In an effort to correct a "dropped elbow" problem with my stroke, I have been swimming a lot of laps with closed fists--to a point where I can swim almost as fast doing this drill as normal swimming. I do find I have to concentrate hard on extending the arm on both the beginning and end of the underwater portion of the stroke--maybe something about not having the fingers extending as usual from the hand makes the stroke feel shorter.
This drill definitely helps keep your elbow high and forces you to use your forearm and back muscles for propulsion. I've found it also seems to reduce post-workout twinges in the shoulder/rotator cuff area.
My question is: Would doing a lot of fist drill laps have the potential to create some other bad habit, perhaps in compensation for the lack of hand surface, that I might not be aware of? I try to keep everything else about my technique the same. Thanks for any thoughts on this.
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10% drop-off sounds about right, once you get used to the drill.
Gareth: I do find that it is hard to get a good feel for the water on the push phase using closed fists, so I'll try your idea of opening the hand mid-stroke. I can appreciate that this might be harder than it sounds (I'm always surprised how it's difficult to think and swim at the same time).
10% drop-off sounds about right, once you get used to the drill.
Gareth: I do find that it is hard to get a good feel for the water on the push phase using closed fists, so I'll try your idea of opening the hand mid-stroke. I can appreciate that this might be harder than it sounds (I'm always surprised how it's difficult to think and swim at the same time).
