I swam in a meet last weekend and I got a lot of grief from some of my swim buddies for swinging my arm, after touching with both hands, from the wall to streamline, straight. You know, the top arm. They say it is faster to bend that arm as it comes over.......hard to break my old habit , if it is true.
Any thoughts out there from coaches, ex-coaches or coach wanna-bees ?
Bert ~~~^o^~~~
Former Member
Hey Bert,
Okay here is my take (which could mean take it or leave it). Remember the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, so swinging your arm is actaully an arc, but by bending the elbow/arm it stays closer to a straight line. Also something to think about would be transfer of energy/force the arc would be a lift and then a dive but sliding the hand would be (hopefully) channeling the force directly into the direct path/direction you want to go.
Jeff
Hi Bert,
Your friends are justified in their complaint! The outcome of Jeff's is absolutely correct, but his explanation is incomplete. Turns are an exercise in angular (rotary) momentum, as your body rotates around an axis through its center of mass (located in your torso). The closer that body parts are to this axis, the quicker the rotation. This is why you should bend your top arm dramtically and push it past your ear rather than swinging it high. It's also why you should bend your legs tightly at the same time.
You can see divers and skaters use this principle often. If they wish to somersault or spin quickly, they pull all body parts tightly around their axis of rotation.
I will attend the NW Zone Championships in December, and expect that you will have improved this egregious flaw by then and be ready for show-and-tell.
Cheers. Bob
