and not back. High elbow with EVF gives the longest time for the large surface of fingertips to elbow to be pushing backwards.(Actually. Done right it is not so much pulling your arm back as it it pulling your body foward.)
